Thursday qualifying once again set an exciting tone for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and the 2026 edition proved no different. The No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura will lead the field to green after inheriting the overall pole position following the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac’s failure in post-qualifying inspection.

The No. 31 Cadillac had appeared to be the class of the field in GTP qualifying, edging out Acura and securing what would have been a preliminary pole. Jack Aitken delivered a strong lap to earn Action Express Racing its second Rolex 24 qualifying pole in three years. However, the inspection failure relegates the Cadillac to the rear of the GTP field, promoting Meyer Shank Racing to the top starting spot.

In LMP2, Jeremy Clarke delivered a late-session flyer to bump PJ Hyett from the top of the charts, securing the class pole for the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition entry.

GTD Pro honors went to Alexander Sims, who held off a flurry of late challengers to put the No. 3 Corvette Racing entry on pole. In GTD, Heart of Racing’s No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3, driven by Zacharie Robichon, claimed class pole with a strong lap midway through the session.

The 2026 Rolex 24 at Daytona is set to go green Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET. NBC will provide live coverage from 1:30–2:30 p.m. ET, with full race coverage available on Peacock. The final hour of the race will return to NBC at noon ET on Sunday.