The Rolex 24 at Daytona is ready to kick off today at 3:30pm with teams preparing for “the longest night” in international sportscar racing.

This year’s event will be the final round-the-clock enduro to be run under the GRAND-AM name – next year’s event will mark the historic first race for the new combined championship bringing together the American Le Mans Series and the GRAND-AM Rolex Series.

Unlike the 24 Hours of Le Mans which is run in the middle of the summer in France, the Rolex 24 at Daytona actually has considerably more “dark time” due to the time of year.

Up to 13 hours of the race will be run in darkness.

The race not only features the GRAND-AM regulars but a huge contingent of American Le Mans Series stars will be seen on track along leading lights from IndyCar (Dario Franchitti, Ryan Hunter-Reay Scott Dixon, Charlie Kimball, Simon Pagenaud, Justin Wilson and Sebastien Bourdais) and NASCAR (Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray, Marcos Ambrose, AJ Almendinger, Michael Waltrip and Clint Bowyer).

Today’s race can be seen on SPEED from 3:00pm (Eastern)