Daytona 2006 Rolex 24 Race

[Grady Clay]

Daytona 2006 Rolex 24 Race

This thread is the race day summaries.

This is a continuation from prior threads:
Daytona 2006 Rolex 24 Practice & Qualifying

Thinking of going to the Daytona 24 next month. Any advice?

Daytona 24 - Who wants to crew? Who needs crew?

Here is the STARTING GRID for the Rolex 24.

Entry List

Schedule

Here is the Weather Channel:
http://www.weather.com/
The track Zip code is 32114-1215

Using that ZIP+4, you can Mapquest the area.

Here is the EVENT SITE
Here you will find live web radio for the entire 24 hours and live timing & scoring.



If you want every possible piece of info, here is the 138 page (pdf) MEDIA GUIDE

This thread page index
Page 2 starts with Lap 221 - 7:18:58 (7:29 PM)
Page 3 starts with Lap 593 - 19:24:59 (7:35 AM)

[sammyg2]

Job opportunity:
We are looking for a qualified team race stategist who doesn't have his head up his butt. Main requirement is to not make stupid pit decisions under the yellow flag that cost the lead car 22 positions unnecessarily. Immediate opening available, start as soon as possible.
Please apply in the Lucas Luhr pit.

[Grady Clay]

I agree.


I like the fact that the race length is about 2500 miles. That is roughly the same as turning left out of the main entrance to the track and go West to I-95, North to the I-10 drive to LA and then some. Talk about a Sea-to-Sea run at above 100 MPH!

One driver was described as “A little under-rehearsed in the patients department.” He isn't driving a Porsche and I suspect he will get an early flight home.

There are only 16 single-car pits, all others are 2-car.



Rolex 24 At Daytona - Race Notes 1

Welcome to the 44th Rolex 24 At Daytona, Round 1 of the 14-race 2006 Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve.

Grand American will provide updated notes throughout all 24 hours of race action, and live timing and scoring is available at www.grandamerican.com.

12:02 PM - The pace cars roll off the grid and the Daytona Prototypes and GT machines make their way around the 3.56-mile, 14-turn for two pace laps.

12:09 PM - Corner workers report oil leaking from the rear of the No. 3 BMW.

12:10 PM - GREEN FLAG waves and the No. 23 Porsche leads into Turn 1.

12:11 PM - GREEN FLAG waves on the GT class and the No. 72 Porsche leads the class into Turn 1.

Lap 1 - 2:12 (12:12 PM) - The No. 51 Lexus spins in Turn 1 but continues with smoke coming from the rear of the car. The machine spins again in Turn 7 but continues.

Lap 3 - 4:12 (12:14 PM) - The No. 60 Lexus, which started fifth, is currently running third.

Lap 3 - 5:02 (12:15 PM) - The No. 51 Lexus comes onto pit road and the crew works on the car, which still has heavy smoke coming from under its engine cover. The team reports a loose oil fitting.

Lap 4 - 6:06 (12:16 PM) - The No. 80 Porsche spins in Turn 8 but continues.

Lap 4 - 6:33 (12:17 PM) - The No. 16 Pontiac spins in Turn 4 but continues.

Lap 5 - 7:19 (12:17 PM) - The Daytona Prototypes have already closed the gap on the GT field, and have begun to endure lapped traffic.

Lap 5 - 8:48 (12:19 PM) - The No. 24 BMW is slow on-course.

Lap 6 - 10:16 (12:20 PM) - The No. 78 Ford, which started fourth, has fallen back to 10th.

Lap 8 - 13:12 (12:23 PM) - The No. 6 Lexus has moved into the third overall spot. The No. 23 Porsche has a 4.920-second lead over the No. 02 Lexus.

Lap 9 - 16:02 (12:26 PM) - The No. 72 Porsche still leads the GT field, followed by the No. 74 Porsche and No. 36 Porsche.

Lap 11 - 19:00 (12:29 PM) - The No. 01 Lexus has moved up to fourth position overall after starting ninth.

Lap 13 - 21:52 (12:32 PM) - The No. 10 Pontiac, forced to start at the rear of the Daytona Prototype grid, has made its way to 16th overall.

Lap 16 - 27:20 (12:37 PM) - The No. 02 Lexus has begun to close the gap on the No. 23 Porsche, trailing now by 1.132 seconds.

Lap 17 - 30:30 (12:41 PM) - The No. 51 Lexus is back on course, but oil is still leaking from the machine.

Lap 19 - 33:47 (12:44 PM) - FULL-COURSE CAUTION as the No. 86 Porsche spun entering the chicane and made contact with the outer barrier. The car is stopped between the entrance and exit to the chicane and is missing its right side door. Collyer gets into the No. 46 Corvette.

Lap 20 - 34:30 (12:45 PM) - Many cars make routine pit stops during the caution, but the overall leaders, the No. 23 Porsche and No. 02 Lexus, stay on course.


Best,
Grady

[Grady Clay]

One issue with that low windshield on some DP cars is when you are in the banking (particularly NASCAR 2 & 4) you need to look up and to the left to see where you are going. Even on a 911, with my 6’3” I need to not have the windshield obscured with a decal in the upper left.


Rolex 24 At Daytona - Press Notes 2

Lap 21 - 37:40 (12:48 PM) - The No. 02 Lexus makes a routine pit stop and rejoins the field.

Lap 21 - 44:14 (12:54 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: The No. 2 Pontiac, which stayed on track during the caution, now leads.

Lap 23 - 45:00 (12:55 PM) - GREEN FLAG waves to resume the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The No. 84 Pontiac misses Turn 1, but continues after a brief delay.

Lap 23 - 45:42 (12:56 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: The No. 6 Pontiac passes the No. 2 Pontiac at the exit of Turn 5.

Lap 24 - 47:28 (12:58 PM) - The No. 19 Ford makes contact with the No. 60 Lexus and spins in Turn 5 but continues with damage to its left-front.

Lap 25 - 49:49 (1:00 PM) - The No. 17 Porsche is given a "stop-and-go" penalty for passing the pace car during the caution. The No. 52 Ferrari is penalized with a "drive-through."

Lap 26 - 51:49 (1:02 PM) - FULL-COURSE CAUTION as the No. 55 Corvette goes off-course and into the tire wall in Turn 5.

Lap 27 - 55:29 (1:06 PM) - The No. 01 Lexus goes behind the wall to its garage with a cut alternator wire.

Lap 28 - 59:13 (1:09 PM) - Under caution driver changes: No. 16 Pontiac (Gavin), No. 2 Pontiac (McNish), No. 80 Porsche (Keen), No. 08 Mazda (Finlay), No. 59 Porsche (Christopher), No. 57 Corvette (Trenery), No. 87 (Ken Hill), No. 15 Porsche (McGehee), No. 81 Porsche (McCracken).

Lap 30 - 1:06:32 (1:17 PM) - GREEN FLAG waves to resume the race with the No. 6 Lexus leading the No. 60 Lexus and the No. 10 Pontiac. In the GT class, the No. 72 Porsche still leads.

Lap 33 - 1:10:25 (1:21 PM) - The No. 01 Lexus has come back from its garage and rejoined the field.

Lap 36 - 1:18:33 (1:29 PM) - The No. 23 Porsche, which started on the pole and fell back after making a pit stop after an early caution, has worked its way back up to sixth place overall.

Lap 39 - 1:21:15 (1:32 PM) - The No. 04 BMW pits and MacLeod gets in.

Lap 40 - 1:23.30 (1:34 PM) - The No. 87 Porsche spins off-course Turn 7 and continues.

Lap 41 - 1:25.37 (1:36 PM) - The No. 02 Lexus passes the No. 10 Pontiac for third place in Turn 7.

Lap 41 - 1:26.28 (1:37 PM) - The No. 36 Porsche spins in Turn 1 following contact from behind by the No. 17 Porsche.

Lap 45 - 1:33:24 (1:44 PM) - The No. 46 Porsche pits and Connolly gets in. The No. 70 Mazda has taken the GT class lead.

Lap 48 - 1:37.22 (1:48 PM) - The No. 23 Porsche has charged back to second place, taking the position from the No. 60 Lexus in Turn 1.

Lap 48 - 1:38:24 (1:49 PM) - The No. 59 Porsche is in the garage. The No. 36 Porsche has taken the GT lead. The No. 71 Porsche pits and Mark Wilkins gets in.

Lap 49 - 1:41:30 (1:52 PM) - The No. 21 BMW slides off course at Turn 1 and continues after a brief delay.

Lap 51 - 1:43:42 (1:54 PM) - The No. 60 Lexus pits and Wilson gets in. The No. 75 Pontiac pits.

Best,
Grady

[masraum]

Originally posted by Grady Clay

One driver was described as “A little under-rehearsed in the patients department.” He isn't driving a Porsche and I suspect he will get an early flight home.

Best,
Grady

Yes, but Max whatever is the defending champion, so last year he must have managed for 24 hrs.

[Grady Clay]

Steve, OK. All I heard was the quote and not who they were talking about. I think a TEVO is in the cards.


Rolex 24 At Daytona - Race Notes 3

Lap 52 - 1:45:27 (1:57 PM) - The No. 78 Ford pits and Boesel gets in.

Lap 53 - 1:46:27 (1:58 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE as the No. 6 Pontiac pits, giving the lead back to the No. 23 Porsche. Borkowski takes over for Tracy in the No. 6. The No. 87 spins in NASCAR Turn 4 and has slowed to a stop near the pit entrance. The No. 78 Ford goes behind the wall with right rear suspension problems.

Lap 54 - 1:49:12 (1:59 PM) - PIT STOP DRIVER CHANGES- No. 3 BMW (Szekeres), No. 39 Lexus (Carpentier), No. 70 Mazda (Ham), No. 7 (Duno), No. 10 (Taylor), No. 51 Lexus (Erdos), No. 63 (Drummond), No. 00 Porsche (Wheeler), No. 08 Mazda (Finlay), No. 11 Pontiac (Said).

Lap 56 - 1:50:27 (2:01 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE - The No. 23 Porsche pits, handing the lead to the No. 02 Lexus. Rockenfeller takes over as the driver of the No. 23. The No. 8 Porsche pits and Frisselle gets in. The No. 4 Pontiac pits and Leitzinger gets in. The No. 12 Pontiac pits and Haberfeld gets in. The No. 89 Pontiac pits and Empringham gets in.

Lap 57 - 1:52:00 (2:04 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE - The No. 02 Lexus pits but does not make a driver change, giving the lead to the No. 77 Ford. The No. 01 Lexus pits and Diaz gets in. The No. 87 Porsche goes behind the wall. The No. 82 Porsche pits and Peter gets in. The No. 28 Ford pits and Herta gets in. Shortly after returning to the course, the No. 28 machine loses its right front wheel. The No. 28 works its way slowly back to its pit. The No. 72 Porsche is having problems changing the right front tire.

Lap 61 - 2:01:30 (2:10 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE - The No. 77 Ford pits, giving the lead to the No. 2 Pontiac. Brix takes over as driver of the No. 77.

Lap 62 - 2:03:21 (2:12 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE - The No. 2 Pontiac pits giving the lead to the No. 19 Ford. PIT STOP DRIVER CHANGES - No. 65 Pontiac (O'Connell), No. 68 Porsche (Lowe), No. 2 Pontiac (Wallace), No. 41 Porsche (Will Nonnamaker), No. 16 (Rob Dyson), No. 64 Pontiac (Magnussen), No. 80 Porsche (Stanton), No. 48 (DeFontes), No. 05 BMW (Milner), No. 66 Porsche (Jake Vargo).

Lap 64 - 2:08:17 (2:16 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE - The No. 19 Ford pits, handing the lead back to the No. 23 Porsche. McDowell takes over as driver of the No. 19 Ford. No. 52 BMW pits and McCormick gets in.

Lap 67 - 2:14:08 (2:24 PM) - The No. 67 Porsche pits and Kroczek gets in.

Lap 68 - 2:14:48 (2:25 PM) - The No. 16 Pontiac leaves the track and heads to its garage.

Lap 70 - 2:18:50 (2:29 PM) - The No. 15 Porsche pits and Martin gets in.

Lap 72 - 2:22:32 (2:33 PM) - The No. 75 Pontiac pits and Braun gets in.

Lap 73 - 2:25:11 (2:35 PM) - The No. 43 Porsche is off-course between Turns 4 and 5.

Lap 74 - 2:27:12 (2:37 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: The No. 23 Porsche heads to the garage, giving the lead to the No. 6 Pontiac. The No. 60 Lexus makes an unscheduled pit stop before continuing.

Lap 76 - 2:30:44 (2:41 PM) - The No. 89 Pontiac is currently running in second place overall, after starting 14th.

Lap 78 - 2:32:16 (2:43 PM) - The No. 05 BMW is off-course after contact with the No. 22 Porsche. The No. 05 BMW is behind the garage.

Lap 79 - 2:35:57 (2:46 PM) - The No. 63 Mazda is off-course in Turn 6.


Best,
Grady

[Grady Clay]

Rolex 24 At Daytona - Race Notes 4

Lap 80 - 2:38:04 (2:48 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE--FULL-COURSE CAUTION: The No. 89 Pontiac and No. 6 Lexus head down pit road while track officials tend to the No. 63 Mazda, giving the lead to the No. 19 Ford. The No. 89 Pontiac heads behind the wall to its garage. The No. 28 Ford also heads to its garage.

Lap 81 - 2:44:05 (2:50 PM) - The No. 23 Porsche rejoins the field on track.

Lap 82 - 2:46:47 (2:55 PM) - Under caution driver changes: No. 2 Pontiac (Patrick), No. 16 Pontiac (Rob Dyson), No. 93 Porsche (Gilbert), No. 02 Lexus (Mears), No. 3 BMW (LaJoie), No. 99 Pontiac (Stallings), No. 70 Mazda (Haskell), No. 5 Ford (DeVries), No. 8 Porsche (Huisman), No. 71 Porsche (Martini), No. 07 Pontiac (Marino Franchitti), No. 28 Ford (Rice), No. 83 Porsche (Ehret).

Lap 84 - 2:53:10 (3:03 PM) - GREEN FLAG waves and the No. 19 Ford leads the pack into Turn 1. In GT, the No. 36 Porsche leads the class.

Lap 85 - 2:54:44 (3:05 PM) - The No. 23 Porsche is penalized a "drive through" for speeding in the garage area.

Lap 88 - 3:00:37 (3:11 PM) - The No. 60 Lexus has moved into second, and is less than a second behind the No. 19 Ford for the overall lead.

Lap 89 - 3:00:58 (3:12 PM) - The No. 6 Lexus has pulled off-course in Turn 6 and is stopped.

Lap 90 - 3:04:10 (3:14 PM) - The No. 19 Ford and No. 60 Lexus are in a tight battle for the overall lead, with the No. 19 machine holding the position.

Lap 93 - 3:08:58 (3:19 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: The No. 60 Lexus passes the No. 19 Ford on the backstretch before the entrance of the chicane.

Lap 94 - 3:11:10 (3:21 PM) - The No. 8 Porsche, which started 11th, is currently running third.

Lap 100 - 3:21:17 (3:31 PM) - The No. 89 Pontiac rejoins the field and Figge is driving. The No. 24 pits and Shalit gets in.

Lap 102 - 3:24:39 (3:35 PM) - The No. 93 Porsche spins at the entrance to the chicane, but continues.

Lap 104 - 3:28:38 (3:39 PM) - The No. 05 BMW goes behind the wall. Corner workers report oil coming from the No. 55 Corvette.

Lap 105 - 3:30:02 (3:41 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: The No. 60 Lexus makes a routine pit stop, giving the lead to the No. 8 Porsche.

Lap 107 - 3:35:07 (3:45 PM) - The No. 24 BMW has been penalized a "drive through" for speeding on pit road.

Lap 109 - 3:37:50 (3:48 PM) - The No. 24 BMW has been penalized another "drive through" for speeding on pit road. The No. 52 Ferrari was penalized 10 seconds for having too many crew members over the wall.

Lap 113 - 3:44:34 (3:55 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: The No. 8 Porsche makes a pit stop, giving the lead to the No. 10 Pontiac.

Lap 115 - 3:47:59 (3:58 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: The No. 10 Pontiac pits and Collard gets in, handing the overall lead to the No. 58 Porsche. The No. 4 Pontiac pits and Stewart gets in. The No. 09 Pontiac pits and Labonte gets in.

Lap 115 - 3:49:09 (3:59 PM) - The No. 10 Pontiac is served with a "drive through" penalty for speeding on pit road. The No. 39 Lexus pits and Cheever gets in. The No. 7 pits and McGarrity gets in.


Best,
Grady

[silverc4s]

Grady,
Do you know what happened to our #23 on lap 74? I was out & missed this time period, and now there is no talk of the Alex Job car at all on Speed.

Was this the axle boot problem they spoke of earlier??

Thanks,

[sammyg2]

They said that when they switched to the drop transaxle it lowered the transaxle in the Porsche chassis by 5" it improved the handling a great deal, but it also increased the angles on the CJ joints to the point where they are over-stressed. That makes them get hot and was melting the rubber boot around one of the the CV joints and letting all the grease go away. Evidently they didn't change the chassis or suspension to compensate for the lower tranny. I can see how it would be OK on a recular race but on the high speed banks the suspension is bottomed out under very high speed and full throttle loads, I bet that is the part of the track that took out the CV joint.
They replaced an entire axle assembly in the pits which dropped then from 1st or 2nd all the way back to around 23rd, which is around 9 laps back IIRC.

[sammyg2]

The brumos red bull Porsche fabcar is now is 1st .... cool

The playboy DP is still playing pinball, this time it bounced off of something that ripped up the front end. That car has been out of control all day.

[Grady Clay]

Rolex 24 At Daytona - Race Notes 5

Lap 117 - 3:52:37 (4:03 PM) - The No. 12 Pontiac slides off course after contact with the No. 23 Porsche. The No. 12 is missing its nose, and both cars are slow on course. The No. 58 Porsche pits and Law gets in. The No. 12 Pontiac heads to the garage and the No. 23 Porsche heads down pit road.

Lap 118 - 3:54:44 (4:05 PM) - The No. 8 Porsche makes an unscheduled stop.

Lap 118 - 3:55:38 (4:06 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: After the cycle of pit stops by the leading pack, the No. 19 Ford is back in front. The No. 64 Pontiac pits and Pilgrim gets in. The No. 11 BMW pits and Petty gets its. The No. 69 Porsche pits and Josh Vargo gets in.

Lap 120 - 3:58:00 (4:08 PM) - The No. 99 Pontiac has pulled off course in Turn 5 after contact with the No. 77 Ford. The No. 77 machine has lost its driver side door and has left-rear body damage. The No. 99 Pontiac has heavy damage to its front. Both machines head behind the wall to their respective garages.

Lap 123 - 4:04:17 (4:14 PM) - The No. 4 Pontiac makes an unscheduled stop.

Lap 125 - 4:08:07 (4:18 PM) - FULL-COURSE CAUTION as the No. 10 Pontiac and No. 24 BMW make contact in Turn 4. OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: With the caution out

Lap 126 - 4:12:16 (4:22 PM) - Under caution driver changes: No. 55 Corvette (Miller), No. 89 Pontiac (Fogarty), No. 40 Pontiac (Ruhlman), No. 01 Lexus (Papis), No. 05 (Alhadeff).

Lap 127 - 4:14:39 (4:25 PM) - More than four hours in to the race, the top four cars overall are powered by four different engine manufacturers (No. 60 Lexus, No. 58 Porsche, No. 19 Ford, No. 2 Pontiac).

Lap 132 - 4:30:46 (4:41 PM) - GREEN FLAG waves to resume the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The No. 60 Lexus continues to lead overall, with the No. 36 Porsche leading the GT class.

Lap 136 - 4:38:29 (4:49 PM) - The No. 60 Lexus has opened a 6.808-second lead over the No. 58 Porsche. The No. 19 Ford is currently running third.

Lap 137 - 4:39:57 (4:50 PM) - The No. 7 Pontiac pits and McGarrity gets in. The No. 74 Porsche pits and Lux gets in.

Lap 140 - 4:45:38 (4:56 PM) - The No. 65 Pontiac is now the GT class leader. The No. 12 Pontiac returns to the track with Sharp driving.
Driver Quote: Forest Barber (No. 77 Ford)
"I think the Target car touched me, which caused me to spin. Then the 99 had no where to go. Our car drives straight and it's fine except for the bodywork. They'll get it repaired quickly."

Lap 142 - 4:50:08 (5:00 PM) - The No. 99 Pontiac rejoins the field on the track, with Moran Jr. piloting the machine.

Lap 143 - 4:51:26 (5:01 PM) - The No. 36 Porsche slides off-course in Turn 6, but continues.

Lap 145 - 4:54:46 (5:05 PM) - The No. 77 Ford drives down pit road and re-joins the field after crew members repaired the damage from the earlier incident.
Medical Update: Jacob Shalit was examined and released from the infield care center at Daytona International Speedway following his incident in the No. 24 BMW with the No. 10 Pontiac. The No. 8 Porsche pits and Brian Frisselle gets in.

Lap 149 - 5:02:53 (5:13 PM) - Race control reports smoke and fluid leaking from the No. 83 Porsche.


Best,
Grady

[Grady Clay]

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 28, 2006) -- With 180 laps and six hours in the books at the 44th Rolex 24 At Daytona, Darren Law holds the overall lead in the No. 58 Red Bull Porsche Fabcar for Brumos Racing. Law--who is sharing the No. 58 machine with Darren Law and Sascha Maassen--leads by nearly 50 seconds over Eddie Cheever in the No. 39 Crown Royal Special Reserve Lexus Crawford.

Cheever, the No. 39 machine's owner is co-driving the Lexus Crawford with Christian Fittipaldi and Patrick Carpentier. Running third is A.J. Allmendinger in the No. 60 Flight Options Lexus Riley for Michael Shank Racing. Allmendinger's co-drivers are Justin Wilson, Oswaldo Negri Jr. and Mark Patterson.

In fourth place is Dan Wheldon in the No. 02 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley, which he is sharing with Scott Dixon and Casey Mears. Kevin McGarrity rounds out the top five in the No. 7 CITGO Racing by SAMAX Pontiac Riley. McGarrity's co-drivers are Dario Franchitti, Milka Duno and Marino Franchitti. The top five drivers are on the lead lap.

In the GT class, Paul Edwards leads in the No. 64 TRG Pontiac GTO.R that he is co-driving with Kelly Collins, Jan Magnussen and Andy Pilgrim. David Haskell is second in the No. 70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 he is sharing with Sylvain Tremblay, Jeff Altenburg and Nick Ham, followed by the RJ Valentine in the No. 65 TRG Pontiac GTO.R. Valentine's co-drivers are Andy Lally, Marc Bunting and Johnny O'Connell.

Running fourth in GT is Dirk Werner in the No. 82 Farnbacher Loles Porsche GT3 that he is co-driving with Philipp Peter, Dieter Quester and Luca Riccitelli, with Michael Levitas running fifth in the No. 36 TPC Racing Porsche GT3. Levitas shares the No. 36 machine with Randy Pobst, Ian Baas and Spencer Pumpelly.

The race has already had 20 lead changes and 11 different leaders with 18 hours remaining. The defending race champion No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac Riley--being driven at the time by Emmanuel Collard--has officially retired as a result of hard contact with Jacob Shalit in the No. 24 Matt Connolly Motorsports BMW M3.


Best,
Grady

[Oh Haha]

I just checked SPEED channel.
Lawnmower racing!!!!! WTF?

[rfuerst911sc]

Speed channel picks up the 24 at 8:00 eastern time and goes till 11:00, then tomorrow at 8:00 AM till the finish.

[Grady Clay]

Rolex 24 At Daytona - Race Notes 6

Driver Quote: Rocky Moran Jr. (No. 99 Pontiac)
"I was coming into the chicane following a Ganassi car coming up to the No. 77 car, and all of a sudden the No. 77 car just went off track and spun right in front of me - I had nowhere to go. The front end's pretty much wiped out, nose, radiator, splitter, everything. I really feel bad for the whole team, we were having such a strong run, clicking off a good pace and just turning laps. We'll get the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Pontiac Riley back on track and see what we can do - there's still 19 hours to go."

Lap 152 - 5:06:53 (5:17 PM) - The No. 05 BMW spins off-course in Turn 1 but continues after a brief delay.

Lap 152 - 5:08:26 (5:18 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: The No. 60 Lexus pits and Patterson gets in, giving the overall lead to the No. 58 Porsche. The No. 89 Pontiac pits and Dalziel gets in.

Lap 154 - 5:12:43 (5:23 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: The No. 58 Porsche pits to give the No. 19 Ford the overall lead. In GT, the No. 65 Pontiac still holds the class lead. The No. 23 Porsche pits and Luhr gets in. The No. 36 Porsche pits and Levitas gets in. The No. 84 Pontiac pits and Brassfield gets in.

Lap 156 - 5:15:45 (5:27 PM) - The No. 89 Pontiac and No. 99 Pontiac are traveling slow on-course. Both cars head behind the wall to their garages. The No. 41 Porsche pits and Gonzalez gets in.

NOTE: The No. 10 Pontiac has retired from the race officially at 4:55 PM after examining the damage caused in their incident with the No. 24 BMW earlier in the race.
Quote: Bill Riley, (No. 10 Pontiac)
"The damage was extensive, but we could have fixed it. It would have taken about six hours. Our concern was that there could be stressed parts or something hidden that we might not have found initially that could cause additional problems down the road. We just didn't feel that it was safe to try to repair. We're all just glad that Emmanuel is all right."

Lap 161 - 5:25:30 (5:36 PM) - The race-leading No. 19 Ford makes a routine pit stop and continues to lead the race.

Lap 163 - 5:29:46 (5:40 PM) - The No. 02 Lexus makes a routine stop and Wheldon gets in. A "drive through" penalty has been assessed to the No. 16 Pontiac after the driver missed the chicane. The GT-leading No. 65 Pontiac pits and Valentine gets in. The No. 64 Pontiac pits and Edwards gets in.

Lap 166 - 5:34:37 (5:45 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: The No. 58 Porsche passes the No. 19 Ford just before the entrance to the chicane.

Lap 167 - 5:36:28 (5:47 PM) - The No. 19 Ford spins and makes contact with a GT machine, causing heavy damage to the front of the car. The No. 19 machine heads down pit road. The No. 65 Pontiac spins on-course but continues.

Lap 171 - 5:44:40 (5:55 PM) - The No. 16 Pontiac pits and Chris Dyson pits.

Lap 174 - 5:49:52 (6:00 PM) - The No. 2 Pontiac passes the No. 60 Lexus for third place overall. The No. 58 Porsche has opened a 46.266-second lead on the rest of the field, but does not have working brake lights.

Lap 176 - 5:53:20 (6:03 PM) - The No. 2 Pontiac passes the No. 39 Lexus for second place overall.

Lap 177 - 5:55:08 (6:05 PM) - The No. 48 Corvette spins on course momentarily but continues.

Lap 179 - 5:58:26 (6:08 PM) - The No. 2 Pontiac makes a routine pit stop, falling back to sixth from second.

Lap 182 - 6:04:14 (6:14 PM) - The No. 58 Porsche leads the overall field by over 50 seconds.

Lap 183 - 6:05:10 (6:15 PM) - The No. 02 Lexus spins in Turn 5 but continues.


Best,
Grady

[Grady Clay]

Rolex 24 At Daytona - Race Notes 7

Lap 183 - 6:07:07 (6:17 PM) - The No. 60 Lexus makes a stop and Negri gets in. The No. 23 Porsche pits and Rockenfeller gets in.

Lap 187 - 6:12:50 (6:23 PM) - Race control reports oil leaking from the No. 55 Corvette. The No. 57 Corvette pits and Rice gets in. The No. 83 Porsche pits and Fitzgerald gets in.

Lap 188 - 6:15:36 (6:26 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: The overall race-leading No. 58 Porsche pits and Maassen gets in, giving the lead to the No. 39 Lexus.

Lap 190 - 6:20:00 (6:30 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: The No. 39 Lexus makes its way down pit road and Fittipaldi gets in, giving the lead back to the No. 58 Porsche. The No. 4 Pontiac pits and Wallace gets in. The No. 41 Porsche pits and Wayne Nonnamaker gets in.

Lap 192 - 6:24:11 (6:34 PM) - DRIVER CHANGES - No. 05 BMW (Marks), No. 06 Corvette (Oasis), No. 55 Corvette (Montgomery), No. 28 Ford (Valiante).

Lap 194 - 6:27:52 (6:38 PM) - The No. 11 BMW and No. 75 Pontiac make contact in Turn 5. Both machines continue after brief delays.

Lap 196 - 6:30:35 (6:41 PM) - The No. 02, which was running second, makes a pit stop, giving the position to the No. 2 Pontiac. The No. 58 Porsche continues to lead. In the GT class, the No. 64 Pontiac leads the No. 70 Mazda.
Driver Quote: Brian Frisselle (No. 8 Rx.com Porsche)
"The car felt really good. The handling is absolutely great. The Porsche power is good. But you know we're just a few laps down. We need to get some of our laps back. But if we do, we'll have a car to fight for the win."

Lap 201 - 6:41:48 (6:52 PM) - The No. 2 Pontiac, which was running second, makes a routine pit stop to give the position to the No. 39 Lexus.

Lap 206 - 6:49:27 (6:59 PM) - The No. 01 Lexus, which fell to 53rd overall during the first hour, it has made its way back to eighth.

Lap 213 - 7:01:35 (7:12 PM) - The No. 8 Porsche comes onto pit road with heavy smoke coming from it. The third-place machine No. 60 Lexus makes its way down pit road.

Lap 214 - 7:04:14 (7:14 PM) - The No. 6 Pontiac is dragging parts from underneath its body. Corner workers report smoke coming from the No. 36 Porsche. The No. 48 Corvette pits and Seiler gets in.

Lap 215 - 7:08:04 (7:18 PM) - The No. 12 Pontiac heads behind the pit wall to its garage. The No. 77 Ford pits and Borcheller gets in. The No. 75 Pontiac pits and Bergmeister gets in.

Lap 217 - 7:12:22 (7:22 PM) - OVERALL LEAD CHANGE: The No. 58 Porsche makes a regular pit stop, and gives the lead to the No. 39 Lexus.

Lap 219 - 7:13:28 (7:23 PM) - There is heavy smoke coming from the rear of the No. 67 Pontiac.

Lap 220 - 7:14:42 (7:25 PM) - The No. 7 Pontiac passes the No. 58 Porsche for second place overall.

Lap 221 - 7:16:43 (7:27 PM) - The No. 01 Lexus makes a pit stop and Pruett gets in. Track officials report smoke coming from the machine. The No. 7 Pontiac pits and Duno gets in.

Lap 221 - 7:17:23 (7:28 PM) - There are currently six cars on the lead lap: (No. 39 Lexus, No. 58 Porsche, No. 02 Lexus, No. 2 Pontiac, No. 60 Lexus, No. 7 Pontiac).


Best,
Grady

[Jeff Alton]

Grady, your coverage is better than Speeds! This is great!
Oh darn, one of the TRG Pontiacs just went into the grass, and appears to be stuck there, looks like the rear brakes are locked
Cheers

[Grady Clay]

Perhaps we should all write Speed after the event and express our desire to have green-to-checkered coverage. You would think they would respond to lots of response.

The cost to them is to have an entire second crew – very expensive.

Best,
Grady

[Jeff Alton]

I am in, tractor racinga and "two dumb $hits Garage" are poor replacements for full coverage!!

Oooops looks like the GT leading GTO is out, too bad

[ErVikingo]

Your coverage is great Grady THANKS A BUNCH !!!!!!!!!!!