For competitors and fans alike, the anticipation that has been building for the 2011 motor racing season will shortly be realized with the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the headline act of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16, which takes place January 29-30 at Daytona International Speedway.

More than a seaside city with a super speedway, Daytona is a temple of speed where dedicated followers of the world’s most exciting sport gather to watch the best-of-the-best compete wheel-to-wheel around its breathtaking 3.56 mile race course. When the green flag is waved at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 29, the race teams will learn just how competitive their car will be – the reward for the hours invested on race preparation and chassis set-up.  While the Rolex 24 At Daytona is the benchmark for the upcoming race season, the full field of Daytona Prototypes (DP) and GT Class sports cars are putting not only machinery to the test, but also the focus and concentration of the drivers – and pit crews – during this twice around the clock endurance test.

Among the fan favorites who will take a turn behind the wheel at the 2011 Rolex 24 At Daytona is Jimmie Johnson (Mooresville, N.C.), the NASCAR superstar who will make his fifth attempt at winning this event after twice coming in second. Johnson hopes to become the third driver in motorsports history to win both the Daytona 500 and the Rolex 24 At Daytona, joining Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt in the record books.  He is confident that the No. 99 GAINSCO Chevrolet-Riley DP and his co-drivers, Alex Gurney (Irvine, Calif.) and Jon Fogarty (Bend, Ore.), are up to the challenge.

Also back on the track will be Hurley Haywood (Chicago, Ill./Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) who has decided to come out of retirement to drive the No. 59 Porsche 911 GT3 for Brumos Racing. Hurley has raced the Rolex 24 At Daytona 38 times and his five wins of this classic endurance race have all been at the wheel of a Porsche: Carrera (1973, ’75, ’77), Turbo (1979) and 962 (1991).

Hoping to repeat history are the defending champions from 2010. The winning DP team was anchored by drivers João Barbosa (Porto, Portugal) and Terry Borcheller (Vero Beach, Florida) who will return in the #9 Action Express Racing Porsche/Riley joined by JC France (Daytona Beach, Fla.); while Sylvain Tremblay (Montreal, Canada/Sunrise, Fla.) and Jonathan Bomarito (Monterey, Calif.), anchors for the winning team in the GT class, will reprise their efforts behind the wheel of the #70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8.

Grand Marshal: The world’s fastest man, Wing Commander Andy Green, will deliver the command, “Drivers, start your engines,” to get the 2011 Rolex 24 At Daytona underway at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 29. A Royal Air Force pilot, Green set the World Land Speed Record driving a supersonic 763 mph in 1997. In 2006, he established another record by reaching 350 mph in the JCB Dieselmax car, setting the mark for the world’s fastest diesel car. A combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, Green has flown the F4 Phantom, Tornado F3 and Harrier and now works in the British Ministry of Defense supporting RAF activity around the world.

Green will be feted at a pre-race invitation-only Grand Marshal Dinner on Friday evening at the Daytona International Speedway Hall of Fame Bill France room.

Heritage Exhibition: And as with other famous race venues, history plays a large role in the romance of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. To honor those who have come before, the Rolex 24 At Daytona Heritage Exhibition will feature over two dozen historic cars – covering four decades of class winners and overall champions – on display in the Sprint Fanzone during the entire weekend. A 1928 Chevy Beach Racer which was run on the sand at Daytona in the 1930s is the oldest car on view this year, along with one of the earliest cars to race on the present day Daytona International Speedway, a 1964 Lotus 26-R. The 21^st century is represented by a Lola B2K-40, first in class in 2003, and a Lola Porsche B2K-10. For those who did not witness these cars racing in their heyday, a five-lap exhibition run, at speed, on Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m., is sure to be a thrill.