Rolex 24, Daytona - Hours 4-6 Hour 4 A blown rear Pirelli on the banking for Bill Lester in the #45 Victory Junction - Orbit Riley brings out the second Full Course caution of the Race. Lester babys the car back to pitlane and stays aboard as the crew get to work. Under caution Jimmy Johnson pits the #99 Gainsco Riley - it looks like there may have been rear end contact (possibly from Nic Jonsson) as the race went green after the first caution. The team go to work and the #99 car rejoins the race but is held at the pit exit, the Crawford behind in a 2 car queue, When released though the Riley fails to move, temporarily trapping the Crawford too - A push start fails to do the trick and the car is pulled backwards up pitlane by the Gainsco crew, Bob Stallings reports that a clutch / gearbox problem is seemingly the cause. The Safety Car meanwhile, which had been about to pull in to release the field, puts its lights back on and continues around once again, to protect the Gainsco crew in pitlane. Next time around, the Safety Car pits and the Gainsco Riley is getting a gear cluster change underway as it tumbles down the order. Darren law and dario Franchitti duke it out on the banking, the Porsche though outgrunts the Lexus and the #58 Brumos car goes second overall. Montoya moves up into fourth place soon afterwards for a Penske, Brumos , Ganassi, Ganassi running order - Porsche, Porsche, Lexus, Lexus or Riley, Riley, Riley, Riley - To take your pick! After almost three hours with no Caution Periods we have now had three in a matter of minutes. There's the predictable flurry of pitstops - and the subsequent positional changes - Law takes the lead as Dumas rolls down pitlane. The race goes green again, 121 laps completed, just 11 of those have thus far been completed under caution. Dumas gets the worst of the drafting as the field gets back up to speed, Terry Borcheller leapfrogging Montoya and Dumas to run third as the Columbian gets by the Frenchman too. Up front Darren Law is making good his escape from Franchitti and stradily pulling away - for now at least. Kelly Collins leads GT, the #07 Pontiac having stayed out under the last Caution. He's trailed by 9 Porsches before the next non-911, the #11 Pontiac appears on the timing screen! The 'one-off' DPs are both struggling, the Coyote back in 34th and the Crawford 38th. Nic Jonsson is up to fifth overall in the #76 Krohn Lola as the 5th hour begins Positions at 4 Hours 1 58 DP 1 Darren Law 129 laps Brumos Racing Porsche / Riley
2 16 DP 2 Romain Dumas 129 +18.606 Penske Racing Porsche / Riley
3 01 DP 3 Juan Montoya 129 +18.867 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus / Riley
4 6 DP 4 AJ Allmendinger 129 +19.069 Michael Shank Racing Ford / Riley
5 76 DP 5 Nic Jonsson 129 +19.476 Krohn Racing Ford / Lola
6 02 DP 6 Dario Franchitti 129 +20.114 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus / Riley
7 59 DP 7 Terry Borcheller 129 +20.408 Brumos Racing Porsche / Riley
8 77 DP 8 Fabrizio Gollin 129 +23.256 Doran Racing Ford / Dallara
9 60 DP 9 Colin Braun 128 +1 LAP Michael Shank Racing Ford / Riley
10 10 DP 10 Brian Frisselle 128 +1 LAP SunTrust Racing Ford / Dallara
11 55 DP 11 Raphael Matos 128 +1 LAP Level 5 Motorsports BMW / Riley
12 22 DP 12 Tomas Enge 128 +1 LAP Alegra Motorsports BMW / Riley
13 61 DP 13 Mark Wilkins 127 +2 LAPS AIM Autosport Ford / Riley
14 13 DP 14 Jordan Taylor 126 +3 LAPS Beyer Racing Pontiac / Riley
15 75 DP 15 Oliver Gavin 125 +4 LAPS Krohn Racing Ford / Lola
16 45 DP 16 Bill Lester 122 +7 LAPS Victory Junction-Orbit Racing BMW / Riley
17 07 GT 1 Kelly Collins 121 +8 LAPS Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R
18 33 GT 2 Patrick Pilet 121 +8 LAPS Wright Motorsports Porsche GT3
19 86 GT 3 Kevin Roush 121 +8 LAPS Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
20 87 GT 4 Wolf Henzler 121 +8 LAPS Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
21 99 DP 17 Jimmie Johnson 121 +8 LAPS GAINSCO/ Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac / Riley
22 66 GT 5 Tim George Jr 120 +9 LAPS TRG Porsche GT3
23 65 GT 6 John Potter 120 +9 LAPS Riegel/ Stanton/ TRG Porsche GT3
24 14 GT 7 Cory Friedman 120 +9 LAPS Autometrics Motorsports Porsche GT3
25 67 GT 8 RJ Valentine 120 +9 LAPS TRG Porsche GT3
26 35 GT 9 Milo Valverde 120 +9 LAPS Orbit Racing Porsche GT3
27 88 GT 10 Dave Lacey 119 +10 LAPS Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
28 57 GT 11 Jeff Bucknum 119 +10 LAPS Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R
29 26 GT 12 Joe Jacalone 117 +12 LAPS Gotham Competition Porsche GT3
30 85 GT 13 Richard Campollo 117 +12 LAPS Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
31 68 GT 14 Scott Schroeder 117 +12 LAPS TRG Porsche GT3
32 97 GT 15 James Gue 116 +13 LAPS Stevenson Motorsports Corvette
33 56 GT 16 Nathan Swartzbach 116 +13 LAPS Mastercar-Coast 2 Costa Racing Ferrari 430 Challenge
34 09 DP 18 Jason Pridmore 114 +15 LAPS Spirit of Daytona Racing Porsche / Coyote
35 21 GT 17 Pepe Montano 113 +16 LAPS Battery Tender/ MCM Racing Pontiac GTO.R
36 30 GT 18 Bryan Sellers 109 +20 LAPS Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8
37 2 DP 19 Rob Finlay 105 +24 LAPS Childress-Howard Motorsports Pontiac / Crawford
38 89 GT 19 Giacomo Petrobelli 103 +26 LAPS Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
39 44 GT 20 Daniel Harrington 99 +30 LAPS Bullet Racing Porsche GT3
40 52 GT 21 Joe Castellano 98 +31 LAPS Mastercar-Coast 2 Costa Racing Ferrari 430 Challenge
41 69 GT 22 Emil Assentato 97 +32 LAPS SpeedSource Mazda RX-8
42 64 GT 23 Jim Lowe 96 +33 LAPS JLowe Racing Porsche GT3
43 32 GT 24 Albert Salvo 94 +35 LAPS PR1 Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R
44 63 GT 25 David Quinlan 93 +36 LAPS TRG Porsche GT3
45 40 GT 26 Jep Thornton 84 +45 LAPS Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8
46 70 GT 27 Jonathan Bomarito 80 +49 LAPS SpeedSource Mazda RX-8
47 15 GT 28 Owen Kelly 52 +77 LAPS Blackforest Motorsports Ford Mustang
48 31 GT 29 Bob Michaelian 26 +103 LAPS Battery Tender/ MCM Racing Porsche GT3
49 42 GT 30 Wayne Nonnamaker 24 +105 LAPS Team Sahlen Corvette Hour 5 Full Course caution number 4 comes just 5 minutes into the fifth hour as Matos suffers a blowout in the #55 Riley BMW just as he exited the pitlane! he continues around for the whole lap spreading debris reasonably liberally around! The pitstop shuffle (again) sees Borcheller take the overall lead with Darren Turner now in the #76 Lola, in second place with Allmendinger running third at the end of what proves to be a seven lap caution period. Magnussen is now aboard the previously leading Pontiac - But at the head of the GT pack its a Farnbacher Loles 1,2 - Kevin Roush leads Wolf Henzler but Mags is right with them. Lap 140 and Allmendinger takes the lead in the Michael Shank Racing Riley, the fifth car to lead the race thus far. The Penske machine is back up into third meanwhile, Allmendinger's Ford engined Riley leading a trio of Porsche powered prototypes. Magnussen is now falling back into the clutches of a charging Richard Lietz as Henzler hits the front of the GT field. Roush though isn't nearly ready to play second fiddle to the Porsche factory man and next time around the order has reversed again. Ryan Briscoe meanwhile is closing in on the overall leader Allmendinger responds and is extending his lead when the Riley Ford hits trouble - Full Course caution number 5 comes at Lap 153, the car stopping on the infield and immediately dropping way down the order - Bitter gall for Michael Shank racing - Briscoe leads for Penske. He pits together with the other leading group and we have a new leader. Brad Jaeger in the #77 Doran Dallara! Dallara leads at Daytona for the first time since the famous win for the Judd engined LMP1 machine in 2002!! Positions at 5 Hours 1 77 DP 1 Brad Jaeger 155 laps Doran Racing Ford / Dallara
2 16 DP 2 Ryan Briscoe 154 Penske Racing Porsche / Riley
3 58 DP 3 Buddy Rice 154 Brumos Racing Porsche / Riley
4 01 DP 4 Juan Montoya 154 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus / Riley
5 10 DP 5 Brian Frisselle 154 SunTrust Racing Ford / Dallara
6 59 DP 6 Terry Borcheller 154 Brumos Racing Porsche / Riley
7 60 DP 7 Colin Braun 154 Michael Shank Racing Ford / Riley
8 02 DP 8 Alex Lloyd 154 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus / Riley
9 76 DP 9 Darren Turner 154 Krohn Racing Ford / Lola
10 61 DP 10 Mark Wilkins 154 AIM Autosport Ford / Riley
11 55 DP 11 Christophe Bouchut 154 Level 5 Motorsports BMW / Riley
12 6 DP 12 AJ Allmendinger 153 Michael Shank Racing Ford / Riley
13 13 DP 13 Jared Beyer 153 Beyer Racing Pontiac / Riley
14 22 DP 14 Ryan Dalziel 151 Alegra Motorsports BMW / Riley
15 75 DP 15 Oliver Gavin 151 Krohn Racing Ford / Lola
16 45 DP 16 Bill Lester 149 Victory Junction-Orbit Racing BMW / Riley
17 99 DP 17 Jimmie Johnson 148 GAINSCO/ Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac / Riley
18 87 GT 1 Wolf Henzler 147 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
19 07 GT 2 Jan Magnussen 147 Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R
20 66 GT 3 Richard Lietz 147 TRG Porsche GT3
21 33 GT 4 BJ Zacharias 147 Wright Motorsports Porsche GT3
22 86 GT 5 Eric Lux 146 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
23 67 GT 6 Patrick Long 146 TRG Porsche GT3
24 57 GT 7 Jeff Bucknum 146 Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R
25 65 GT 8 John Potter 145 Riegel/ Stanton/ TRG Porsche GT3
26 88 GT 9 Dave Lacey 145 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
27 35 GT 10 Hiram Cruz 144 Orbit Racing Porsche GT3
28 85 GT 11 Richard Campollo 144 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
29 26 GT 12 Joe Jacalone 142 Gotham Competition Porsche GT3
30 56 GT 13 Nathan Swartzbach 142 Mastercar-Coast 2 Costa Racing Ferrari 430 Challenge
31 97 GT 14 James Gue 142 Stevenson Motorsports Corvette
32 68 GT 15 Duncan Ende 142 TRG Porsche GT3
33 09 DP 18 Jeff Ward 138 Spirit of Daytona Racing Porsche / Coyote
34 21 GT 16 Diego Alessi 138 Battery Tender/ MCM Racing Pontiac GTO.R
35 14 GT 17 Jack Baldwin 133 Autometrics Motorsports Porsche GT3
36 2 DP 19 Casey Mears 131 Childress-Howard Motorsports Pontiac / Crawford
37 30 GT 18 Bryan Sellers 128 Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8
38 52 GT 19 Costantino Bertuzzi 124 Mastercar-Coast 2 Costa Racing Ferrari 430 Challenge
39 69 GT 20 Nick Longhi 123 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8
40 64 GT 21 Tim Sugden 121 JLowe Racing Porsche GT3
41 32 GT 22 Albert Salvo 119 PR1 Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R
42 63 GT 23 David Quinlan 115 TRG Porsche GT3
43 44 GT 24 Keith Carter 115 Bullet Racing Porsche GT3
44 70 GT 25 Jonathan Bomarito 105 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8
45 89 GT 26 Giacomo Petrobelli 103 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
46 40 GT 27 Jep Thornton 84 Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8
47 15 GT 28 Owen Kelly 52 Blackforest Motorsports Ford Mustang
48 31 GT 29 Bob Michaelian 31 Battery Tender/ MCM Racing Porsche GT3
49 42 GT 30 Wayne Nonnamaker 24 Team Sahlen Corvette Hour 6 Brian Friselle stays out too in the #10 Suntrust car so we have a Dallara 1-2 as the field comes around. The race goes green and almost immediately the Suntrust car is on the tail of the Doran machine, Friselle makes the pass to lead overall taking Buddy Rice and Darren Turner through with him. Turner though hits trouble almost immediately, he's plummeting down the order as the Ford V8 dies with no oil pressure, the #76 car looks done as ANOTHER Full Course Yellow is called - There's enough time though for Rice to take the lead in the #58 Brumos Riley Porsche. Magnussen leads GT again ahead now of Eric Lux and Richard Westbrook in the #86 and #87 Farnbacher Loles Porsches. A little further back in sixth, Robin Liddell has been showing fine pace despite appearing on TV pictures earlier clearly in some discomfort with his feet. Friselle pits and the glory moment for the Dallara runners passes. The race goes green again - and then almost immediately another Full Course Caution is called as the #56 Ferrari of Nathan Swartzbach hits trouble. Under the Safety Car Hurley Haywood and Christophe Bouchut move up to 2nd and 3rd overall respectively. The race fgoes green just a couple of minutes before the end of the 6th hour and Scott Dixon immediately leapfrogs Bouchut and Haywood to grab second place, Bouchut though hangs on in there and takes Haywood to retain third place.
Positions at 6 Hours 1 58 DP 1 Buddy Rice 177 laps Brumos Racing Porsche / Riley
2 02 DP 2 Scott Dixon 177 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus / Riley
3 55 DP 3 Christophe Bouchut 177 Level 5 Motorsports BMW / Riley
4 59 DP 4 Hurley Haywood 177 Brumos Racing Porsche / Riley
5 77 DP 5 Matteo Bobbi 177 Doran Racing Ford / Dallara
6 10 DP 6 Brian Frisselle 177 SunTrust Racing Ford / Dallara
7 16 DP 7 Ryan Briscoe 177 Penske Racing Porsche / Riley
8 61 DP 8 Burt Frisselle 177 AIM Autosport Ford / Riley
9 60 DP 9 Oswaldo Negri Jr 177 Michael Shank Racing Ford / Riley
10 01 DP 10 Memo Rojas 176 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus / Riley
11 13 DP 11 Jared Beyer 175 Beyer Racing Pontiac / Riley
12 75 DP 12 Tracy Krohn 174 Krohn Racing Ford / Lola
13 22 DP 13 Ryan Dalziel 173 Alegra Motorsports BMW / Riley
14 99 DP 14 Jimmy Vasser 171 GAINSCO/ Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac / Riley
15 45 DP 15 Kyle Petty 171 Victory Junction-Orbit Racing BMW / Riley
16 07 GT 1 Jan Magnussen 170 Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R
17 87 GT 2 Richard Westbrook 170 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
18 66 GT 3 Richard Lietz 170 TRG Porsche GT3
19 86 GT 4 Eric Lux 170 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
20 33 GT 5 Phillip Martien 170 Wright Motorsports Porsche GT3
21 67 GT 6 Jorg Bergmeister 169 TRG Porsche GT3
22 65 GT 7 Craig Stanton 169 Riegel/ Stanton/ TRG Porsche GT3
23 57 GT 8 Robin Liddell 169 Stevenson Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R
24 35 GT 9 Lance Willsey 168 Orbit Racing Porsche GT3
25 88 GT 10 Robert Nearn 168 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
26 85 GT 11 Michael Gomez 167 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
27 68 GT 12 Steve Miller 166 TRG Porsche GT3
28 26 GT 13 Randy Pobst 166 Gotham Competition Porsche GT3
29 97 GT 14 Tom Long 165 Stevenson Motorsports Corvette
30 21 GT 15 Diego Alessi 161 Battery Tender/ MCM Racing Pontiac GTO.R
31 09 DP 16 Guy Cosmo 160 Spirit of Daytona Racing Porsche / Coyote
32 76 DP 17 Darren Turner 159 Krohn Racing Ford / Lola
33 56 GT 16 Nathan Swartzbach 157 Mastercar-Coast 2 Costa Racing Ferrari 430 Challenge
34 2 DP 18 Casey Mears 154 Childress-Howard Motorsports Pontiac / Crawford
35 6 DP 19 AJ Allmendinger 153 Michael Shank Racing Ford / Riley
36 30 GT 17 Bryan Sellers 150 Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8
37 52 GT 18 Costantino Bertuzzi 147 Mastercar-Coast 2 Costa Racing Ferrari 430 Challenge
38 69 GT 19 Jeff Segal 146 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8
39 14 GT 20 Jack Baldwin 144 Autometrics Motorsports Porsche GT3
40 32 GT 21 Mike Forest 142 PR1 Motorsports Pontiac GXP.R
41 44 GT 22 Ross Bentley 139 Bullet Racing Porsche GT3
42 64 GT 23 Tim Sugden 135 JLowe Racing Porsche GT3
43 63 GT 24 Bruce Ledoux III 135 TRG Porsche GT3
44 70 GT 25 Sylvain Tremblay 129 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8
45 89 GT 26 Giacomo Petrobelli 120 Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche GT3
46 40 GT 27 Tim Lewis Jr 97 Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8
47 15 GT 28 Owen Kelly 52 Blackforest Motorsports Ford Mustang
48 31 GT 29 Bob Michaelian 46 Battery Tender/ MCM Racing Porsche GT3
49 42 GT 30 Wayne Nonnamaker 24 Team Sahlen Corvette
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