SWEEP! Ford Goes 1-2-3 In Rolex 24 At Daytona
JAN. 29, 2012
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Ford scored a podium sweep at the 50th anniversary of the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Ford’s victory came in as dominating a fashion as did the all-Ford win of the 1966 24-hour version of this race, where the Ford GT40 MKII not only scored its first victory in international competition but swept the podium as well.
Michael Shank Racing's A.J. Allmendinger brought the car across the finish line, just minutes after Ryan Dalziel in Starworks Motorsports' second-place, pole-sitting Ford called his boss, Peter Baron, and said, "I've got nothing for him."
The "Best No-Name Team" in the field -- though it had at least one familiar Ford-family name, Michael McDowell -- closed out Ford's podium sweep when Venezuelan Filipe Nasr, never before having driven anything but open-wheel cars, drove a second Michael Shank Racing Ford DP across the line in third place.
"It was a great opportunity for me to be here," reigning European Formula 3 champ Nasr said.
"We had no problems, no accidents. You first have to finish to win, but I do not believe it, that I would come here for the first time and do this well."
Shank and team focused during Saturday's overnight darkest hours just to give their Fords a chance to fight for the title at race end.
"We stressed fuel economy and saving our tires," Shank said.
"Even though it appeared we pushed, our drivers were encouraged to short shift whenever possible."
An emotionally wasted Allmendinger, who'd been in the car for a three-hour closing shift, could hardly talk.
"That Ford motor was the best, most powerful engine I've ever had," Allmendinger said, noting that when anyone challenged him during that final three-hour period, "the engine pulled like no other I've ever had. It was great."
Allmendinger, who'll soon start his 2012 NASCAR stockcar calendar, also had words of praise for each of his teammates, full-season Shank regulars Oswaldo Negri Jr. and John Pew, as well as IndyCar series regular Justin Wilson.
This was Wilson's first race after a 2011-season wreck left him with fractures needing nearly five months to heal.
"We had come so close to winning last year," Wilson recalled.
"A.J. and I were talking, and we knew we had the best team; the best car; and, the best engine. We looked at each other and said, 'so we'll win the 50th next year!' This is surreal to be here."
Dalziel, teamed with Lucas Luhr, Alex Popow, Enzo Potolicchio and Allan McNish, the latter having had a multi-lap, side-to-side battle first with Negri, then Allmendinger.
Though some first-of and mid-race challenges arose from Chevrolet's new Corvette, the brand new car just didn't have longevity, a problem that the carmaker will no doubt work to improve.
However, the fact remains that only one carmaker has entirely swept two different podiums decades apart at North America's premier 24-hour race: Ford.
Notes from Daytona: New Driver In Doran Ford
DAYTONA BEACH -- What does a Ford-powered Daytona Prototype owner do when he's run out of drivers?
Call Billy Johnson. Yep, that Billy Johnson.
Kevin Doran's No. 77 Combos Ford drivers Burt Frisselle, Brian Frisselle, Jim Lowe and Paul Tracy either used up their respective maximum allowed driving times or were adversely affected by a near-plague of dehydration running throughout the Rolex 24 At Daytona field.
As Saturday turned to Sunday and temperatures remained relatively high for most participants, many otherwise athletically fit drivers, one of whom was Marco Andretti, have been caught out in temperatures expected to crest at 71 degrees later Sunday.
With a little more than four hours to go but running up against his maximum time allotment, Paul Tracy got in the car while crewmembers manned the phones.
"You mean an 'old guy' has to pick up the slack of the young ones?" Tracy said as he climbed into the 8th-place car.
Found at his hotel room after his Rolex 24 turner Motorsports ride retired Saturday, usual Roush Performance driver Billy Johnson hurried to the track and jumped into the No. 77 Ford without ever having before cut a lap in a Daytona Prototype.
"You know, you just gotta laugh at what this race, the Rolex 24, can hand you," Doran said with laughter-caused tears in his eyes.
"I've won this race in every way imaginable. Though I doubt we'll win this one, it's still a first!"
New Day Brings New Life To Weary Teams
For those in some manner connected to the Rolex 24 At Daytona, there are two "most important" moments that await: the checkered flag; and, the sun rising above the Atlantic Ocean's eastern horizon.
"It's a remarkable feeling when that sun comes up," Mike Shank, owner of Michael Shank Racing, said.
One supposes that being in the lead makes that crack of dawn feel even better.
MSR's No. 60 Ford, with Englishman and IndyCar Series regular Justin Wilson at the wheel, held the 50th Rolex 24 lead throughout most of the night and into the daylight hours.
"It's been problem free," Shank said, succinctly, but such is to be expected when people have already been awake for more than 24 hours.
"The only issue we've had is a need to change the No. 6's brake pads more frequently than we wanted."
Coincidentally, the brakes in Starworks two cars were similarly affected, with the No. 2 requiring more attention than the No. 8.
Other than a off-course excursion shortly after 8:30 a.m. which adversely impacted the No. 8's rear bodywork but, after it was excised, did not stall the car's charge.
"It's going to be a shootout," Starworks' driver and co-owner Enzo Potolicchio said. "This is a great race!"
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