Rolex 24 Hour 18: Brumos/SunTrust/Ganassi battle for win

The SunTrust Ford is showing a lot of straight-line speed (i.e. HP) against the Lexus and Porsche teams and is closing on the front-runners

On a beautiful Sunday morning we are down to a 3-way battle between the Brumos Porsche team, the SunTrust Ford team and the Ganassi Lexus team with six hours remaining in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Penske Porsches have hit trouble and have fallen off the lead lap.

Current Temp.
60 degrees

Distance Completed:
513 laps

Overall Average Speed/Margin of Lead:
126.15 mph

Hour 19 Standings

Lead Changes:
39 among 19 drivers/9 cars.

Cautions (Overall):
(18 for 85 laps): 1) Laps 96-100 – No. 40 Jep Thornton spun into the tire barrier in Turn 3 and required a tow. 2) Laps 103-107 – Debris (tire) on the superstretch. 3) Laps 117-119 – No. 52 Joe Castellano spun in Turn 4 and needed a tow. 4)Laps 131-137 -Debris from No. 55 Raphael Matos' lost tire in the tri-oval. 5) Laps 155-158 – No. 6 AJ Allmendinger stopped on the course. 6) Laps 161-166 – No. 76 Darren Turner stopped on the course. 7) Laps 171-176 – No. 56 Nathan Swartzbaugh spun in the bus stop after losing the Ferrari 430 Challenge's right rear tire. 8) Laps 231-234 – No. 58 Antonio Garcia spun into the Turn 3 tire wall. 9) Laps 265-268 – No. 60 Ryan Hunter-Reay stopped between NASCAR Turns 3 and 4. 10) Laps 300-306 – No. 22 Chapman Ducote hit the wall in Turn 6 and scattered debris. 11) Laps 340-344 – Debris in the chicane. 12) Laps 357-362 – Debris in the chicane. 13) Laps 376-380 – No. 52 Luca Pirri is stalled in the chicane. 14) Laps 398-403 – No. 56 Nathan Swartzbaugh stalled in the chicane. 15) Laps 410-412 – Car hit wall at chicane, then continued. 16) Laps 439-443 laps – No. 89 Giacomo Petrobelli stopped on the course in Turn 4. 17) Laps 445-448 – No. 40 Jep Thornton and No. 65 John Potter get together in the wall at Turn 6. 18) 513-No. 77 Matteo Bobbi comes to stop on banking.

Top Five (Daytona Prototypes):
No. 58 Donohue, No. 10 Angelelli, No. 01 Montoya, No. 59 France, No. 16 Dumas

Top Five (GT):
No. 66 Collard, No. 86 Marsh, No. 67 Bergmeister, No. 07 Collins, No. 33 Pilet

Notes of Interest (From 7:30-8:30 a.m.):
– While battling for fifth, No. 10 Max Angelelli tries to slide underneath No. 59 JC France in Turn 6 at the 16-hour mark and the two make contact, spinning France around. Both drivers continue on and officials deem the contact a "racing incident."
– No. 44 Ross Bentley brings the Porsche GT3 back into the race at the 16-hour, 17-minute mark.
– No. 01 Scott Pruett pitted at the 16-hour, 23-minute mark, and the
– No. 02 Dario Franchitti skipped the chicane at the 16-hour, 32-minute mark, and went directly to the pits, reporting a brake line had came loose. He lost one lap while the team replaced the right-front brake, and was then assessed a stop-and-go penalty on the following lap for missing the chicane.
– Leader No. 10 Max Angelelli passed No. 02 Dario Franchitti to put him two laps down.
– No. 58 David Donohue passed Angelelli in turn one to take the lead at the 8:27 a.m. mark
– No. 77 Bobbi came to a stop on the banking while running seventh at 8:30 a.m. to bring out the 18th caution