WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Category

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Colton Herta has been signed to a test and reserve role for BMW Team Rahal Letterman Lanigan in the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. The 17-year-old Californian pilots the No. 98 Mazda/Dallara IL-15 with Andretti Steinbrenner Racing in Indy Lights. Now entering his second season, Herta is coming off a rookie campaign that saw him capture two wins, seven podiums and a series-high seven poles en route to third in the championship. In addition, he was also signed to the BMW Motorsport Junior program whichRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer When most drivers think about their final race, they likely imagine rolling off into the sunset with a spirited final drive. Not Scott Pruett. He opted for the darkness at Daytona International Speedway instead. “I think last night I did all my driving,” Pruett said after his final stint in Sunday’s Rolex 24 at Daytona. “The majority of my driving was from about 8 o’clock last night to about 7 o’clock this morning, with maybe one or two out‑of‑the‑cars in between. “So I’ll remember the darkness of Daytona and certainlyRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The 56th edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona was rough on those from Formula 1. Although Fernando Alonso had everyone’s attention during his stints in the No. 23 United Autosports Ligier LMP2 early on, it was Lance Stroll that put up the best result among F1 regulars. The 19-year-old Canadian finished 15th overall and 11th among prototypes in the No. 37 Jackie Chan DCR JOTA ORECA LMP2, which endured a frequent number of right rear tire failures throughout the endurance classic. Stroll, who teamed withRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Grasser Racing Team’s (GRT) quest for a Rolex 24 at Daytona IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) win began from last on the grid. In the end, it made the victory all the sweeter. The GRT No. 11 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 entry paced the final 53 laps of their 752-circuit run to claim the GTD Rolex 24 crown  – the first victory in IMSA’s longest race for the manufacturer. Just months removed from a 2017 Blancpain GT Series championship, Mike Bortolotti paced the finalRead More

By Josh Farmer, Contributing Writer Scott Dixon added another Rolex watch to his collection, and with co-drivers Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook scored Chip Ganassi Racing’s monumental 200th win in the GT Le Mans class at the 56th Rolex 24 at Daytona. The trio piloted the No. 67 Ford GT, which saw Briscoe leapfrog defending race co-winner Joey Hand – and teammate in the No. 66 sister car – on the second to last pit stop with around three hours remaining. The Aussie drove a flawless final two stints, putting 11.166 seconds onRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Action Express Racing took the overall victory for the 56th Running of the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, setting a new distance record for the event in the process. The trio of Filipe Albuquerque, Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa crossed the finish line with a total of 808 laps with their No. 5 Cadillac Dpi-V.R., which was enough to beat the current configuration’s previous record of 762 laps set in 1992. When the race began to settle in, it looked to be a contest between bothRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — It was a record day for the 2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona and it was a victorious day for Action Express Racing. The No. 5 Cadillac DPi driven by Felipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi were victorious, completing a record 808 laps and a record 2,876.48 miles over 24 hours. In the last eight hours, the No. 7 Team Penske Acura DPi went to the garage for repairs after contact with the No. 31 Cadillac DPi. The Nos. 67 and 66Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — The middle eight hours of the 2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona had a decent amount of action that involved all three classes and some of the results were certainly shaken up. The GTD class-leading No. 29 Audi R8 LMS GT3 was given a stop and hold penalty for five minutes for a balance of performance violation. The team was determined to have refueled at their pit stops faster than the BoP regulations allowed for. The Audi was a lap ahead of theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer A fast start and few cautions have made this one of the stranger Rolex 24 at Daytona races ever. Only one full course yellow was called after the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA LMP2 machine ran out of fuel with James French behind the wheel. This all took place before the third hour ran to completion. After the fourth hour, there was a brief 15 minute rain shower but remarkably there were no incidents. There were several themes that played themselves out over the firstRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — The 2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona is going green shortly and here we will have live updates throughout the race. 00:00- Race went green at 2:40 p.m. ET, The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi with Renger Van Der Zande leads over the No. 7 Acura Team Penske Acura DPi of Helio Castroneves. The two Ford GTs are 1-2, the No. 66 ahead of the No. 67 in GTLM. In GTD the No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari is leading over theRead More