Tuesday, January 27, 2026 – Highlands, NJ — Vasser Sullivan driver Frankie Montecalvo and co drivers Aaron Telitz, Benjamin Pedersen, and Esteban Masson successfully completed the grueling Rolex 24 at Daytona, bringing their car home in ninth place after a hard-fought 24 hours of competition at the World Center of Racing.
While the team lacked the outright pace they had hoped for across the full race distance, they showed strong potential throughout the event, running inside the top five at various stages. All four drivers delivered mistake-free stints, avoiding contact and penalties, and kept the car intact through the punishing endurance classic.
“It’s great to be able to walk away from the Rolex after twenty-four hours of racing with a top ten finish. While it’s not where we would like to finish, it’s a great start to the season,” Montecalvo said.
“The Vasser Sullivan team functioned perfectly. The drivers did not have any mistakes or contact in any way, so the car is in great shape, which isn’t always the case after twenty-four hours of racing.”
“During the night we were able to work our way up into the top five of the GTD class. This Rolex 24 was unique in the fact that we had over six hours of caution due to heavy fog in the area. Once we were able to go back to green, we fluctuated through the ranks but were never outside of the top ten.”
Late in the race, the team elected to gamble on fuel strategy in an effort to gain track position. However, the caution periods they were counting on failed to materialize, ultimately limiting their ability to advance further toward the front in the closing hours.
“We cycled back and forth, but at the end of the day we tried to take a little bit more of a gamble on fuel and hoped for some yellows that didn’t come out. With a little better luck, I think we could have finished more towards the front playing that strategy.”
“I can’t thank my teammates and the entire Vasser Sullivan crew enough for giving 110% over the past two weeks with the Roar and Rolex 24. Even though we didn’t end the race with the results that we were hoping for, we’ll be back stronger than ever for Sebring in March.”
With the season opener now complete, Montecalvo and the team are already shifting their focus to the next round of the championship at Sebring International Raceway. The 74th running of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring will be held on March 21. Be sure to follow Frankie on Facebook, Instagram, and X to stay up to date with all of Frankie’s racing news.