SportsFullCircle

As the longest race in North America came to a close on Sunday afternoon, it did not include success for NASCAR drivers. With so many NASCAR stars competing in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, so many have found struggle and disappointment. This year, this was a continuation of the same as eight NASCAR drivers attempted to do what so few have succeeded in.

In the primary level of the grand-am series is the Daytona Prototypes. In this class were numerous NASCAR drivers who found little success in the race. Four time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson teamed up with Gainsco Racing, only to then crash their one car in practice, and then found little help in the race, as the #99 car retired in the 20th hour. Meanwhile, a trio of NASCAR drivers teamed up to drive in two different cars for Chip Ganassi Racing. In the #01 Telmex BMW Max Papis joined Scott Pruett, Luis Diaz, and Justin Wilson in hoping to return to victory lane as they did in 2008. Unfortunately, the car did not achieve victory, finishing 2nd, 50 seconds off the lead. Meanwhile, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray joined Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti to drive the #02 Target BMW, but succumbed to a blown engine overnight. Finally, Colin Braun joined the Krohn Racing #75 team in the race, finishing 6th.

The other class competing in the Rolex 24 was the Grand Touring Class, where two more drivers competed for two different teams. Bobby Labonte, the 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champ, drives the TRG #71 Chevy in Cup, and drove the #71 TRG Porsche in the race this past weekend. Unfortunately, the TRG team allowed for Labonte to run the car dry, forcing them to refill the car in a fan parking lot before returning to the race to finish in the top ten. Then, The Said heads were happy to see Boris Said return to sports car action in the #94 Porsche, though the car recorded a DNF.

The Rolex 24 at Daytona is just the warmup to the upcoming events at the track, including this weekend’s action with the ARCA 200, the Bud Shootout, and Sprint Cup Qualifying for the Daytona 500.