Corvette Racing Sweeps 24 Hours of Daytona

The most thrilling victory for Corvette Racing, dating back to 2001, may have transpired this past weekend as the C7.R Corvettes finished 1 - 2 in the GT Le Mans Class (GTLM) at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, the first race of the 2016 IMSA Season.

Team Corvette dominated the endurance races in the 2015 season with first-place victories in the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 hours of Sebring, and the 24 hours of Le Mans.  It is nice to see 2016 starting off as well.

This race was the closest finish in the history of the Rolex 24 with one Corvette beating the other Corvette to the finish line by only 0.034 seconds!

 The back story is really wild.  The No. 4 Corvette, the eventual winner, started the race in 7th position but driver Oliver Gavin moved up to third place after just five laps.  Team mate Tommy Milner set the fastest lap time of any GTLM car up to the 12 hour mark.  The No. 3 Corvette ran strong all day too.  As the final half-hour approached, Antonio Garcia, driving the No. 3 Corvette was in third place behind the No. 912 Porsche with the No. 4 Corvette in first place.  Once Garcia passed the Porsche, with the Corvettes running 1 - 2, Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing program manager, "issued no team orders", meaning that the two Corvettes were free to compete for the win!  One writer described the final 20 minutes as follows:

After the two Corvette GTLM cars got around the class leading #912 Porsche 911 towards the end of this year's Rolex 24 at Daytona, Corvette Racing Program Manager Doug Fehan gave his drivers permission to race each other. What followed was the most spectacular 15 minutes of racing many have ever witnessed.

The #4 car, driven by Oliver Gavin, was in the lead, but the #3 car, driven by Antonio Garcia was on a fresh set of tires. Garcia chased Gavin hard, attempting NASCAR-style drafting passes on his teammate.

The announcers for IMSA Radio are flabbergasted: They've never seen racing like this, especially not after 23 hours and 45 minutes of continuous, grueling racing.

The Corvettes were trashed after the race!

Here are a few video clips so you can experience the wild finish:

Final 30 minutes Courtesy of Road and Track

IMSA Recap of Rolex 24 at Daytona

The finishing positions by manufacturer are:

Corvette C7.R         1, 2
Porsche 911RSR      3, 8
Ferrari 488GTE      4, 6, 10
BMW M6 GTLM     5, 11
Ford GT                   7, 9

GNRS 2016 With Mike Reeves

For the second year in a row I attended the Grand National Roadster Show with Mike Reeves.  It was even better than last year!

GNRS 2015 With Mike Reeves

On Saturday morning at 5:30AM, in the unseasonably-cold darkness, Mike stopped to pick me up.  This year I knew to bring a warm hat, coat, gloves and blanket.  The simplicity of Mike's 32 Ford Roadster doesn't allow for a heater (anyway, heaters are for sissies).

We made the drive to Pomona arriving with the earliest participants.  After filling the gas tank with fuel and our tummies with Starbucks we took our place next to Exhibit Hall #6 along side similar vintage roadsters.

Mike's car is so clean and classic it always attracts a crowd.  Here is Mike encouraging a future rodder to enjoy the '32.

It is amazing to me how many people -- and cars -- Mike knows.  He introduced me to dozens of friends throughout the day.  One stop was to ask some technical questions of a custom builder from South San Francisco, Roy Brezio.  I was very impressed with the cars that their shop has custom built for their customers (four were on display, and one was entered in the judging for "America's Most Beautiful Roadster").

I'm always on the lookout for a really nice 1933 or 34 Ford Roadster or three-window coupe.  My favorite this year was this beauty!

Some really nice Corvettes work their way into this car show every year.  Here was my favorite for 2016.  How cool would it look in the garage next to Nan's Blue 56?

A personal highlight for me was finally meeting the legendary publisher of "The Rodder's Journal", Steve Coonan.  Steve is a big hero to the Beltsville Shell crowd, one of our own who left Maryland for California to find his fame and fortune.  I have just missed catching Steve at various car shows over the years, but this time I was able to visit with him.  He has read "Beltsville Shell: You Are What You Drive" and even has memories that intersect with some stories in the book.  I really enjoyed connecting with Steve.

We have had some bitterly cold weather and rain in San Diego this season. The skies were overcast all day.  When we decided to leave for the ride home we were wondering if we would get caught in the rain.  Sure enough, with about 40 miles to go a light rain began to fall.

 You will notice that Mike's car has no side windows and no windshield wipers (wipers are for sissies!).  But Mike has driven the little '32 all across the country and he knew exactly the speed to drive to keep us remarkably dry.  We actually survived really well all the way to Carlsbad!

It was another fantastic day.  Best of all, we learned on Sunday that the Brezio family won the 2016 award for America's Most Beautiful  Roadster!  So cool!  Thank you so much, Mike!

2016 AMBR Winner