By Brian Bielanski, Editor
Daytona Beach, Fla. (RacingWire) – One of the best crowds in the history of the Rolex 24 at Daytona was treated to one of the most hotly contested races in recent memory.
At the end of 24 hours the #60 Michael Shank Racing Riley/Ford was the first of three cars on the lead lap to take the checkered flag with A.J. Allmendinger at the wheel for the final stint. Allmendinger and teammates Oswaldo Negri, Jr., Justin Wilson, and John Pew all took home their first Rolex watch.
The pinnacle moment of the race came with about two hours left when Allmendinger went wheel to wheel with Allan McNish at 180 mph to take the lead. That pass gave Allmendinger the momentum to close out the first Rolex 24 win for Michael Shank racing.
"I was alongside him and he moved up at 180 miles an hour,” said #8 Starworks Riley/Ford driver Allan McNish. “Personally not something I would do, but that's obviously his thoughts of how racing should be. It was clean fight until that point. but I was a bit disappointed with that maneuver. That can end up in a pretty big one."
When Allmendinger was asked about the move he took a page from the NASCAR playbook. “I got loose in turn two,” said Allmendinger.
By completing 761 laps the Shank team beat the previous record of laps completed in 24 hours by six laps.
While the last two hours of the race included many “edge of the seat moments” the first 22 hours were filled with action more appropriate for a sprint race than an endurance race.
It was a very short day for one of the favorites in Daytona Prototype. The #10 SunTrust Racing Corvette had terminal motor problems and fell out after completing only 14 laps with Max Angelelli behind the wheel.
The SunTrust team wasn’t the only Corvette to have motor problems. The #5 Action Express Corvette battled problems for the first eight ours. They were about 1000 rpm under power until engineers were able to reprogram the car’s ECU (electronic control unit).
After his overnight stint Action Express driver Darren Law said, “the misfire’s gone I think the motor might have been hurt by it, it doesn’t seem to be pulling as hard as it should but we’ve got the pace to run for sure top five.”
That statement became profound when Law brought the #5 car home in fifth.
The Gainsco/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette dealt with bad luck all race. First the team had to replace a radiator thank to a flying stone. Then they spent more than two hours in the garage changing a water pump pulley, a job that requires the motor to be partially removed. After the repair Alex Gurney spun on cold tires and stuffed the car into the tire wall. Their rough day ended in 33rd place.
The #8 Starworks Ford and the No. 6 Michael Shank Racing Ford rounded out the top
The GT class field was one of the largest in Rolex 24 history and the action didn’t disappoint. For most of the race it was a battle between the #44 Magnus Racing and #59 Brumos, and the #67 TRG Porsche GT3 Cup cars. The three cars traded the leaded for hours.
The #44 car was assessed a one-lap penalty just after daybreak for having a crew member work under the car while they were fueling.
The Magnus team led by driver Andy Lally was able to battle back then Richard Leitz drove a flawless final stint to bring home the win for #44 Magnus Porsche.
It was Lally’s fourth class win, and second in a row and the team’s first Rolex 24 win.
“It was just absolutely epic to come home our first time together, John Potter and I and Magnus Racing, to come home on the top step especially at the 50th,” said Lally.
The #59 Brumos Porsche and the #67 TRG Porsche rounded out the GT podium.
The highest finishing non-Porsche was the fourth place #57 Stevenson Camaro.
