With fiften hours gone, the Grand Am Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway was still a hotly contested race.
Justin Wilson in the 01 Ganassi BMW-Riley and Mike Rockenfeller in the Action Express Racing Porsche-Riley treated any late-night fans to a sixty-lap dice, racing like like the race was almost over. The pair lapped nose–to-tail for three dozen laps until Rockenfeller found a way by on lap 382. Wilson then chased Rockenfeller’s Porsche, staying a second behind, waiting for a chance to retake the lead.
While the two leaders battled, the rest of the field took on the characteristics of a classic endurance race. Drivers started focusing on making fast, consistent laps, conserving their cars, trying to make it to the end when the remaining teams would make a run for the checkered flag.
The teams know that racing for every tenth of a second doesn’t win endurance races. (Of course, it is tough to tell the drivers that.) It is important to keep the car alive so that in the final few hours, the drivers can make an all-out sprint for the win.
Justin Wilson in the 01 Ganassi BMW-Riley and Mike Rockenfeller in the Action Express Racing Porsche-Riley treated any late-night fans to a sixty-lap dice, racing like like the race was almost over. The pair lapped nose–to-tail for three dozen laps until Rockenfeller found a way by on lap 382. Wilson then chased Rockenfeller’s Porsche, staying a second behind, waiting for a chance to retake the lead.
While the two leaders battled, the rest of the field took on the characteristics of a classic endurance race. Drivers started focusing on making fast, consistent laps, conserving their cars, trying to make it to the end when the remaining teams would make a run for the checkered flag.
The teams know that racing for every tenth of a second doesn’t win endurance races. (Of course, it is tough to tell the drivers that.) It is important to keep the car alive so that in the final few hours, the drivers can make an all-out sprint for the win.
