Rolex 24: Hour 7

The Cadillac is a very consistent car in weather conditions while the Acura's and the Mazda's are a little more sensitive.  Pipo Derani is running as best he can right now.  Cody Ware is very excited about IndyCar opportunities for 2021.  Meanwhile, the #38 Perfromance Tech Motorsports LMP3 cars spins off in the Bus Stop chicane.  They grab an extra gear in a downshift and lock the rear tires making the cars spin.  You are heavily loaded into the Bus Stop chicane and anything that locks the tires will send the car on the whirligig with Ayrton Ori at the wheel of it.  Ori ran the ARCA stock car race on the Roval course here at Daytona last summer.  

BMW #25 is in the pit lane for service.  Philipp Eng, Timo Glock, Bruno Spengler, and Connor De Philippi in that car and the sister #24 is also in the lane.  John Edwards sharing with Jesse Krohn, Augusto Farfus, and Marco Wittman at the wheel.  Now, the #1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini has also been in the pit lane as well.  Now in the lane as well is the #48 Action Express Cadillac.  So is the #63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3.  Now then, Kobayashi was balked by Fabian Schiller, a GT champion, but someone who is a young bloke who has not done as many endure races.  Schiller of course is in one of the DragonSpeed car.  The #01 Cadillac has made another pit stop. 

The Ganassi team fueled the car and changed two tires.  A.J. Allmendinger is about to get into the #60 MSR Acura DPi.  He does.  He is back on track after the car was fueled and had the tires changed.  Daytona's 24 hour race was first held in 1966.  Ken Miles won.  It was an instant classic.  Racing legend Sam Posey was dead last in that version.  The banking with it's steep slope and the wall on the cold Florida sand, faster cars slicing by as you are aching from gripping the steering wheel.  Pasisng is easy if you have a fast car, as you take risks and put up with hassles.  Many drivers have favorite spots onj the track.  The banking is a natural stage for the cars.

The days of Ferrari's and Porsche's in plain paint, are over.  Beautifully sculpted modern cars are amazing.  You sense the banking at night as the lights shine like jewels.  To be on the banking, is amazing as well and the flat of the road course is even more of a challenge.  This is merely paraphrasing the great Sam Posey, who was a great driver and is an even more gifted man in the words penned on paper.  Scott Dixon, meanwhile, leads the motor race overall, the six-time IndyCar champion. Juan Pablo Montoya says there is a slight throttle issue in the #60 Acura.  Montoya is familiar with the car. Maybe there is a box for the electronics on the passenger side of the car, with a bungy cord on it.  He figured out exactly what was going on.  

Corvette leads BMW in GTLM right now.  So, we also are under Full Curse Yellow because the #19 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 is stopped on course.  That's the Goikhberg/Perera/Costa/Zimmerman entry.  Fuel only for Kamui Kobayashi in the pit lane for scheduled service and also, right side tires and fuel for Scott Dixon in the Ganassi #01 Cadillac.  Just a splash and a dash.  The #54 CORE Autosport LMP3 has pitted and the same with a splash and a dash for the #60 MSR Acura.  We have also caught a glimpse of the #18 Era Motorsports LMP2 car, called "The Crayon Car".  You saw the story about that car, and the 6 year old fellow, Owen, from Canada, who designed the paint scheme on the car, with crayons during a home school project during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The #54 car is doing their eight minute technical stop for a brake change.  Colin Braun sharing the car with George Kurtz, Jon Bennett, and Matt McMurry.  The #54 car as already having brake issues.  The heavy braking zones at Daytona do a lot of wear and tear to the brakes, even though the speedway is so incredibly fast.  The stop starts when they cross the lines at pit in and pit out.  We are back to green and Loic Dvual moves by Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves outbrakes himself into the corner!  Yikes!  Loic Duval just flew like a shot from a cannon!  That was unbelievable!

Scott Dixon now runs third in the #01 Cadillac.  Kamui Kobayashi creates speed in a DPi car.  But he is hitting the curbs.  Loic Duval meanwhile will be penalized for passing underneath the low line on the green flag.  Kobayashi gets passed by Dixon and then, he gave Dixon the same treatment.  If you brake hard on the yellow paint you have much less grip.  The battle rages on between Kobayashi and Dixon.

Rolex 24: Hour 6

Jonathan Bomarito brought the #55 Mazda into the lane.  They've had radio, transmission, and telemetry issues thtoughout the race.  Cadillac #48 is in the lane as well.  Mike Rockenfeller is going to stay in the car.  Kamui Kobayashi was ready to get in but Rockenfeller will do a double stint.  Scott Dixon has cycled to the race lead.  Andrea Caldarelli leads GT Daytona as Scott Dixon is into the lane for service.  Andrea Caldarelli, Klaus Bachler, and Matteo Cressoni are in the top three in GT Daytona.  The pit exit is diabolical here at Daytona.  Meyer Shank Racing pits the #60 Acura ARX 05.  Juan Pablo Montoya is driving the car and A.J. Allmenddinger will take over soon.  Also, the #10 Acura is in the lane, with Helio Castroneves at the controls.  

The Acura's seem to have a fuel advantage over the Cadillac's which is something that was not expected so far.  Cadillac's seemed to have an advantage on fuel in past years, historically.  Something is wrong with the #10 Acura and an obstinate, recalcitrant rear tire.  The keepers on the wheel nut to try and keep the wheel on but they are stubborn when the tire changer applies the rattle gun.  The wheel comes off fine, but trying to put thr enew one onn, the wheel won't seat and the lug nut will not find its place on the stub axle.  

Zach Veach in the #12 Lexus RC F GT3 goes behind the wall.  It is being driven back to the garage.  No engine or drivetrain issues.  Something else is going on.  Matteo Cressoni has gone by Klaus Bachler in GT Daytona as Oliver Gavin is pressurizing Luca Stolz.  Gavin is chasing Stolz in the #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes AMG GT3.  Stolz, the German, is sharing with Mikael Grenier from Canada, Kenny Habul from Australia, the car owner, and also, Switzerland's Raffaele Marciello, a Swiss Italian.  Nick Tandy says he is still learning about how to drive the Corvette C8.R.  He and Alexander Sims of course are the new boys on the team.  But Tandy has just led his whole stint.  Alexander Sims is now at the controls.

We have a slow Lamborghini, the #19 GRT Grasser Lamborghini Huracan GT3.  Albert Costa, the Spaniard at the wheel, is out of gas.  Costa is sharing with Misha Goikhberg, the Canadian, Franck Perera of France and Tim Zimmermann of Germany.  The #1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini is going for a driver change and fuel as well.  Madison Snow sharing with Bryan Sellers, Corey Lewis, and Andrea Caldarelli.  Now, the #12 Lexus is in the garage taking repairs due to overheating.  The battle is on indeed between the prototypes and the GT cars.  Matteo Cressoni leads GT Daytona right now over Klaus Bachler and Charlie Eastwood.  Jules Gounon is third in GTLM in the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari right now.

Gounon sharing with Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Davide Rigon.  There are minimum full fuel filling times in Pro classes being 34 seconds 40 seconds for LMP2, LMP3, and GTD.  G, S, P, B, are the driver ratings.  All the drivers are rated based on experience, age, and so forth.  Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.  The #4 Corvette C8.R is off the road and back on, and now, Tristan Nunez is running well in the LMP2 class.  This is the Thomas/Nunez/Bell/Merrill automobile.  Maybe the race is now beginning to settle down just a shade.  These first five and a half hours have been very wild.  

Alexander Sims did go off the road, and I think he did so again.  He was being monstered by the #25 BMW M8 GTE.  Not sure who is driving the BMW right now and the #4 car did come to pit lane.  No harm, no foul.  Put these tiny little incidents out of your mind and keep going.  There's a long, long way to go.  GTLM does not have antilock brakes, and the GT Daytona cars do.  The GTD cars are universal GT3 cars around the world, based more so on a production car than the GT Le Mans cars.  The manufacturers can take more liberties to take the production car and turn it into a race car.  The GTLM car is much more expensive to build, run, and operate.  In 2022, GT Daytona will be the main class for GTD Pro with professional drivers, and then, a Pro and Pro Am driver in GT3.  Will Balance of Performance be used for pro teams?  

Will the performance be the same throughout?  We shall find out.  This is the last season of the GTLM cars that have existed since 2014.  GTLM cars are amazing automobiles.  They really are.  The #21 AF Corse Ferrari pitted.  Matteo Cressoni out, and Simon Mann in.  Mann, the British driver, is eighth in class.  Klaus Bachler in the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R is leading in GT Daytona currently.  Mazda #55 in the pit lane.  Jonathan Bomarito hands over the car to Oliver Jarvis.  We have not seen the speed out of the Mazda in this motor race somehow.  They are struggling with the car compared to the Cadillac's.  

Oliver Gavin makes a pit stop in the #14 Lexus.  The front end grille was cleaned.  Now, Scott Dixon is also in the pit lane.  They have sticker Michelin tires it seems, going onto the car.  "The Ice Man" will have to be as cool as a cucumber.  The pit exit here at Daytona is so incredibly narrow.  A right rear puncture for Oliver Gavin.  That is why he made a pit stop.  There was a penalty for late pit in entry, although it seems they've called the penalty and taken care of it.  The #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura just pitted and Juan Montoya is doing a triple stint.  A big step up for MSR from GTD and they've been in prototype competition.  They won the 50th anniversary race in 2012.  

Scott Dixon meanwhile is cutting through traffic like the proverbial hot knife through butter.  Now then, the drive through penalty for Oliver Gavin, and it won't cost too much time.  Acura have also announced an LMDh car for 2023.  Audi, Porsche, and Acura are the three brands that have so far committed to LMDh.  This motor race has been green for three hours straight as it is now 9:30 P.M. Eastern Time, 8:30 P.M. Central Time.  Green since just after sunset.  It will be a long night and also a long segment of daylight on Sunday.  

So many great drivers from NASCAR, IndyCar, and Formula 1, entered in this race.  It is amazing.  There is not time really to highlight all of them.  However, it is really interesting.  A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti used to do it all the time.  But, drivers become legends, they can jump in any kind of a car and go ahead and race it.  It made no difference whether it's an open wheel car, a stock car, a sports car, or whatever.  A.J. Foyt is now 86 years young.  A man who has won the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, 24 Hours of Daytona, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the 12 Hours of Sebring.  

Sebastien Bourdais continues to lead this race.  The all French lineup has run together in the #5 car particularly, has run for the last three years or so, together, in this race.  Bourdais gets balked by an LMP2 or LMP3 car.  Could not tell which one it was.  Let's see.  That's the #7 car.  He faked that he was letting him go and then he tried to get out of the way but caused a problem.  Trenton Estepp in the #7 Forty7 Motorsports Duqueine Nissan.  Trenton Estepp sharing with Mark Kvamme, Ryan Norman, and Gabby Chaves.  

The weather is great this year and there are a few fans at Daytona, but not the amount we would like to see because of the pandemic.  These cars today are very solid and very strong and the drivers are the best in the business.  You want to lead as many laps as possible and you want to be smart at the same time.  The dynamics are fascinating to watch.  The performance of the Cadillac's have been amazing. Be careful of the curbing in the Bus Stop.  The curbs in the Bus Stop will bite you if you try to shortcut them.   

Rolex 24: Hour 5

20 years ago, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his dad, Dale Earnhardt, shared a Chevrolet Corvette C-5-R with Kelly Collins and Andy Pilgrim.  Some great memories of an incredible motor race that year.  Mike Conway in the #31 Whelen Cadillac.  Chase Elliott says he is not running up to the level he wants for some reason.  Yours truly was eating dinner.  In the time that was happening, we saw Robert Megennis go off the road in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 he is sharing with Zach Veach, Townsend Bell, and Frankie Montecalvo.  #31 was in the pit lane for repairs with the air intake getting stuffed up and the splitter being damaged on the front of the automobile.  We saw pit stops as well for others.  The race has not failed to deliver.  We see that Connor De Philippi ran off the road and is now back in the saddle.  

Indy Dontje continuedinues to lead the motor race in GT Daytona while Nick Tandy has the GTLM lead.  Tristan Vautier has handed off the #5 Mustang Sampling JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac to four-time IndyCar Champion Sebastien Bourdais.  Cadillac and Dallara have assisted JDC-Miller with more work on the car.  We have not seen a real performance advantage on the Cadillac's, with a long way to go.  In the lane, now, the #48 Ally Bank Action Express Cadillac with Mike Rockenfeller at the controls.  New, scrubbed tires are onto the car, and this set of tires has been scrubbed to get the release agent off of it.  Double and triple stinting scrubbed tires is going to be key for the overnight hours.  They will do as many double stints on tires as possible tonight before we see single stints tomorrow morning towards the checkered flag.

Cadillac #01 for Chip Ganassi Racing is in the pit lane for service as well.  Kevin Magnussen was in the lead of the motor race, for a wee while.  Also, as we hear from J.R. Hildebrand in the #42 GT Daytona Audi R8 for NTE Sport, just had his car in the pit lane.  Not sure which of the other three drivers are in the car right now, whether its Alan Metni, Andrew Davis, or Don Yount.  Now, we have also seen pit stop time for the #10 Acura ARX-05.  Not sure who is in that car.  Actually, yes, we do know.  Ricky Taylor is at the wheel of it right now in the lead of the motor race.

We've not spoken of the LMP3 cars lately.  Spencer Pigot leads George Kurtz, Yann Clairay, and Laurents Hoerr right now.  Corvette in the pit lane with the #4 car.  Nick Tandy in the lane and he's back on track.  Don Yount is in the #42 car.  J.R. Hildebrand is not only a racing driver but is an adjunct professor at Stanford University in Automotive Technology.  Helio Castroneves is now in the #10 Acura and he had a tire problem in the pit lane.  Going into the night, there's repetition of the stints.  To finish first you must first finish.  It's a dang cliché.  But it's absolutely true.

You have to survive during the night for the daylight to come back.  Only twice in the past 17 years has the polesitter won the Rolex 24.  Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, Bill Elliott, and Ricky Rudd, drove a Ford Mustang in GTO at the Rolex 24 in 1986 for Jack Roush.  Pace, pace, pace.  Matteo Cressoni and Roman De Angelis have been scrapping quite a bit in GT Daytona.  Sebastien Bourdais leads the motor race.  DPi cars are high downforce and they are very similar to open wheel cars even though they are heavy.

The front brakes do more work than the rear brakes on a prototype, a Daytona Prototype International.  Sebastien Bourdais continues to lead by 7/10ths of a second over Scott Dixon in the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac.  The lead battle is between Bourdais and Dixon.  Bourdais is not giving into the pressure.  Ed Jones in the #63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari has to move aside.  Jones sharing with Bret Curtis, Ryan Briscoe, and Marcos Gomes.  The #5 car had corner exit speed while the #31 had corner entry speed.  Very good on the brakes.  The same is true for the #01 Cadillac.  It is how you come off the brake pedal and how stiff the front end of the car is.  

In GT Daytona, as the prototype cars sweep by, Russell Ward leads over Charlie Eastwood, Klaus Bachler, and Andrea Caldarelli.  Winward Mercedes vs. TF Sport Aston Martin, Wright Motorsports Porsche and also the Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini.  There was a LMP3 car moving in as well but Eastwood slams the door in his face and takes the GTD lead.  The GTD and LMP3 cars are within a couple miles an hour.  177 for GTD and 180 for LMP3.  GT Daytona cars have antilock brakes.  Four Full Course Yellows in the opening two hours and we've been clean and green for the most part since.  

Sebastien Bourdais and Scott Dixon are rekindling their old IndyCar battles.  Daytona International Speedway is a very special place.  Formula 1 is a very cutthroat evnrionment and so is sports car racing to an extent.  But maybe not as much.  Meanwhile, Bachler and Eastwood are pressing each other.  Russell Ward is now running his second stint in this car.  Philip Ellis and Maro Engel are also in this car.  Winward has won other national Pro Am 24 hour races.  The GTD drivers are really having to keep on the lookout.  It is so hard, with the closing rates between the prototypes and the GT Daytona cars.

It is so mentally taxing for these drivers to do what they do.  We are soon to come to the end of another racing hour.  A small number of fans have been allowed to see this race at the speedway.  Will Turner and his team cooked a chicken in a two and a half hour race and ate it afterwards.  In theory you could cook a meal in a race car, but I don't know if you'd like to do something that wild.  Meantime, speaking of cooking, Scott Dixon is right on Sebastien Bourdais's gearbox.  To the outside, look, Scott Dixon is moving in for the lead.  Who is braver on the brakes?  Dixon tries the over/under and he can't do it.  Dixon has to give it up.

The cars are at a level where you can drive hard and brake at 100%.  Stay off the curbs in the Bus Stop, but push it hard, otherwise.  We see two of the best blokes who do road racing in the business.  They play the game at a very high level, as the #5 is in the lane.  Sebastien Bourdais will do a double stint.  They are in and out, done and dusted.  Take care of the equipment.  That's what you want to do.  If you are double stinting tires, don't smoke them.  Cold tires you do need to get the mold release off.  But wheelspin is hard on the motor and the transmission, the drivetrain of the car.

When do the tires come in or stay in?  They need to built temperature and pressure.  

Rolex 24: Hour 4

Felipe Nasr says the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac is good enough to come up through the field.  The sister #81 DragonSpeed Oreca is out.  Rob Hodes, Rinus Veekay, Garrett Grist, and Ben Hanley, are the first retirement from this motor race after the team won the LMP2 class at the Rolex 24 in 2020.  But their #82 sister car is still running with Eric Lux, Devlin DeFrancesco, Fabian Schiller, and Christopher Mies.  In GTLM, Nick Tandy leads Jordan Taylor and Jesse Krohn.  Indy Dontje, the Dutchman, is driving the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3, moving the team up from Michelin Pilot Challenge and GT4 racing.  Dontje is monstering Darren Turner in the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage.  Dontje goes to the inside and it appears he is really moving and the two of the se cars are scrapping in a huge way right now.

This is what the Rolex 24 is all about.  Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, and more.  Chase Elliott in his maiden stint for AXR, he is seventh overall, but finding his feet.  Get into your rhythm.  He has not had a Full Course Yellow yet.  He is in the lane for service now.  Simon Pagenaud will pit the #48 sister Action Express car as well.  The track temperatures have dropped now.  Be careful.  Whoa!  We have the #91 Riley Motorsports LMP3 of Jim Cox looping it in the Bus Stop.  He continues with no worries.  The #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac is in the lane and so is the #48 Ally Bank AXR Cadillac for Simon Pagenaud.  Now, Jim Cox spun on the entry to the Bus Stop chicane.  He ran very wide nowhere near the apex of the turn.

Townsend Bell pits the Lexus RC F GT3, the #12 car.  Robert Megennis, behind the wheel.  Pit stop time as well for the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05.  The pit stops have been frantic, hot, and heavy in the last number of minutes as full darkness has descended over the Daytona International Speedway.  The #8 Tower Motorsports LMP2 car is also into the pit lane.  We can see the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3 and the #97 TF Sport Aston Martin battling each other.  #97 has Max Root, Ben Keating, Charlie Eastwood, and Richard Westbrook on the driver's strength.

Bill Auberlen is running well in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3.  Auberlen sharing with Robby Foley, Colton Herta, and Australian driver, Aidan Read.  We check in on class leaders.  Kyle Kirkwood and Nick Tandy still hold the respective class leads in the GTLM and GTD classes for Corvette and Lexus while LMP3 is led by Wayne Boyd, Kyle Tilley leads LMP2, and Tristan Vautier is back in front in DPi.  Wayne Boyd is at the wheel of the #33 Sean Creech Motorsports Ligier Nissan sharing with Joao Barbosa, the Portuguese sports car veteran, veteran French LMP2 driver Yann Clairay, and Dr. Lance Willsey.  

LMP2 is being led now by the #18 Era Motorsports Oreca 07 Gibson of Kyle Tilley, Dwight Merriman, Ryan Dalziel, and Paul Loup Chatin, the Frenchman.  Dalziel is a veteran, the Scotsman, of sports car racing.  Four and a half hours into the race, and Tristan Vautier still leads the motor race ahead of Kevin Magnussen, Ricky Taylor, and Simon Pagenaud in the overall.  Trent Hindman at the wheel of the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R is now in hot pursuit of the #23 Aston Martin Vantage currently in the hands of Darren Turner.  The Porsche is drawing a bead on the Aston Martin into the banking out of the Bus Stop chicane.  That chicane of course is named for the old Bus Stop chicane at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium which used to be a bus stop in daily life.

Corvette Racing in the lane as well as Jordan Taylor pits the #3 car, the yellow car, and pit stop time now too for the #16 Porsche 911 GT3R.  There could be a pending penaltu for the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3.  Bill Auberlen got out of the car and there was a fuel spill as Aidan Read isn int the car and the fuel sprays right into his face!  Oh my word!  Hopefully he will be OK.  You have to plan for and expect the unexpected.  At the sharp end we still see Tristan Vautier leading Kevin Magnussen, Ricky Taylor, and Simon Pagenaud.  Chase Elliott brings the #31 Whelen Cadillac in for scheduled service and a driver change.

It appears Mike Conway is now into the car after the team fuels it and changes the tires.  We have been racing under green for a full hour.  Chase Elliott had his hands full, and he was suffering from a lack of front grip.  Elliott just did a double stint and now it is Mike Conway in the #31 car.  Bill Auberlen is OK.  But his racing suit is drenched in fuel.  He will have a couple of spares should he need one.  There was a crewman who got spattered in the face with fuel as well.  Jeepers!  We are racing into the dark of night right now and Tristan Vautier continues to lead the motor race by eight and a half seconds over Kevin Magnussen.  

Tristan Nunez has now taken the lead in LMP2 driving the #11 WIN Autosport Oreca.  Nunez shares with American co-drivers Stephen Thomas and Thomas Merrill along with Englishman Matt Bell.  Nunez was of course formerly a Mazda factory driver.  In LMP2, WIN Autosport is indeed up front.  In LMP2, Dr. Lance Willsey is in the #33 car for his second stint.  Wayne Boyd who raced in the European Le Mans Series, has also run well in this car and they have Joao Barbosa as a fellow driver.  Kevin Magnussen, in his debut at the Rolex 24 is now leading the motor race ahead of Tristan Vautier in second spot, Ricky Taylor third, and Simon Pagenaud fourth.  

Cadillac #5 pits for regular service and is now back on track.  It seems #5 and #01 have been battling each other quite a bit through this race.  Mike Rockenfeller is now in the #48 Cadillac as we see a car off the road.  #01 is back on track.  The #52 PR1/Mathiasen car is in the pit lane for service in LMP2.  Olivier Pla has moved past Mike Rockenfeller for fourth place overall.  Also in the lane, the #24 BMW M8 GTE.  Jesse Krohn is getting a drive through penalty for an incident with Lance Willsey and Krohn absolutely dumped poor old Willsey off the road.  

Bill Auberlen is OK after the fuel spill.  He will be fine.  So, Tristan Vautier still leads ahead of Magnussen, Taylor, and Rockenfeller.  #21 is running well in the AF Corse Ferrari, moving up nine spots in GTD.  The driving team on this car is a good one.  Danish driver Nicklas Nielsen, Britain's Simon Mann, and Ferrari veterans Daniel Serra of Brazil and Matteo Cressoni of Italy, on the driver's strength.  Kyle Kirkwood leads GT Daytona for the Vasser Sullivan team in the #14 Lexus RC F GT3.  meantime, Indy Dontje is bearing down on him and Dontje takes the class lead!

Another racing hour is coming to a close.  

Rolex 24: Hour 3

There are so many switches on a sports car steering wheel and it is hard to get used to for a new driver like Chase Elliott is.  We are getting close to coming back to green.  Ian James continues to lead GT Daytona.  The Heart of Racing made great strides at the end of 2020 even with the virus being around and the fact that the team had to take some time off.  Aaron Telitz is next followed by Jan Heylen in the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R.  Ryan Hardwick crashed their Michelin Pilot Challenge Porsche, as Hardwick recovers from a concussion.  Trent Hindman is the co-driver for Klaus Bachler, Jan Heylen, and Patrick Long.  Green flag, again!  The DPi cars are all in a line.  Filipe Albuquerque goes side by side with Loic Duval and Duval has some argy bargy with Simon Pagenaud.  Renger van der Zande leads with Felipe Nasr second.  Dane Cameron is pressing hard in the #60 Acura ARX-05 as well.  As the night falls, the Acura drivers believe they will begin to go for it.

Renger van der Zande continues to lead.  Felipe Nasr will end his stint soon and Chase Elliott will get into the car.  Chase is under pressure as it is his first endurance race.  Meantime, the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche almost loses it!  Thank heavens, Ryan Hardwick is out of the hospital and headed home to recover.  Now, Laurens Vanthoor in the Pfaff Porsche is pressing hard as well.  Loic Duval is closing up on Felipe Nasr.  26 different nations in this race.  A Dutchman, a Brazilian, and a couple of Frenchmen.  The #5 JDC-Miller Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R has a trio of French drivers with Loic Duval, Sebastien Bourdais, and Tristan Vautier.

Meanwhile, Simon Pagenaud is being monstered by the #10 Konica Minolta Wayne Taylor Racing Acura.  GTD now is a Lamborghini vs. Porsche battle as well.  Furthermore, we have BMW, Corvette, and Ferrari scrapping for GTLM honors.  So, plenty of action around the track here at Daytona International Speedway.  We are racing towards the night with a gorgeous sunset.  Cold, rain, and fog are commonplace at the Rolex 24.  But tonight it will be clear and fairly warm.  In LMP2, the battle is between the #47 Cetilar Racing Dallara and the #18 Era Motorsports Oreca.  Antonio Fuoco of Italy leads Paul Loup Chatin of France.

Eric Lux and Ben Keating are next in line in LMP2.  In LMP3, Rasmus Lindh leads Wayne Boyd, Gar Robinson, and Jon Bennett.  Endurance racing is really becoming a good spot for drivers to go if they can't make it in open wheel racing according to Sebastien Bourdais and he is absolutely right as far as World Endurance and IMSA both.  At Le Mans there are 60 cars on a 13.5 kilometer track with a lap time of 3:30.  Here at Daytona, 49 cars on a shorter track for a 1:30 something lap time.  Antonio Fuoco in the Cetilar entry #47 is sharing with countrymen Roberto Lacorte, Andrea Belicchi, and Giorgio Sernagiotto.

A crash here, look, through the Bus Stop as James Calado makes a banzai move around the #38 Performance Tech LMP3 car!  Yikes!  Cameron Cassels, the Canadian at the wheel of the #38.  Full Course Yellow number four.  Now, Chase Elliott is ready for something he has never done before.  His first stint at the Rolex 24 at twilight.  A fuel strategy mistake for the #31 and #48 Action Express Cadillac's.  Chase Elliott is going into the car, as we are seeing the need for a fuel stop for both cars.  

When we saw the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus in the pit lane in hour two, there was an electric problem for that automobile.  To double back, Frits van Eerd had crashed the Racing Team Nederland Dallara LMP2 car.  Van Eerd sharing with fellow Dutchmen Giedo van der Garde and Job Van Uitert, and Frenchman Charles Milesi.  Now, the #31 Action Express Cadillac has pitted and had to take a penalty for emergency service.  However, if Chase Elliott can get his bearings in the car, under yellow, he will now have a chance to get his bearings and boost his confidence.  

This is such a different race compared to when yours truly was at the event in 2020.  More yellows with more cars on track for sure.  Keep mistake free and keep going.  The action is now only just beginning and we have a long, long, long way to go.  Lexus #14 is in the lane for service.  This is the Jack Hawksworth, Kyle Kirkwood, Oliver Gavin, and Aaron Telitz car.  Daytona International Speedway is soon to be fully bathed in darkness here.  Pit stop time for DPi.  Both Action Express Cadillac's in the lane,.  

Fuel only.  A splash and a dash for both Chase Elliott and for Simon Pagenaud.  We are soon to head back to green flag racing.  Lots of excitement and interest as the night has come.  Le Mans, in the 24 hours there, there's very little darkness.  But the Rolex 24 has almost 13 hours of darkness.  Daytona is lit up like a Christmas tree, but the tire grip is huge as a factor.  Ricky Taylor and Kevin Magnussen are pressing the leader, Tristan Vautier.  Olivier Pla and Harry Tincknell also want a chance at this.  Olivier Pla is a former Mazda DPi driver.  Harry Tincknell is in the #55 car right now.  A big traffic jam in GTLM and GTD and the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari of James Calado will get a drive through penalty for incident responsibility for clouting Cameron Cassels.

This is the 20th Rolex 24 at Daytona for Risi Competizione.  The 20th or 21st.  Risi Competizione are the lone GTLM spec Ferrari 488 GTE.  Chase Elliott is the third fastest DPi driver at the moment as we watch Tommy Milner leadng Jordan Taylor in GTLM.  BMW going for the GTLM hat trick and an off and on for the #62, rubbing salt into their wounds, being snookered by the #64 Team TGM Porsche.  Giovannis/Trinkler/Plumb/Plumb.

As the sun is setting, the DPi windscreens are being covered with clag already.  Kevin Magnussen is in his maiden stint in the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac.  Timothe Buret has taken over third in LMP2 in the #8 car.  Buret and two other Frenchmen are sharing the #8 Tower Motorsports LMP2 Oreca, racing with Gabriel Aubry and Matthieu Vaxiviere, and Canadian John Farano.  Harry Tincknell in the #55 Mazda is now fourth overall.  Yikes!  Tristan Vautier gets balked by a slower car leading Ricky Taylor, Kevin Magnussen, and Harry Tincknell.  

Night racing, mentally and physically, is going to be very tough for the drivers.  You try to get sleep if you can when you can.  The adrenaline is still way up.  Kyle Kirkwood leads GT Daytona and his team mate is Townsend Bell, who slept quite a lot in the 2019 race with all the rain.  Both Corvette's are leading GT Le Mans right now.  The idea is to now settle down and try hard to get through the nighttime hours.  The amount of yellow we have seen has been unreal.    

Rolex 24: Hour 2

In LMP3, we watch the leading car #91.  This is the Riley Motorsports Wynn's liveried #91 Ligier Nissan of Jim Cox, Dylan Murry, Austin McCusker, and Jeroen Bleekemolen.  Pit stop time and engine checks for one of the Lexus cars.  Aaron Telitz in #14 is shown as the leader in class.  Cannot tell which of the cars is in pit lane as right now we are following the battle for second in DPi between Loic Duval and Renger van der Zande.  Trouble in paradise for the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 with the IMSA issued transponder.  Townsend Bell is sharing with Frankie Montecalvo, Zach Veach, and Robert Megennis.  

You won't make up laps on speed alone.  Be patient.  Focus forward.  Look at the big picture.  Things will work out in the hours to come.  In GT Daytona, again, Lexus are leading.  Paul Miller Racing continues to lead this race.  Miller ran nine Rolex 24's as a driver and they won the motor race in GTD last year.  With IMSA's permission, Paul Miller gave the opportunity to Action Express and Hendrick Motorsports for Jimmie Johnson in their second Cadillac.  Paul Miller Racing won the Michelin Endurance Cup in 2020.  GTD is stacked with great driver lineups.  We also pay attention to the #64 Team TGM Porsche 911 GT3R.  Owen Trinkler, sharing with Ted Giovanis (at age 75), Hugh Plumb, and Matt Plumb.  Giovanis is in the medical industry assisting with research for vaccines for the COVID-19 pandemic we are going through in these strange times.  Meanwhile, Simon Pagenaud is ready to climb into the #48 Ally Bank Action Express Cadillac.  Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Rockenfeller who has won Le Mans and Daytona.  

A great lineup for #48 and #31 as well.  More issues for DragonSpeed and the Flex Box liveried car.  Rob Hodes in the #81 was just off the road.  He gets into turn one too hot, hung up on the throttle and the brake and drove the car straight off the road.  The brakes weren't working and there's damage on the front nose section and the suspension.  LMP2 entries are double what they were for the Rolex 24 in 2021 compared to 2020 when yours truly attended this motor race in person.  Pit stop time again for Action Express.  Four tires and fuel and it appesrs Felipe Nasr is staying in for a double stint.  DragonSpeed are still in a spot of bother, look.

That car is stopping in the cutout with the tire barriers up on the banking just before the exit of the Bus Stop chicane.  Rob Hodes is limping around and the #48 team is in the lane.  Simon Pagenaud takes over the car from Jimmie Johnson.  We are under Full Course Yellow now, with the spot of bother for #81.  A.J. Allmendinger has done a lot of sports car racing, but, he has also run IndyCar and NASCAR.  Dale Earnhardt Jr., too, has run GT and prototype cars.  The temperature drops between day and night with tire temperatures are huge.

Acura #60 meanwhile, is in the pit lane for scheduled service.  They are running second overall.  It is a very quick stop.  This is the car being shared by Dane Cameron, Olivier Pla, Juan Pablo Montoya, and A.J. Allmendinger.  The darkness is approaching.  13 hours worth of darkness coming up.  Scott Dixon is happy to be back at the Rolex 24 with Chip Ganassi Racing.  Pit stop time for #01.  Renger van der Zande is in the car, sharing with Kevin Magnussen and Scott Dixon.  Only a three driver squad.  It was thought that team would have four drivers, but that isn't the case.  Pit stop time now for the GTLM and GTD cars.

With the pit stops, the order is shuffling in all classes of course.  We watch the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3R, being serviced and the same is true for the #25 BMW M8 GTE.  Connor De Philippi sharing with Phillip Eng, Timo Glock, and Bruno Spengler.  In the #9 Pfaff Porsche, that lineup is also stacked with talent.  Zacharie Robichon, the Canadian, sharing with Lars Kern, Porsche's Nürburgring test driver, Matt Campbell, and Laurens Vanthoor.  Daytona is lit up well, and it never used to be.  Back in the glory days of IMSA, the track was very, very dark.  But not so much anymore.  

We are almost done with another racing hour in another 15 minutes or so.  A traffic jam in the pit lane for GTD.  The marshals have to double check the order.  Overlap into the fast lane means a car has to be allowed in.  We watch Ian James leading GTD right now in the #23 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage.  James, the Brit, is sharing with British Aston Martin factory drivers Ross Gunn and Darren Turner, and Canadian Roman De Angelis.  

With sports cars, their designs are made for the banking, almost.  We are back to racing as Felipe Nasr leads Renger van der Zande as we are coming to the end of another racing hour as Renger van der Zande moves around Simon Pagenaud.  We are back to green flag racing.  #01 needs heat in the tires  van der Zande is in a rhythm.  Tommy Milner leads James Calado and Antonio Garcia in GTLM.  A year ago, the Corvette C8.R debuted here at the Rolex 24.  There will be no more GT Le Mans racing after 2021.  GT Daytona will have a Pro and Pro Am class with all GT3 cars.  GTLM is a bespoke car for IMSA and Le Mans.  But with GT3 there will be more makes and more cars.

The #3 Corvette has Antonio Garcia, "The King of Spain", Jordan Taylor, and Nicky Catsburg.  The #4 sister car has a few new drivers.  Nick Tandy and Alexander Sims, moving over from Porsche and BMW respectively, alongside Tommy Milner.  Renger van der Zande has sliced his way around Felipe Nasr side drafting him as we are getting closer to the third hour.  Bruno Spengler says he and his BMW team are fine after the weird incident with the #79 Porsche.  Austin Dillon, 2018 Daytona 500 champion, is hoping for more seat time, and so, he is sharing with a number of drivers.  Hold the phone ladies and gentlemen.  We have trouble for the #29 Racing Team Nederland LMP2 car as well.  Frits van Eerd, head of Jumbo grocery stores in Holland, has crunched the wall.  This is our third Full Course Yellow of the 2021 Rolex 24.

Back to Rick Ware Racing.  They hope to run several types of racing including sports cars, IndyCar, and NASCAR.  Their lineup for RWR Eurasia in LMP2 includes the aforementioned 2018 Daytona 500 winner, Austin Dillon, Cody Ware, Turkish Aston Martin World Endurance driver Salih Yoluc, and Sven Mueller from Germany.   

Rolex 24: Hour 1

It is time, right now, for the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship to get underway.  After a trying 2020 with the global virus pandemic, we hope to be able to run races more consistently in 2021, starting right here and right now with the 59th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.  International sports cars have been racing here since the early 1960s.  We have so many champions here, from the world of sports cars, NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1, you name it.  Each class winner wants that Rolex oyster perpetual chronograph watch.  The great curiosity of drivers and the history and respect of this motor race, brings drivers here.

The cars are on track.  59 rookie drivers in a field of 191 drivers.  Everyone will be on the edge of their seats.  So many drivers are here going for their first win, or, another win.  The drivers are nervous about anything that could happen.  Be on your A game the whole time.  Chase Elliott is NASCAR's reigning champion, and has won four road course races in NASCAR.  But he is feeling so much pressure racing with Action Express.  Jimmie Johnson, seven-time NASCAR Champion is also racing with Action Express sharing with Mike Rockenfeller, Simon Pagenaud, and two-time defending Rolex 24 champ Kamui Kobayashi.  

We saw the drivers who won poles in the qualifying race last weekend.  Now it is time to get down to business and to endure, have reliability, work as a team, and have the stamina and athleticism to go for it.  Oliver Jarvis in the #55 Mazda is headed to the back of the grid as the safety car pulls off.  Green flag!  The Rolex 24 is underway!  Felipe Nasr is being monstered by Dane Cameron and here comes Loic Duval right away as well.  The WeatherTech #79 Porsche 911 RSR-19 spins at the start for the TLM and GTD cars and the RLL BMW of Bruno Spengler tags Kevin Estre!  Deary me!

You want to solve problems early as Felipe Nasr leads the race sharing with Pipo Derani, Mike Conway, and Chase Elliott.  Elliott ran this car for the first time nine days ago.  Chase Elliott is still wondering if he can match pace with his co-drivers Mike Conway, Pipo Derani, and Felipe Nasr.  Bill Elliott drove this race in 1986 and Kyle Busch was one of the drivers in this race last year when yours truly saw this race in person.  For Oliver Jarvis and Mazda, the car had to be power cycled before the race began.  It is running at full chat right now.  Jarvis sharing with Harry Tincknell and Jonathan Bomarito.

The #79 WeatherTech Porsche 911 RSR-19 has gone off the road, again.  Estre has his hands full, sharing the car with Cooper MacNeil, Richard Lietz, and Gianmaria Bruni.  Pit stop time as well for Alegra Motorsports Mercedes, and we see more battles in GT Daytona.  Risk assessment is key.  Frankie Montecalvo and Robby Foley scrap and so does Dane Cameron, trying to move around Loic Duval for second overall.  MSR vs. JDC-Miller.  Acura vs. Cadillac.  Duval has the preferred line through the kink.  

We can see the #79 Porsche has just lost the whole rear bumper cover.  Alegra Motorsports just pitted as mentioned, and that car, the #28 Mercedes AMG GT3 has on the driver's strength, Daniel Morad, Michael de Quesada, Billy Johnson, and Maximilian Buhk.  We are just eleven minutes into the race and under the first Full Course Yellow of the race.  Half an hour nearly into the race.  Chase Elliott is fascinated with racing sports cars.  Jimmie Johnson has started the race for the #48 Cadillac for Action Express.

We are currently also watching a battle between the Corvette C8.R and the Ferrari 488 GTE in GTLM.  The #1 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 is in the pit lane for some reason.  Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow, Corey Lewis, and Andrea Caldarelli sharing the car.  Right now, Felipe Nasr leads Loic Duval, Renger van der Zande, Filipe Albuquerque, Dane Cameron, Oliver Jarvis, and Jimmie Johnson.  Ben Keating leads Roberto Lacorte in LMP2 right now.  Antonio Garcia is leading Alessandro Pier Guidi in GTLM at the moment.  Again, it is Corvette vs. Ferrari.  After his spins and wrecks, Kevin Estre in the Porsche in nine laps behind already.

LMP3 is currently being led by the #38 Performance Tech Motorsports entry in the hands of Sweden's Rasmus Lindh.  He shares that car with Guatemala's Mateo Llarena, Cameron Cassels from Canada, and American Ayrton Ori.  Now, pit stop time for the Ganassi Racing #01 Cadillac DPi-V.R.  First of the leading prototypes to stop.  Renger van der Zande is in the car, and has won the Rolex 24 the last two years in succession.  This program came together very late.  Ganassi Racing won 60% of the prototype races between 2006 and 2015.  Action Express pitting from the lead.  Felipe Nassr stays in the car as we are now 40 minutes into this motor race.  

You lose 45 seconds plus the service on the car.  The DPi teams could be changing tires every pit stop.  Double stints could be possible during the night.  The Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 leads GT Daytona in the #12 car.  The #10 Konica Minolta Acura is in the lane and so is the #60 MSR Acura.  Jimmie Johnson is also pitting the #48 Action Express Cadillac right now.  Mazda #55 has been dinged with a penalty for speeding in the pit lane.  Stints are validated by the fuel runs.  

Now then, the beleaguered #79 WeatherTech Porsche is back on track with repaired bodywork.  They are a ways down however, as the lead battle in GTLM continues.  We also watch the GT Daytona class #42 Audi R8.  This car is being run by NTE Sport for a quartet of American Pro Am drivers.  Alan Metni sharing with Andrew Davis, Don Yount, and professional IndyCar driver, J.R. Hildebrand.  Filipe Albuquerque just ping ponged the #10 Acura between a GTD and an LMP3 car.  

Filipe Albuquerque is pressing Felipe Nasr.  These two blokes used to be team mates.  Nasr is back into the lead.  Also, Renger van der Zande and Loic Duval are pushing.  We have several cars with some damage.  Can we sustain this pace?  I don't know.  Maybe it will settle down.  Cool it, chaps.  This is a long, long race.  We can see some trouble for a couple of cars as the Magnus Racing Acura in Speed Racer livery has a dud tire and one of the two DragonSpeed LMP2 cars.  Cannot tell if it is the #81 or #82?  #81 being shared by Rob Hodes, Garrett Grist, Rinus Veekay, and Ben Hanley.

Felipe Nasr, Filipe Albuquerque, and Loic Duval are pressing hard in the top three.  #82 is Eric Lux, Devlin Defrancesco, Fabian Schiller, and Christopher Mies.  Filipe Albuquerque is passed by Loic Duval.  This is feisty scrapping.  Don't go off the wall this early in the motor race chaps.  One car that has dropped back is the #60 MSR Acura of Dane Cameron.  On their first pit stop they lost 20-25 seconds after the tires were mismatched.  

The compressed off season after Sebring ended last November, has really squeezed the teams.  Nine cars had varying incidents in the opening hour.  John Potter had a right rear Michelin tire come apart in NASCAR turns one and two in the Speed Racer themed Acura NSX GT3.  Renger van der Zande moves past Filipe Albuquerque.  The #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE is in the lane and so is one of the BMW M8 GT's.  The Ferrari is being shared by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Jules Gounon, and Davide Rigon.  Now, Aaron Telitz has also just brought in the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. For the #24, that driver team is Aaron Telitz, Kyle Kirkwood, Oliver Gavin, and Jack Hawksworth.  

In the #24 BMW M8 GTE it is John Edwards, Jesse Krohn, Augusto Farfus, and Marco Wittman.  Ben Keating as well, in LMP2 is running well and he will drive two different cars again this year.  We will talk about these teams in a moment as Keating is running for the sixth time in his career, two cars in the same race.