Steve Briscoe
Lifetime Supporter
Who do you think will be the overall winner at the 24 hours of Daytona and why? Do you have a guess as to not only the win but who "place and show"?
24 Hrs of Daytona - Who Will Win and Why?
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Lynn Larsen
Lynn Larsen
GrandAm is just too close to call. The Daytona Prototypes (kind of a contradiction in terms since they are a spec racer) are all so close that on any given day almost any of them can win.
Looking over the entrants, there are some real names there this year. The Gnassi teams are always fast. The Howard Motorsports teams are always good and are the guys I always root for; "Go Max and Jan!!!" (Kiwis take note Max Crawford is from New Zealand.) Dan Gurney's son is sitting on the pole with the Gainsco team who really came on throughout last year. Then there is the Vision Racing team who has Anthony Foyt and some not to shaby team mates: Ed Carpenter, Tomas Scheckter, Tony George and Stephan Gregoire. I don't know if Anthony is as good a driver as A.J. was but he has got the name. Wayne Taylor's SunTrust team is always good and can never be counted out. And, of course there is EFR, Elliott Forbes-Robinson, the man is stud to be his age and still racing with all the young guys; he has to be a sentimental favorite at least. I could go on and on about good teams and drivers which only goes to support my original statement: on any day........
The heels of the group, IMHO, are Kevin Doran with only one car entered this year (my heart bleeds peanut butter for him) and Eddie Cheever who is the bigges whinny baby, premadonna in the racing world. He thinks everyone owes him the track when he's out there and he proved this in more than one racing series; he should have had charges brought against him for what he did to Marco Andretti (and to Danica Patrick) last year in the IRL race at the Glen. (I notice he doesn't have an IRL team this year; couldn't happen to a nicer guy, IMHO.)
(I doubt anyone will surpass the Porsche 917 win in '70(?) when they had to completely rebuild the transaxle (in the old case) during the night and still won. That was miraculous and proved what a helluva car it was(is). )
Anyway, it'll be fun watching to find out who crosses the finish line first. Just wish Speed had flag to flag coverage like they did in 2001. (But that was before they were bought out and drank the NASCAR cool-aide.)
Lynn
Looking over the entrants, there are some real names there this year. The Gnassi teams are always fast. The Howard Motorsports teams are always good and are the guys I always root for; "Go Max and Jan!!!" (Kiwis take note Max Crawford is from New Zealand.) Dan Gurney's son is sitting on the pole with the Gainsco team who really came on throughout last year. Then there is the Vision Racing team who has Anthony Foyt and some not to shaby team mates: Ed Carpenter, Tomas Scheckter, Tony George and Stephan Gregoire. I don't know if Anthony is as good a driver as A.J. was but he has got the name. Wayne Taylor's SunTrust team is always good and can never be counted out. And, of course there is EFR, Elliott Forbes-Robinson, the man is stud to be his age and still racing with all the young guys; he has to be a sentimental favorite at least. I could go on and on about good teams and drivers which only goes to support my original statement: on any day........
The heels of the group, IMHO, are Kevin Doran with only one car entered this year (my heart bleeds peanut butter for him) and Eddie Cheever who is the bigges whinny baby, premadonna in the racing world. He thinks everyone owes him the track when he's out there and he proved this in more than one racing series; he should have had charges brought against him for what he did to Marco Andretti (and to Danica Patrick) last year in the IRL race at the Glen. (I notice he doesn't have an IRL team this year; couldn't happen to a nicer guy, IMHO.)
(I doubt anyone will surpass the Porsche 917 win in '70(?) when they had to completely rebuild the transaxle (in the old case) during the night and still won. That was miraculous and proved what a helluva car it was(is). )
Anyway, it'll be fun watching to find out who crosses the finish line first. Just wish Speed had flag to flag coverage like they did in 2001. (But that was before they were bought out and drank the NASCAR cool-aide.)
Lynn
Steve Briscoe
Lifetime Supporter
llarsen said:
LOL! Speed has changed. No doubt.
The field is definitely star-studded. I'll go with Ganassi Racing that has Scott Pruett, Salvador Duran and Juan Pablo Montoya. Scott Pruett has a good dose of "been there done that" and Juan Pablo will drive the wheels off just about anything. As a place or show, I think Michael Shank Racing has put together a good team with Sam Hornish Jr. and Helio Castroneves. Both of those guys have done extremely well in the Indy Car Series but maybe the oval experience will make them great turning left but a hair slow turning right. My "dark horse" pick is Pontiac Crawford with Tony Stewart, Andy Wallace and Butch Letzinger. Tony Stewart has the "fire within". He has middle linebacker mentality when he drives. He climbed in a midget and won the Chili Bowl on January 15th while beating 250+ guys that do that all year long and then flew out to Barrett Jackson to buy and sell cars.
There are definitely some interesting personality and racing types at this year's race!
Lynn Larsen
Lynn Larsen
You can't go wrong with Smoke! He'd have already won the 24hrs if that damned inboard rear shock linkage hadn't broken within minutes of the finish!
I don't really consider those guys (Howard Motorsport/BOSS team) dark horses though. Yes, they had a rough year last year, but they have always been "right there" over the years. The Dysons are real racers in my book!
Lynn
PS: I guess I lost track of the soap opera that goes on behind the scenes last year. I was caught by surprise at the VIR 400KM when I learned that Crawford's daughter had married Andy Wallace when, the last I heard, she was dating Chris Dyson.
I don't really consider those guys (Howard Motorsport/BOSS team) dark horses though. Yes, they had a rough year last year, but they have always been "right there" over the years. The Dysons are real racers in my book!
Lynn
PS: I guess I lost track of the soap opera that goes on behind the scenes last year. I was caught by surprise at the VIR 400KM when I learned that Crawford's daughter had married Andy Wallace when, the last I heard, she was dating Chris Dyson.
Lynn Larsen
Lynn Larsen
Gotta go, the race is starting on fox then on Speed at 2:30.
Later,
Lynn
Later,
Lynn
Steve Briscoe
Lifetime Supporter
Gurney has it right. You don't have to lead the race, just be consistent. He led a little for bragging rights. Now, let's see what he does for the whole race.
I will be rootin' for the Dinan BMW powered cars. Steve Dinan's business 'grew up' side by side with ours, we used to trade work in each of our specialities. Steve said the engines are something of a loss leader as he makes little if any money on them. Racing junkies... were all afflicted.
Go Dinan!
Go Dinan!
Lynn Larsen
Lynn Larsen
Wow! Lots of action, lots of drama! For the lack of yellow flag laps in the first 8 hours, they have certainly made up for it with the rain. At least it looks like it will remain dry for the durantion now.
Sent an email to David Hobbs inviting him to the forum.
Lynn
Sent an email to David Hobbs inviting him to the forum.
Lynn
Lynn Larsen
Lynn Larsen
Good call, Steve!!!
JPM showed his stuff overnight and it was brilliant. Of course, I am not taking anything away from Scott Pruett! As the commentators mentioned, if his racing record is looked at over his racing career, it stands up with the best of them. He seems like a prince of a guy as well.
Lynn
JPM showed his stuff overnight and it was brilliant. Of course, I am not taking anything away from Scott Pruett! As the commentators mentioned, if his racing record is looked at over his racing career, it stands up with the best of them. He seems like a prince of a guy as well.
Lynn
Dutton
Lifetime Supporter
If my personal experience with Pruett is any indicator, you're dead right regarding the quality of the man, Lynn.
While working turns at an IMSA race at Portland too many years ago, I bumped into him near his teams area in the paddock following a long Saturday of practice and qualifying. He was a class act - generous with his time, joking, even sharing stories about the day on track... with some turn worker he'd never come across before.
Again, class act. Right there in Dan Gurney territory.
Best,
T.
While working turns at an IMSA race at Portland too many years ago, I bumped into him near his teams area in the paddock following a long Saturday of practice and qualifying. He was a class act - generous with his time, joking, even sharing stories about the day on track... with some turn worker he'd never come across before.
Again, class act. Right there in Dan Gurney territory.
Best,
T.
Steve Briscoe
Lifetime Supporter
I got lucky with my guess on the winner. Many of the entrants could have just as easily won. This race was not only highly entertaining, but it was also educational. The in-car cameras coupled with sound made it easy for me to see braking points, shift points and different throttle responses with the drivers. It's amazing how these guys roll on the throttle consistently after being behind the wheel for hours on end.
Daytona Prototype racing is great with the wheel to wheel, nose to tail competition that goes on hour after hour. It resembles what Formula 1 was many years ago.
Daytona Prototype racing is great with the wheel to wheel, nose to tail competition that goes on hour after hour. It resembles what Formula 1 was many years ago.
