OT: 24 hrs of daytona

[Tickdoc]

anyone watching? Such a cool race.

I just love this pic:

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--OcNunW9c--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/mt6wjsnk8les01nwuq0x.jpg

[quickfeet]

I always try and track down a few minutes of time to watch this race. I have always been partial to the yellow vettes.

Definitely not my photo!

[bicycletricycle]

endurance racing is super fun to watch and see.

i have been watching daytona a little.

got to go to le mans a couple years ago.

highly recommend

[rounder]

I just found it. It is on FOX Sports. 24 hours. Anything can happen. Love Racing..

[wallymann]

http://www.imsa.com/camera/imsatv

[regularguy412]

http://www.imsa.com/camera/imsatv

Thanks for the link!

Mike in AR:beer:

[oliver1850]

Scott Pruett is amazing. He was considered by some to be washed up in 1990....

[oldpotatoe]

Dohhh!!

Just kidding, think this was LeMans

[Plum Hill]

Sadly, the last year for the Daytona Prototypes.
A lot of bitching in the early days about their homely looks, they brought racing back, something sorely missing from the ALMS days.

GT classes very interesting; nice variety of cars.

[steelbikerider]

good finish. The GT classes now look like real race cars rather than tuner cars with big tires and wings.

[Bruce K]

While I thought the race officiating this year was amateurish at best and downright dangerous at worst, it is still a nice way to end the prototype era - with Scott Sharp and the Extreme Speed gang winning the Rolex watches.

I have known Scott and his father, Bob Sharp for years. Nicer people than they do not not exist in Motorsports.

Could not be a happier fan.

BK

[rnhood]

I'm happy its over because I had to listen to the roaring engines all night.

[Bruce K]

Yeah, only 3 more weeks of peace and quiet.;)

BK

[rnhood]

Yea, that's why have my ear muffs.

[rounder]

The Roles 24 hour race was cool. No extended yellow flag laps and lots of cool cars.

They had Le Mans and Indy car racing in downtown Baltimore for three years. It was good while it lasted. 150 mph down Pratt Street. It ended when Navy had a football game at Ravens stadium that conflicted with the car race schedule. The other part was that a lot of the locals were not happy with the traffic disruptions. I loved it. It was super noisy and we all had to wear eaarplugs.

[bikinchris]

Kind of dissapointed with the Ford GT, but before the race, Ganassi was quoted as being dissapointed that they tried to break the cars before the race and couldn't. Meaning he was worried they would have mechanical issues.
Despite having turned the fastest laps of their class, they had shifting issues and cut tires.

[malcolm]

Chris, do you remember the GT series in N.O. back in the '90s on the streets and around the super dome. It was awesome and a major cluster****

[FL_MarkD]

I did make it over on Friday for the practice, Ferrari cup race 1 and BMW Performance 200 for the Continental Tires cars. Always a fun time at Daytona. The changes to the grandstand areas is very impressive. Escalators, open areas for people to congregate, vendor improvements. I think the Nascar fans are in for a real treat.

I did watch some of the TV coverage. Sorry to see the DeltaWing fall victim to an avoidable situation/crash. Corvettes put on quite a show in the last hour.

[bicycletricycle]

i think those delta wings are cursed.

[C50]

I cannot help but think of this story every year at this time. True story, I know the driver, his wife and the store he went into to get his Rolex adjusted that was presented to him for winning at Daytona. I didn't believe it at first when she was telling me about it.

http://jalopnik.com/5980884/the-funniest-story-youll-ever-hear-about-a-rolex

[Bruce K]

There are thousands of great stories from Daytona

I have a set of factory Martini Porsche mechanics coveralls given to me at the end of the race by one of the guys I shared coffee with in the middle of the night while working pit out traffic control back around 1978. He threw them over the fence, out of sight of team management, after saying, in what little English he could muster) "No one must see!"

Paul Newman stories are even better.

BK

[rounder]

There are thousands of great stories from Daytona

I have a set of factory Martini Porsche mechanics coveralls given to me at the end of the race by one of the guys I shared coffee with in the middle of the night while working pit out traffic control back around 1978. He threw them over the fence, out of sight of team management, after saying, in what little English he could muster) "No one must see!"

Paul Newman stories are even better.

BK

I was in a bar years ago shooting pool with a sports car mechanic who told me about hanging out with Paul Newman and others after a race. He said that Newman said that he could eat umptyump eggs and he did (like in Cool Hand Luke).

[Bruce K]

PLN was an incredible practical joker and raconteur.

The Daytona story goes something like this.....

A buddy and I were wandering through the paddock near the NART (Ferrari) garage when we spot Paul, in jeans,a t-shirt, and sunglasses (we both knew him from racing in New England). My friend calls "Hey, Paul!" and he immediately shushes us as there is a large group of people clustered around the garage door looking inside.

We chat for a minute or two and then he says "Watch this."

He walks over to a lady on the edge of the crowd, sidles up next to her and asks, "What's going on?"

She responds, "Paul Newman is in there!"

He then says, "Oh really? Where is he?"

She says "I don't see him at the moment."

He says "Too bad." Gives us a wave and heads off.

We were just about rolling on the ground.

BK