Rolex 24 at Daytona

Also known by its historical title of the 24 Hours of Daytona- this race is a 24 hour endurance race, which is held every year in Daytona Beach, FL at the Daytona International Speedway. It is held on a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) combined road course, utilizing portions of the NASCAR tri-oval and an infield road course. It is usually held the last weekend of January or the first weekend in February and is the first race of the year.

Some historic facts:

• Rolex is the newest company with “naming rights” having bought these said rights in 1991
• Winners receive a Rolex Daytona watch
• The 24 hour endurance race started in 1966
• After having lost in 1966 both at Daytona and at Le Mans to the Fords, the Ferrari P series prototypes staged a triumphant 1-2-3 side-by-side parade finish at the banked finish line in 1967. To celebrate the victory over the rival at his home race, Ferrari named its V12-powered road car Ferrari Daytona after the race.
• In 1972, due to the energy crisis, the race was shortened to 6 hours, while for 1974 the race was cancelled altogether.

Daytona Prototype’s also known as DPs are aerodynamic cars built with less expensive material and technologies to reduce development and testing costs.

The Daytona Gran Turismo class cars looks more like a regular road car. Porsche’s, Mazda’s, BMWs etc. Look like street cars but are suped up and have what is called a spaceframe to save on money when the cars crash.

Porsche has the most overall victories of any manufacturer with 21, scored by various models, including the road based 911, 935 and 996. Porsche also won a record 11 consecutive races from 1977-1987 and won 18 out of 23 races from 1968-1991. Other manufacturer’s win totals:
5 wins: Ferrari ’63, ’64, ’67, ’72, ’98,
4 wins: Ford ’65, ’66, ’97, ’99
3 wins: Lexus ’06, ’07, ’08
2 wins: Chevrolet ’69, ’01, Jaguar ’88, ’90, Nissan ’92, ’94, Pontiac ’04, ’05,
1 win: Lotus ’62, BMW ’75, Toyota ’93, Oldsmobile ’96, Dodge ’00, Dallara-Judd ’02
Drivers with the most overall wins
5 wins: Hurley Haywood ’73, ’75, ’77, ’79, ’91
4 wins: Pedro Rodriguez ’63, ’64, ’70, ’71; Bob Wollek ’83, ’85, ’89, ’91; Peter Gregg ’73, ’75, ’76, ’78; Rolf Stommelen ’68, ’78, ’80, ’82
3 wins: Andy Wallace ’90, ’97, ’99; Butch Leitzinger ’94, ’97, ’99; Derek Bell ’86, ’87, ’89; Scott Pruett ’94, ’07, ’08