DAYTONA BEACH, Fla (January 25, 2026) – Leading North America’s most prized sportscar race with only minutes remaining, Magnus Racing and the No. 44 Virtual Energy Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO took an incredible runner-up finish at this year’s 2026 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, taking the checkered flag after one of the most highlighted end-of-race battles in race history. While the closing 30 minutes would populate highlight reels worldwide, the result also served as the team’s fifth podium at Daytona, and most notably marked the team’s return to form.
“How fortunate are we to be disappointed in second,” stated Magnus Racing team owner and co-driver John Potter. “We’d be lying to say the last few minutes weren’t disappointing, but ultimately, we’re happy to be on the podium knowing the team performed so well. To be leading with such a strong car, and only minutes remaining, is a testament to how everyone executed. The drivers performed well, the crew was faultless, the car was fast, and the strategy put us in the right place at the end. It’s great to see everyone rewarded for such hard work getting to here. I can’t thank our fans, and of course incredible partners at Virtual Energy, for all of their support through this.”
In typical Rolex 24 fashion, this year’s twice-around-the-clock classic featured no shortage of trials and tribulations.
With team owner John Potter taking the green flag, a flawless opening two hours would demonstrate John’s pace in combination with his experience, passing multiple cars while putting a premium on maintaining a clean car. As his double-stint continued, John’s pace would take the car to the top-10 by time he stepped out.
Unfortunately, an ill-timed caution period two hours into the race would send the team one lap down, however an equally well-time caution period would allow the team to get the lead lap back just 45 minutes later. Knowing how critical a clean car would be for the end of the race, the next eight hours would be an effectively smooth process, with Potter, Spencer Pumpelly, Madison Snow, and Nicki Thiim all taking their turns to simply manage their time.
As the night progressed, however, the coastal community of Daytona Beach would be engulfed in a long period of dense fog, forcing the field to run under caution for over six hours. Running through the night and into the morning at safety car speeds, the team shifted from enduring through the night to focusing on performance for the next day, knowing that when the green flag fell it would become a seven-hour sprint race.
Once racing resumed, the intensity of the race would ramp up significantly. Fighting his way into the top five, Spencer Pumpelly took opening honors to place the car in a strong position for the races closing hours. Unfortunately, strong contact from behind by a lap-down Ferrari would send him spinning in the bus stop, luckily with minimal damage but a frustrating loss of track position.
Swapping to Nicki Thiim under the six-hour mark, the pace of the car began to show, with Nicki making his way through the field and sending a clear message on the car’s pace.
The next three hours would rotate from Thiim to Madison Snow, with the usual ebb-and-flow of track position and offsetting sequences placing the car a little further back, however a timely caution just under the three-hour mark would set the stage for a wild finish.
With Nicki back in the car to the finish, it was a hard-fought restart that would dramatically change the tone of the race. Taking the green flag in fifth, an unreal and impossible-to-describe series of passes through the first six turns would vault the team to first, and with it a strong feeling that victory was a real possibility. As the race evolved to the final 90 minutes, the car would drop back to second briefly due to offsetting strategies with another Aston Martin, but ultimately the strategy and pace of the No. 44 would prevail, and the team continued to lead after the final round of pit stops.
With no pit stops remaining and no concerns on needing to save to the end, all focus was simply on getting to the finish, with the team now leading with a palpable sense of excitement.
However, with only minutes remaining, the No. 57 AMG Mercedes arrived with a surprisingly strong pace that had not existed prior. Taking an opportunity in prototype traffic to take the lead, the Mercedes succeeded but with the Aston giving strong chase to take victory back.
With just over 10 minutes remaining, the battle for the race lead came to a head. Following a strong exit in the famed bus stop chicane, Nicki would make a run past the Mercedes down the front straight, only for the Mercedes to make a dangerous block at the Magnus No. 44 at over 170 MPH, making contact and allowing the No. 57 to maintain the lead. It was a move largely considered illegal by both fans and industry insiders alike, but despite a protest from the team no real penalty was issued to the Mercedes.
With not enough time to make another move, the team would settle for a runner-up finish, which given a difficult 2025 season, will ultimately be seen as a positive.
It was the third runner-up finish in five years at Daytona, and a strong sign of the team’s potential moving forward.
Also worth noting, the team’s tradition of pitside webstreaming continued, with their 24-hour stream of all pitside communications and strategic discussions being put on YouTube for all to see, garnering over 6,000 viewers in the process.
For Spencer Pumpelly, adding yet another podium to his roster of success at Daytona was a welcome one.
“I can’t thank everyone on this team enough for their hard work,” stated Pumpelly. “The level of competition in IMSA is so high in the current era, and we put ourselves in a position to win at the end. It came from everyone executing perfectly, and I couldn’t be prouder of where we are as a group.”
For Madison Snow in his team debut, a solid performance capped off an enjoyable event.
“It was great to be part of this team,” stated Snow. “I’ve known so many people here for most of my career, so even if it was my first race it didn’t feel that way. The car was incredibly fast, and the results speak for the quality of the crew. It was an honor to be here and I look forward to how the rest of the season continues.”
Finally, for Nicki Thiim, a combination of joy and heartbreak would summarize his event.
“I wanted to take this team to victory more than I can describe,” stated Thiim. “They did an incredible job preparing the car and putting us in a position to fight. I don’t know what else to say. The video and public reaction says everything I need to say, it just means we’ll come back that much harder next year.”
Having committed to select endurance events throughout the season, the next event for Magnus Racing will be announced soon, with the team opting to simply enjoy the moment for the time being.
