The 1992 edition featured competition across the LM, GTP, Lights, GTS, and GTU classes. The LM category — for Le Mans prototype specification machinery — sat above the IMSA-native GTP class in the overall hierarchy, a structural arrangement that occasionally produced anomalous overall classification results. The field assembled at Daytona reflected the international scope of IMSA's top-tier competition, with Jaguar, Nissan, and various Porsche-based entries all seeking overall honours.
Overall victory and the LM class win went to the No. 23 Nissan Motorsport International Nissan R91CP, driven by Masahiro Hasemi, Kazuyoshi Hoshino, and Toshio Suzuki. The all-Japanese driver lineup delivered a controlled performance across the full 24 hours, and the win was a landmark moment for Nissan's factory IMSA campaign, which had grown steadily in ambition through the late 1980s and into the 1990s.
The GTP class was won by the No. 2 Jaguar Racing Jaguar XJR-12, driven by Davy Jones, Scott Pruett, David Brabham, and Scott Goodyear. Jaguar had won overall honours at Daytona in 1990 with the same model, and the XJR-12's continued competitiveness at the top of the GTP class demonstrated its engineering durability even as it was surpassed overall by the LM-class Nissan.
The Lights class was won by the No. 49 Comptech Racing Spice SE91P, driven by Parker Johnstone, Steve Cameron, Jimmy Vasser, and Dan Marvin. Parker Johnstone continued his strong record in the Lights category, and Jimmy Vasser's inclusion in the lineup foreshadowed a career that would eventually take him to Champ Car success.
The GTS class was won by the No. 15 Roush Racing Ford Mustang, driven by Dorsey Schroeder, Wally Dallenbach Jr., and Robby Gordon. Roush Racing's Mustang programme had become a fixture in the production-based classes, and the GTS victory continued the team's strong record at Daytona.
The GTU class was won by the No. 82 Dick Greer Racing Mazda RX-7, driven by Al Bacon, Dick Greer, Mike Mees, and Peter Uria. Notably, the GTU class winner finished seventh overall — ahead of the GTS class winner — which was described as one of the best overall finishes for a GTU entry during that era of IMSA competition.
The 1992 race is significant on two counts. First, it marked the beginning of the Rolex 24 branding, replacing the SunBank name that had been associated with the race throughout the 1980s. The Rolex partnership gave the event a luxury identity that reinforced its status alongside Le Mans and the Sebring 12 Hours as one of the world's great endurance races. Second, the Japanese factory victory by Hasemi, Hoshino, and Suzuki reflected the competitive peak of Japanese manufacturer involvement in international endurance racing during the early 1990s, before regulatory changes and economic pressures reshaped the global sports car landscape.