Rolex 24: Hour 6

Less than a minute to go to award bonus points for the North American Endurance Cup.  A.J. Allmendinger drops fast lap to 1:39.9 as Andrew Novich drops wheels in the #52 Prototype Challenge machine.  Joey Hand uses the Aston Martin as a pick to pass.  Don't hit anything, and don't hit anyone.  Especially, not your team mate.  Here are the NAEC points.  There will be more points at 12 and 24 hours.

Prototype: #01 Chip Ganassi Racing - Joey Hand
Prototype Challenge: #54 CORE Autosport - Mark Wilkins
GT LM: #3 Corvette Racing - Jan Magnussen
GT Daytona: #93 Viperexchange.com Racing - Kuno Wittmer

Tor Graves has spun the #7 Starworks Riley BMW.  Tor Graves has won three times in the FIA World Endurance Championship.  But, he has not run in one of these cars, sharing with Ryan Hunter-Reay, Rubens Barrichello, and Brendon Hartley.  Tor Graves cannot get the Starworks prototype restarted.  Graves is from Thailand.  There was a Prince, from Thailand... Prince Bira, who ran in Formula One for a while.  The car restarts.  More pit action.

Tons of action for Prototypes in the pits.  Tony Kanaan came in at an odd angle.  But, service was done.  Both Ganassi cars had quick stops and so did Action Express Racing, with Sebastien Bourdais at the wheel.  Pits are open for the GT classes as we wait for another green flag with seventeen and a half hours to go.  The #22 WeatherTech Porsche is in.  Alex Job was awarded the Bob Snodgrass award.  Bob Snodgrass, was the late, great founder, of Brumos Porsche.

17-year-old Matt McMurry takes over for A.J. Allmendinger.  Allmendinger has run ten Rolex 24's and he's won this race before.  Allmendinger is asking questions about the right things to do to save fuel.  Lug it and trundle around on the starter motor.  Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, and A.J. Foyt, could all race a bunch of different cars.  That versatility in motorsports, is rare.  A Mazda has now led in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

There's still a long way to go.  Mazda wants to go to Le Mans.  They are working on going to Europe with the FIA and the ACO's blessing.  Not yet.  Mazda is the only Japanese company to win Le Mans of course.  The #02 Ganassi car is in the garage, getting the front splitter fixed.  It's more efficient to work in the garage, because you gewt to have more people in the garage than in the pits.  The nose boxes are now attached to the frames of the cars, and are not separate units like they used to be.

Corvette Racing wants to win in class at Daytona.  They know they cannot win overall like they did way back in 2001.  But, they are taking steps to win the championship.  Finish races, and make the podium in every race.  Car #02 is back on track.  Tony Kanaan is out of the pits.  But... still undder yellow.  You've picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel.  This tire is warming itself as it rolls down the lane.  Francois Perrodo has lost his tire.  His Ferrari 458 Italia, is now, a tricycle.

Finger trouble, and maybe one of his crew guys did not get it properly tightened down.  Whoops.  Another spin for a prototype.  This is the #51 Ferrari of AF Corse.  Now, the #02 Ganassi car is going to come back to pit lane to examine things.  They did a splash and dash on fuel, and they are still eyeballing the nose.  They've gone a lap down.  But, one lap, is nothing in an endurance sports car race like the Rolex 24.

In replay, we see that Kanaan thudded a curb in the Bus Stop, running over the dirt, under yellow.  He ran wide through the chicane, launching it over the curbs.  The #51 Ferrari has a new wheel, with no dasmage.  Sadly, the #57 Krohn Racing Ligier Judd, is out.  They motor done blew up.  Game over for the green car.  Back to green, we have calamity corner, and a crash, bang, wallop.  Gently, boys.  Chain reaction, on cold tires.

Sebastien Bourdais wants by Joey Hand.  Don't slide on the oil dry, trying to be a hero, because, you will crash into the fence.  Guaranteed.  The GT class cars are working their way through the tri-oval.  In the old days, with no lights, it was truly dark.  The lights are only lit 30%.  Full lighting, like the Nascar boys use, would be blinding.  If you are an armchair enthusiast, like me, go to an endurance sports car race.

There's lots more access to sports car drivers.  They are used to it.  Brandon Davis is at the wheel of the #007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage.  What a gorgeous noise from the V12 motor!  There is also the thunderous V8 Aston Martin.  Pedro Lamy is in his civies (street clothes).  But, he'll drive again soon.  He is doing a full season in the FIA World Endurance Championship.  Pedro Lamy is a former Formula One driver, who has done awesome things in sports cars, too.  He's been doing it for 25 years.

Pedro Lamy ran for the Lotus F1 team, and his team mate was a young, future F1 champ... Mika Hakkinen.  Olivier Berretta, is also an ex-F1 driver, who is now running for Ferrari.  He was running for Corvette Racing.  They let him go, and so, every time he sees the yellow cars, he probably is like, "OK, I'm not goiung to take this, sitting down.  Eat my dust!"  The #70 Mazda SkyActive diesel racer, has been retired, due to oil pump failure.  That's only the third retirement in this race.  Wow.  But, there's sure to be lots more.

Ben Keating leads GT Daytona in the #33 SRT Viper, with Townsend Bell in the #63 Scuderia Corse Ferrari, in second.  He won this race with Level 5 Motorsports, last year, with another Ferrari 458.  Scotland's Rory Butcher is running well in the Tully's Coffee Porsche... known as The Coffee Rocket, along with Mike Skeen, Kuba Giermaziak, and car owner, Michael Avenatti.