Barring the unforeseeable (and in endurance racing one should expect the unexpected) the 49th Grand Am Rolex 24 is shaping up to end in a four-way hammer-and-tongs battle between the two Ganassi cars, the #9 Action Express car, and the United Autosports/Shank car. After 23 hours of racing, the four cars are only seconds apart.
Scott Dixon still has the lead in the #02 Ganassi, with Joao Barbosa in the #9 Action Express right behind,. On their tails is the United Autosports/Shank Racing car of Martin Brundle. Behind the trio is Scott Pruett oin the #01 Ganassi.
Exact differentials don’t really matter. These cars all have one more pit stop for a splash of fuel, and then they will sort out the order and run flat-out for victory.
Brundle won the Rolex in 1988. Joao Barbosa was on the winning team in 2010. Scott Pruett won in 1994, 2007, and 2008. Scott Dixon won in 2006. Every one of these drivers knows what it means to win here, and they all want to win again. This year. Now.
After 24 hours of racing, the race could come down to the final yards of the final lap.
GT will have ales exciting finish, but it will be no less satisfying for TRG, Miller Racing, and Dempsey Racing, who will almost certainly share the podium. But the astonishing finish will be in Daytona Prototype, where the race should be too close to call until the checkered flag waves.
