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The 2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona was like no other. No one can remember the annual endurance race starting with such rainy weather. Grand-Am Race Officials ran the first six laps at Daytona International Speedway under caution, an action universally applauded by the teams.

The race was also notable for the various records it set or broke.

DP Winners Joao Barbosa, Terry Borcheller, Ryan Dalziel, and Mike Rockenfeller. Photo by Mark Weber

A dark horse team, Action Express Racing, ran No.9 Porsche Riley Daytona Prototype to victory, completing 755 laps – a new record by 20 laps. JOAO BARBOSA of Portugal drove to the checkered flag. His teammates were TERRY BORCHELLER of FL, who won overall in 2004; RYAN DALZIEL of Scotland; and MIKE ROCKENFELLER of Germany.

Barbosa led the most laps – 129, followed by two of his teammates – Rockenfeller with 113 and Dalziel with 73. Their car led the most laps of the 44-car field – 316. Despite this, the team felt it was at a disadvantage, that it was down on power. Barbosa said “It was a really tough race. It’s just unbelievable for the first time the team is performing under really difficult circumstances like the 24 hours, did an amazing job.”

The team was formed recently by BOB JOHNSON and could be considered a sister team of Brumos Racing, which downsized to one car this season. They share a shop with Brumos and have the crew and resources from the excised Brumos car. However, its car is a Porsche V8.

The victory was bittersweet for Action, because Brumos Racing was doing well and five-time Rolex 24 winner, HURLEY HAYWOOD took his last (he says) stint in the Rolex race before turning it over to teammate, DAVID DONOHUE. Shortly thereafter the car imploded.  Haywood has probably driven more laps around Daytona than any other driver, estimated to be 68,000-70,000. This was his thirty-seventh Rolex 24.

The Margin of Victory ahead of SCOTT PRUETT/No.01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley DP was 52.303 seconds, the only other car on the same lap. Pruett’s co-drivers were season-long teammate, MEMO ROJAS of Mexico, MAX PAPIS of Italy and JUSTIN WILSON of England.

Finishing third in DP, four laps down, was RYAN HUNTER-REAY of FL in No.95 Level 5 BMW Riley, who had to take a quick side trip on the last lap after his brakes were fried. The team experienced seat belt problems which cost them two laps. His teammates were LUCAS LUHR of Germany, owner SCOTT TUCKER of KS and RICHARD WESTBROOK of England.

The top three DP’s were Riley chassis, with one Porsche and two BMW’s. The winning car goes Sunday to the Daytona Experience, where it will remain on display through the Daytona 500.

DP winner Action Express Racing. Photo by Mark Weber

For SpeedSource, it was the classic Thrill of Victory and Agony of Defeat.

GT Winners: Nick Ham; David Haskell; Sylvain Tremblay; and Jonathan Bomarito. Photo by Mark Weber

JONATHAN BOMARITO of Monterey CA drove the No.70 Mazda RX-8 to victory, finishing first in the GT class and eighth overall. His co-drivers were NICK HAM of CO, DAVID HASKELL of FL and owner SYLVAIN TREMBLAY of FL. Bomarito said “We just had to stay out of trouble and keep the car on track, and we did that. And here we are. I got a new Rolex. I can’t believe it.”

JEFF SEGAL of FL put the sister car, No.69 on pole, but never led a lap, and the car finished twenty-eighth overall, sixteenth in class. The team DNF due to mechanical problems. The final blow was while ANTHONY LAZZARO of GA was driving the car, it had a minor flame out. The car never made it out of the garage – it was terminal. The co-drivers were EMIL ASSENTATO and NICK LONGHI, both of NY.

GT winner

It was the twenty-third class win for Mazda at the Rolex 24 and the first for Bomarito, who is a product of the Mazda Driver Development Ladder. Mazda believes every ladder has to go someplace, and for Mazda, sports cars is it.

Second and third in GT were two of the five TRG entries – No.67 TRG/Flying Lizards Porsche GT3 Cup with JORG BERGMEISTER of Germany; PATRICK LONG of FL; SETH NEIMAN and JOHANNES van OVERBEEK, both of CA; and No.66 TRG Porsche with TED BALLOU , KELLY COLLINS, and PATRICK FLANAGAN of CA; and ANDY LALLY of NY.

Tremblay confirmed that there could be a third SpeedSource car at the next race in Miami. He was contacted a year ago by OSCAR MARTINEZ, who was intrigued about the international flavor of the Grand-Am Series for his two sons. Tremblay is building a car for him, hopefully to be raced at HMS in March.

TRACY KROHN/No.75 Krohn Racing Ford Lola DP won the Jim Trueman Award, which is awarded to sportsman drivers, or Pro-Am as they are called now. The award is based on a specific formula which calculates the finishing position, laps completed and time spent in the car. This is the second time Krohn has won this award.

Among the many notable statistics coming out of this race were the 59 lead changes among 29 drivers and 13 cars. There were 17 cautions for 58 laps, and nearly four hours were under caution. Of the 755 laps, 697 were green flag laps.

Pole Sitter MAX ANGELELLI/No.10 Sun Trust Racing Ford Dallara DP set the fastest race lap of 126.764 mph.

No.10 Ford Dallara DP. Photo by Mark Weber

The next race for the Grand-Am Rolex Series will be 6 March 2010 at Homestead Miami Speedway.

Yet another lead change at the Rolex 24 at Daytona this time being taken by A.J. ALLMENDINGER/No.6 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley Daytona Prototype. The brash young road racer turned stock car driver has run and led laps in the past four straight Daytona 24 races, and last year the MSR team led many laps before breaking. AJ really wants that engraved Rolex. AJ passed MIKE ROCKENFELLER/No.9 Action Express Racing Porsche Riley DP – the little team that could. Action is the closest thing to a teammate or sister car that Brumos Racing could have. Brumos downsized to a one-car team, and the other car, crew and shop space is now under the aegis of Action.

Running third overall and in DP is SCOTT PRUETT/No.01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley.

No sooner than I wrote this, AJ had a right rear tire problem, maybe due to a contact with a GT. He pitted for tire removal, with the crew removing about 100 yards of cord.  AJ went back out with some tire rub. It eased. During all this the word came that co-driver MICHAEL VALIENTE of Canada retired due to illness, maybe food poisoning according to the TV broadcasters.

AJ pitted again for a driver change. There was still some cord wound tightly in the wheel well.

Rockenfeller regained the lead, followed by Pruett. Allmendinger fell to third and then backwards.

A Pirelli spokesman said that there is a whole lot of cord in a tire, so wasn’t surprised by the reports of so much cord being removed. This weekend Pirelli said the tire problems so far have been attributed to contact or debris. There is a lot of debris in the Bus Stop turn. Another problem is the plastic rumble strip in that area. It is made of sharp plastic neoprene, and when the cars gouge it with splitters and other parts, the strip develops very sharp edges.

Meanwhile, NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, BOBBY LABONTE/No.71 TRG Porsche GT3 Cup is leading the GT class, despite a pit stop. He’s running ninth overall. His pit stop was problematical, with problems with the jacks so only two tires were changed. Now the crew must decide whether to use hand jacks, and change two or four tires next time. Labonte runs for TRG in Sprint Cup also.

I must be a jinx. I wrote this and get ready to post, and Labonte ran out of gas while leading and had to be towed in. It ain’t over until it’s over.

No.60 passing No.48 GT. Photo by Mark Weber

MSR’s sister car, No.60 just pulled into the garage to work on the gearbox. “Coming to the garage this late in the race is frustrating” said driver BURT FRISSELLE. The crew will work quickly to get the car back out on course.

Last year’s Rolex Series champion, No.99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Chevrolet Riley pitted for a long mechanical stop.

Another DP has retired. Beyer Racing No.2 Chevrolet Crawford pitted a while ago for work, went back out and didn’t complete that lap and pitted, and then parked. The car had been a late entry and was behind from the get go.

No.18 TRG GT. Photo by Mark Weber

The No.18 TRG/Guardian Angel Motorsports Porsche GT3 Cup GT retired. Autometrics Motorsports Porsche GT3 Cup GT hit the wall and was towed into the garage for repairs. Remarkably, Matt Connolly Motorsports Pontiac GTO.R GT made it back on track and worked up to 35 laps behind the GT leader. His other car, No.19 MCM/Black Flag Racing Corvette is still being worked on by the crew – setting a new endurance record for being in the garage for work.

Orbit Racing No.88 Porsche GT3 Cup GT turned itself into a fireball coming to the pits and flamed out. The driver got out safely and eventually the track fire crew extinguished the fire. RIP Orbit.

No.88 Orbit GT. Photo by Lynne Huntting

The GT Pole Sitter, No.69 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8, had its own flame out, although not as serious as Orbit, said the crew. ANTHONY LAZZARO was driving and he brought the car into the garage so it could be checked and repaired. Turned out to be terminal.

No.9 Action Express DP. Photo by Mark Weber

At sunrise, JOAO BARBOSA/No.9 Action Express Racing Porsche Riley Daytona Prototype was leading the Rolex 24 at Daytona. It’s the sister car to last year’s winner, No.59 Brumos Racing. Sunrise is just a word. The cloud cover spoiled that. Barbosa swapped the lead back and forth with Mad MAX PAPIS/No.01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley DP. This Ganassi car has led more than 100 laps, just adding to the Ganassi domination this weekend.

Grand-Am live Timing & Scoring shows that No.9 has also led more than 100 laps. Hmmm.

No sooner than I edited this piece to post, Pole Sitter MAX ANGELELLI/No.10 Sun Trust Racing Ford Dallara eclipsed the fast lap set by RAPHAEL MATOS/No.59 Brumos Racing Porsche Riley DP.  Obviously all the repair work done on the Sun Trust car took. Angelelli turned a 126.764 mph/204.006 kph.

The Dallara suffered not just not gear box issues, but drive train, rear end and then more gear box problems, after PEDRO LAMY hit the pit exit wall after spinning out on cold tires. The damage was worse than originally thought and even team owner WAYNE TAYLOR was wrenching the car. It went back out, 46 laps behind.

A second DP has retired – No.90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Porsche Coyote has parked it after burning a piston. The No.2 Beyer Racing Chevrolet Crawford DP may as well be retired. It’s been struggling and was pitted for a long while. DANE CAMERON took it out but it didn’t complete its 320th lap, and went back in.

The four Ganassi drivers from the retired BMW Riley DP will be having a go into the sister car.

The only two DP’s not leading a lap are No.55 Crown Royal/NPN Racing BMW Riley and the retired Coyote.

The No.99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet Riley DP spent a mere 12 minutes in the garage replacing the gear stack after chipping the first gear. But it put the team nine laps behind and it’s still working on playing catchup.

SPENCER PUMPELLY/No.71 TRG Porsche GT3 Cup is leading the GT class, in ninth position overall.

The Dempsey Racing/Team Seattle No.41 Mazda RX-8 GT is running a ways down in the GT category – hovering around twenty-ninth. However, it has already raised $300,000 for the Seattle Children’s Hospital.

MATT CONNOLLY is not having a good hair day. On my last tour through the garage, all three of his MCM Motorsports were in the garage. No.19 Corvette was having work done for transmission problems. No. 20 Porsche GT3 Cup died – locked up motor. No.21 has had a plethora of problems. Driver SPENCER TRENERY only drove in the initial laps of the race, and the car has spent more time in the garage than on track.

TRG had some agro also, with two cars in the garage. No.18 TRG/Guardian Angel Motorsports Porsche GT3 Cup GT blew the gearbox, while it was running fourteenth in class. It’s all amateur drivers, in their sophomore year of racing the Rolex. Their goal was a top ten finish, or at least better than last year’s P18. The time in the garage is compromising its fund raising efforts for children’s charities.

Another TRG car, No.63 Porsche blew a water pump and gear box. It hit the tire wall twice. One crew said it hit everything but the pace car. The team is still beavering away on the car.

Miller Barrett Racing No.48 Porsche GT3 Cup GT broke a gear box and the team was working on it.

Weather Channel says it’s 48 degrees F but feels like 43. No kidding. I’m making good use of all those extra warm clothes and Ugg boots I brought.

In the middle of the night at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, there are a few cars in the garage, some under wraps and/or abandoned by crew, while others are being repaired by weary crews. It’s now 59 degrees F/15 C, and feels like it.

No.99 in garage. Photo by Lynne Huntting

JIMMIE JOHNSON just drove No.99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet Riley into the garage for repairs. Owner BOB STALLINGS said it was a chipped first gear. The team went right to work to change the gear stack and add oil to the motor. The problem is not related to the crash damage drama earlier in the weekend.

No.07 Godstone Ranch Motorsport/Team MBR Corvette GT is parked in the garage, with no crew to explain.

No.20 Matt Connolly Motorsports Porsche GT3 Cup GT is back in the garage for repairs to the crank pulley which somehow just snapped off.

No.21 Matt Connolly Motorsports Pontiac GTO.R is also back in the garage. The crew said they were just checking the car, but I smelled something burnt.

No.52 Wil Mar Racing Ferrari 430 Challenge GT hit something, so the right side damage of one kind and another is in need of repair. The crew are working on it, and by the looks of it, they have their work cut out for them. The car is up on jacks.

No.63 TRG Porsche GT3 Cup is in the garage for the crew to put in a new front end and check the transmission. The car hit things a number of times.

In the thirteenth hour, MIKE ROCKENFELLER/No.9 Action Express Racing Porsche Riley DP leads overall, just having taken the lead from JUSTIN WILSON/No.01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley DP.

No.57 GT. Photo by Mark Weber

In the GT class, ROBIN LIDDELL/No.57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R leads, in ninth place overall. He is 20 laps behind Rockenfeller.

No.01 Ganassi Racing DP. Photo by Mark Weber.

At the Half Way Mark at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, JUSTIN WILSON/No.01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley Daytona Prototype is the overall leader. He had turned the fastest race lap until just now, when DARREN LAW/No.59 Brumos Racing Porsche Riley turned a 125.908 mph/202.629 kph. He was running twelfth overall at the time, eleventh in class.

The fastest GT car is JOHANNES van OVERBEEK/No.67 TRG/Flying Lizards Porsche GT3 Cup, in ninth overall.

No.67 TRG GT. Photo by Mark Weber

Just as I was about to post this, the pole sitter, No.10 Sun Trust Racing Ford Dallara DP pulled into the garage with gear box problems.

Twenty-three Daytona Prototype drivers from 13 of the 15 DP’s have led laps. The dominant No.02 Ganassi DP led 56 percent of the laps – 139 – when JUAN PABLO MONTOYA retired it with a blown engine. The only DP’s not to have led laps are No.55 Crown Royal/NPN Racing BMW Riley and No.90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Porsche Coyote.  Only one of the 15 DP’s has retired.

The only way to determine how many GT drivers/cars have led is to check the hourly reports. Grand-Am T&S can’t show lead changes in class as it can overall, nor can it show how many laps a GT car has led. The cars which have led are: No.23 Alex Job Racing Porsche GT3 Cup; No.32 Corsa Team PR1 BMW M6; No.66 TRG Porsche GT3 Cup; No.71 TRG; No.57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R, and No.67. The pole sitter, No.69 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 led only during the first six laps under caution.

The weather outside is clear and breezy, and feels colder than the 68 degrees F/20 C it shows on my iPhone. I didn’t stuff my suitcase with cold-weather gear for naught, after all.

It’s  tradition and part of the Rolex 24 at Daytona experience for the track to set off fireworks at 10 PM. Saturday the display was set off three minutes early so it could be caught on SPEED TV before it went off air for the evening. There also is a full moon out tonight, but not everyone can catch that view.

The TV coverage will return at 7 am Sunday.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, JIMMIE JOHNSON/No.99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet Riley Daytona Prototype certainly has experience with car control under difficult conditions stemming from his earlier days in off-road racing. But he said “It’s scary going out on cold slicks.”

In comparing his Sprint Cup No.48 Lowe’s Chevrolet to the DP, Johnson said the DP is the more difficult to drive. Racing on road courses is more challenging, even in NASCAR. While he can’t take anything to his Cup program from his Rolex experience, “seat time is seat time. The rust falls off the race sensors. I just love this race. In the five years I’ve been coming here, I have yet to be able to use my down time to rest and rehydrate. I thought when the TV coverage goes off at 10 PM that would help, but now I have a scanner in my motor home, so I’ll probably listen to that.”

While Johnson was driving, there was no telemetry in the car, so every few laps he would read the gauges to his race engineer, KYLE BRANNAN. A fortunate caution gave Johnson the time to pit for a new antenna, taking 25 seconds. It worked!

Don’t look for No.30 Racer’s Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8 GT on the live T&S any more. It retired after 69 laps due to motor issues. The last driver in the car was TODD LAMB. His co-drivers are GLENN BOCCHINO, JADE BUFORD, JOHN EDWARDS and teenager JORDAN TAYLOR, whose older (by two years) brother and father are in Dad’s pole sitter car, No.10 Sun Trust Racing Ford Dallara DP.

Sun Trust Racing. Photo by Mark Weber

Sun Trust Racing had a bit of a hiccup at the 5:36 hour mark. Under full course caution, driver PEDRO LAMY of Portugal came out on cold tires and spun at pit exit. He hit the wall, causing minor rear end damage and more severe front end alignment problems. The car was one lap down at that point. Lamy pitted and within four laps (still under caution) the crew was able to repair the car and get back out, with pole sitter MAX ANGELELLI of Monaco behind the wheel.

Corsa Racing before garage visit. Photo by Mark Weber

Corsa Team PR1 No.32 BMW M6 GT had a wheel bearing problem on Lap 182 while MAX HYATT was driving. The car has been taken to the garage for repairs. Co-drivers are ROB FINLAY, THOMAS MERRILL, and JEFF WESTPHAL.

The Role 24 at Daytona is part of the 2010 schedule run by the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No.16.

After the first or second pit stop for fuel, most teams at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, rain tires were swapped for slicks. There are no intermediate Pirelli tires for the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No.16. Going out on slicks, especially ‘stickers’ (new slicks which haven’t been scrubbed in) is a special challenge.

So said PATRICK DEMPSEY, driver and team owner of No.40 Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8. His co-driver, JOE FOSTER, ran the first (double) stint on wets, and when the pit stop for driver change was made, Dempsey went out on stickers. “Initially, getting the slicks up to temperature was problematic.” Dempsey won’t get back into the car until midnight. When asked about the rainy start, Dempsey said “It was great for TV, and challenging for the drivers. The officials did a great job starting the race.”

Dempsey Racing has expanded to a two-car team. The second car, No.41 Dempsey Racing/Team Seattle Mazda RX-8. He said he was “fortunate in this economy;  it’s great to expand to two cars. We have a lot to learn this year.” Dempsey has worked with Team Seattle before, so it was “good continuity, synergy,  and it was the right fit.”

Patrick Dempsey. Photo by Shaun Lumley

Dempsey likes endurance racing – “there’s the challenge of it.” He contrasted the Rolex 24 at Daytona and The 24 Hours of Le Mans. “The cars are different. The Rolex 24 is a three-day event; Le Mans is a week, and it has ritual, history and is special.” Dempsey hopes to have sponsorship to run this year’s Le Mans. One kink could be that Dempsey will be shooting a movie around that time.

As part of his personal fitness program, Dempsey is working with JACQUES DALLAIRE’s Performance Prime.

Dempsey has already acquired the movie rights to “The Art of Racing in the Rain” by GARTH STEIN. The actor has another meeting with the screen writers the day after the Rolex 24 to discuss the production schedule. Dempsey hopes the movie will go into production this year. He will play the lead, race driver DENNY SWIFT. No word on who will play ENZO, who narrates the story.

Another voice on rain racing came from ALEX GURNEY/No.99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet Riley DP. He said “It was real wet at the start and I had to be really careful. We all promised the boss we’d cruise in the rain. However, there were some drivers out there who weren’t careful.” He didn’t name names, but when pressed, Gurney said “CHRISTOPHE BOUCHUT/No.95 Crown Royal/NPN BMW Riley DP and RICARDO ZONTA/No.75 Krohn Racing Ford Lola DP. Bouchut spun and I was happy to see that.”

DARIO FRANCHITTI/No.01 Ganassi Racing DP said after he got out of the car in Hour Five “It’s still wet out there, and it’s still a single lane track. We’re logging laps and then going for it at the end.”

The TV commentators said the pit lane was still wet four hours after the rain stopped. They opined causes could include there was no wind to dry the track, and it was high humidity.

At the end of Hour Four, there had been eleven lead changes among eight drivers/seven cars. SCOTT DIXON/No.02 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley DP Laps 23-36; SCOTT PRUETT/No.01 Ganassi Racing DP Laps 37-40; Zonta Laps 41-49; Pruett Laps 50-55; IAN JAMES/No.7 Starworks Motorsport BMW Riley Laps 56-57; Dixon Laps 58-82; and Franchitti Laps 83-111. The cautions number five for 25 laps of 110 laps.

Pole Sitter No.10 DP under wraps on Pre-Grid. Photo by Lynne Huntting

The rain came down on the Pre-Grid at Daytona International Speedway for the Pre-Race activities surrounding the Rolex 24 at Daytona. All but one of the Daytona Prototypes were covered.

The sole brave DP was 2009 champion, No.99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet Riley which started last in a field of 15 DP’s.

No.99 DP braving the rainy Pre-Grid. Photo by Lynne Huntting

With the majority of the field under wraps and drivers staying dry and hidden or buried under rain gear, it was difficult to have the pageantry which normally precedes what is considered to be the premiere American endurance sports car race.

Pirelli, the official tire of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No.16, brought 10,000 tires. Three thousand are rain tires. I’ve been assured by TOM GRAVALOS, Pirelli Vice President Marketing, Motorsports and OE Sales, that even if there was a steady rain for the entire 24-hour race, there would be sufficient tires for the field. A set of rain tires can last at least a couple of hours: the water cools the tires, drivers are racing at slower speeds, and are more careful.

Despite the rain, the race started on time, with the first six laps under caution.

At the end of Hour One, DANE CAMERON/No.2 Beyer Chevrolet Crawford DP was leading the race overall, with MARTIN RAGGINGER/No.23 Alex Job Racing Porsche GT3 Cup leading GT class, in fifteenth place. There were six lead changes overall/DP during the first hour: Pole Sitter MAX ANGELELLI/No.10 Sun Trust Racing Ford Dallara-under caution; SCOTT PRUETT/No.01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Racing BMW Riley-Lap 7; OSWALDO NEGRI Jr/No.60 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley Laps 8-11; MEMO GIDLEY/No.77 Doran Racing Ford Dallara Laps 12-19; and Cameron, Laps 20-22.

Unfortunately the live Timing and Scoring isn’t set up to show the lead changes in the GT category.

JOHNNY MOWLEM/No.88 Orbit Racing Porsche GT3 Cup GT blew a right rear tire early in the race. Gravalos said initial inspection by the Pirelli tire engineers indicated the cause was debris on track. Sounds like tire forensics.