Rebel Rock Racing began the 2026 season with one of their greatest ever performances by storming to victory in the opening round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at the legendary Daytona International Speedway in Florida.
Frank DePew, Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis lay 33rd of the 51 entered cars with one lap of Friday’s BMW M Endurance Challenge complete, but less than four hours later they had fought back to give their Aston Martin Vantage GT4 an improbable win.
Despite being based just 21 miles away in DeLand, FL, Rebel Rock Racing had never experienced much success at Daytona – the team’s previous best IMPC result from their seven appearances there coming in 2024 with a ninth-place result.
Things didn’t appear to be going their way on Thursday either as shortly after setting the second-best time in the opening practice session, the #71 Aston Martin required a fresh differential.
This led to a trip back to base to remove parts from their spare machine, which were then brought back to the track to be fitted to the race car.
Cue a determined effort by the Rebel Rock mechanics, but the sheer complexity of the procedure, coupled with IMSA curfews, meant they finished the job during FP2 on Friday morning, allowing time for just a single shakedown lap to be completed.
Despite the loss of valuable track time, hopes were high for a strong race result after team owner DePew qualified on the 11th row on Thursday afternoon and even more so after Team Principal Liddell went fastest in Friday morning’s short warm-up session.
Four hours of racing got underway as the green flag waved on Friday afternoon; DePew (Richmond, VA) exercising extreme caution on the opening lap and wisely backing off to avoid several potential incidents including being forced off the track at the high speed kink.
While this kept the Aston Martin in tip-top condition, it came at a loss of 10 places, meaning he completed the opening lap in 33rd position – ahead of just two other cars in the leading GS class.
What came next was nothing short of epic. DePew drove the stint of his life; sometimes matching the pace of the race leaders and making a number of passes exiting Turn Six as the infield rejoins Daytona’s famous banking. This meant the Virginian would finish his 45 minute stint in a solid 23rd place comfortably on the lead lap.
Next, a sensational pitstop catapulted Davis into 14th place. Then, following an incredible restart after a Full-Course Caution period, the Athens, GA, driver made up place after place, carving his way to the race lead in under an hour!
After trading the lead a couple of times, he pitted from the front with just over 90 minutes to go to hand over to Liddell; the Scottish driver with whom he had shared the IMPC crown in 2015.
Liddell continued where Davis left off, running together with a similar Aston Martin Vantage for the next 45 minutes before making his final pitstop with 45 minutes to go.
Crucially, the Rebel Rock crew fitted four new tires while their rivals changed only two. This was to prove such a crucial move in the eventual outcome that it was later chosen as the Michelin Moment of the Race by IMSA Radio.
With superior grip available compared to his rival, Liddell closed down a six-second deficit, seized the lead with 15 minutes to go and built a decisive two-second advantage, which he held to the checkered flag.
What followed was an incredible first ‘home’ win for Rebel Rock Racing and the ninth overall in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge for the team, who become leaders of both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships with one round complete.
Frank DePew: “Even though it’s our home racetrack, we’ve never had good luck at Daytona – we even had a non-finish a couple of years ago that basically cost us the championship. So, to come here and win a race with no crazy strategy calls, just good driving and good pitwork, feels unbelievable. It is genuinely beyond belief. You know Everybody did their job perfectly and the crew executed everything in the pits all the way through getting Andrew out in 14th place after my stop was incredible, Andrew driving to the front and keeping us there, and then Robin finishing us off and getting the lead back at the end after another Aston made a short last stop by taking slightly less fuel to jump us, amazing and so is this feeling.
Robin Liddell: “I won my first race at Daytona in 2004, and finally – 22 years later – I’ve managed to add another, and I think we all deserved it. The Aston Martin was brilliant through my stint and worked so well on the Michelins, and everyone throughout the team has done a fantastic job. Frank’s stint was outstanding in how he kept his head after losing out at the start and just gained places, Andrew did a hell of a job and the crew in the pits were flawless. Going for four tires at the last stop was a no-brainer as we could easily fit them in the time it took to fuel, and I’d say it gave us an advantage towards the end to chase down the leaders and pass them. What a day!”
Andrew Davis: “I can’t thank the whole Rebel Rock Racing team enough for what they’ve all done this week. In all the years I’ve been racing at Daytona, I’ve never won here overall so this means so much to me. Our pitstops and strategy today were second to none, Frank did a great job in his stint, I did what I could and Robin Liddell just went out there and did Robin Liddell things on track. Some wins are sweeter than others and this one is right up there.”