Acura, Shank, Helio sweep Rolex 24 as hybrid era begins

By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Acura dominated the debut of hybrid engines in North American sports car racing with a 1-2 finish Sunday at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Helio Castroneves and the automaker won the prestigious endurance race for a third consecutive year. Castroneves won the Rolex in 2021 in an Acura with Wayne Taylor Racing and won with Meyer Shank Racing the last two seasons. He was overcome with emotion after Tom Blomqvist closed out the victory by holding off Filipe Albuquerque in an Acura for Taylor/Andretti on a restart. Despite being the reigning champions, MSR and Acura were a bit of an unknown ahead of Daytona. The twice-round-the-clock endurance race this year marked the launch of a new hybrid era of racing.