Some teams were strong at one point in the race, and are now gone. Others led early and had troubles, and now are in the top five through persistence and luck.
The SunTrust car started on the pole. Now it is sixth, 43 laps behind, just looking to finish.
Last year’s winning team, Brumos Porsche, was fast early, but had bad mechanical luck. The team fought back from a broken halfshaft, but couldn’t come back from a blown engine.
Last season’s champion team, Gainsco-Stallings, ran decently for three-quarters of the race. Then it threw an oil pump drive belt, lost oil pressure, and parked the car—the car that the crew labored to rebuild after Jimmie Johnson crashed in practice..
The Doran Racing team led early Saturday afternoon, and then faded. Transmission troubles overnight left them far behind. Now they are 142 laps behind, running in 25th.
The Krohn team ran in or near the lead for hours. An overnight collision with a slower car, and transmission trouble today, left them 19 laps down, but still running fourth.
The Crown Royal/NPN cars ran as high as second and third. Now one of their cars is in third, four laps down, poised to move up if the leaders have trouble. Their other car is 96 laps down in 19th.
The SunTrust car started on the pole. Now it is sixth, 43 laps behind, just looking to finish.
Last year’s winning team, Brumos Porsche, was fast early, but had bad mechanical luck. The team fought back from a broken halfshaft, but couldn’t come back from a blown engine.
Last season’s champion team, Gainsco-Stallings, ran decently for three-quarters of the race. Then it threw an oil pump drive belt, lost oil pressure, and parked the car—the car that the crew labored to rebuild after Jimmie Johnson crashed in practice..
The Doran Racing team led early Saturday afternoon, and then faded. Transmission troubles overnight left them far behind. Now they are 142 laps behind, running in 25th.
The Krohn team ran in or near the lead for hours. An overnight collision with a slower car, and transmission trouble today, left them 19 laps down, but still running fourth.
The Crown Royal/NPN cars ran as high as second and third. Now one of their cars is in third, four laps down, poised to move up if the leaders have trouble. Their other car is 96 laps down in 19th.
Shank Racing also ran well for most of the race. The final Shank car made it all the way until 1:45 left before the car packed it in
Stevenson Racing brought its brand new Camaros to Daytona and led the GT class at one point. Now its best-placed car is 69 laps down in 9th; the other is 90 laps down in 17th.
The TRG Porsches also dominated GT at points in the race. Now its best-placed cars are in eight and ninth, 49 and 61 laps down.
SpeedSource Mazda came to the race a favorite, but couldn’t match the TRG or Stevenson cars for speed. Now the sole remaining SpeedSource car leads its class.
And who did well through all this?
The Action Express Racing team came in as relative unknowns. The team had a strong driver lineup, but no experience; this was the team’s maiden race. Yet the car went fast and got lucky. The clutch gave out, but the transmission kept working. The throttle stuck repeatedly, but the drivers managed to keep from crashing. Leading for the final quarter of the race, no matter what happens in the final hour, the team is a huge winner. But of course, if fate were to strike in the final hour, they would feel like losers.
And Telmex-Ganassi? Thr team has three consecutive Rolex 24 wins, 2006–2008. One of their cars led for much the first third of the race, and blew its engine. The other car, with eight-time winner Scott Pruett on the driving team, is currently second, but too far back to catch up without a yellow flag. But should a full-course caution come, the race would be wide open for Pruett and company.
The endgame is upon us. The teams have set their final strategies; all that is left is watching and waiting, and hoping.
SpeedSource Mazda came to the race a favorite, but couldn’t match the TRG or Stevenson cars for speed. Now the sole remaining SpeedSource car leads its class.
And who did well through all this?
The Action Express Racing team came in as relative unknowns. The team had a strong driver lineup, but no experience; this was the team’s maiden race. Yet the car went fast and got lucky. The clutch gave out, but the transmission kept working. The throttle stuck repeatedly, but the drivers managed to keep from crashing. Leading for the final quarter of the race, no matter what happens in the final hour, the team is a huge winner. But of course, if fate were to strike in the final hour, they would feel like losers.
And Telmex-Ganassi? Thr team has three consecutive Rolex 24 wins, 2006–2008. One of their cars led for much the first third of the race, and blew its engine. The other car, with eight-time winner Scott Pruett on the driving team, is currently second, but too far back to catch up without a yellow flag. But should a full-course caution come, the race would be wide open for Pruett and company.
The endgame is upon us. The teams have set their final strategies; all that is left is watching and waiting, and hoping.
