A Look Back At Daytona Endurance Racing
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July 27, 2010
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<http://www.caracingnews.com/event.asp?id=235> Rolex 24 At Daytona
Daytona (FL), USA
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T-MINUS 19 MONTHS: A LOOK BACK AT DAYTONA ENDURANCE RACING 1967 - 1979
Eagerly anticipated by drivers, auto manufacturers and race fans everywhere,
the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona is always the first major race of the world's
motor sport season. Every January, the Daytona International Speedway
(Daytona Beach, Florida, USA) comes to life in celebration of this
incredible endurance race, recognized by leading drivers as one of the most
difficult in the world to win.
Building anticipation for 2012 50th Running
The 2012 edition will mark the 50th running of sports car racing at the
Speedway, home of the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona. Leading up to this unique
anniversary, we will be presenting a once-a-month look back through the
history, people and events that have made this famous race what it is today.
For this month, (July), we trace a twelve-year window within the history of
the Daytona race, highlighting important key events and some trivia, all
part of the lifeline of endurance racing at the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona.
An important period for Daytona: 1967 - 1979
Beginning where we left off in May, with a look back to the early days of
the Rolex 24
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Hours At Daytona, we now find ourselves in.
1967: Over 27,000 spectators enjoy the 58-car start of the 24-hour race,
unaware that only 29 cars will still be running at the finish. After a tough
race, led by the new high-winged Chapparel 2F, Ferrari stuns the crowd with
their beautiful 330 P4 cars. They take the first three places, crossing the
line in formation for a photo finish with an average speed of 106 mph, while
the Ford GT40s struggle throughout with "transmission problems". This
victory led the media to unofficially name the 1968 Ferrari 365GTB/4 cars
"Daytona", a name still used today for these cars that are amongst the most
sought after by car collectors everywhere.
1968: The FIA, as governing body of international endurance racing, limits
engine displacement for prototypes for "safety reasons" before this edition
of the race. This sidelines the Chapparal, Ford GT40s, Ferraris and others,
but gives Porsche the chance it needed to enjoy its first 24-hour race
victory and the first three finish positions. The lead driver behind the
wheel of their 907 was Daytona rookie Vic Elford (GBR), fresh from winning
the Monte Carlo rally the week before. Finishing 33rd was George Waltman
(USA), who drove the entire 24 hours and 338 laps alone in his Morgan sports
car.
1969: Porsche enters five 908 cars, up against two Ford GT40s and five Lola
T70s. Every Porsche breaks down with the failure of the same small part, the
intermediate drive shaft. "Four inches long and only $8 each," explained
Gianrico Steinemann, Porsche factory team manager. "But we could not replace
them, and that killed us." Problems abound for most, but Mark Donohue (USA)
and Chuck Parsons (USA) win the race by 30 laps in Roger Penske's
Chevrolet-Lola. TV and film actor James Garner's Lola finished in 2nd,
marking the first time a Lola had gone the distance of a 24-hour race and
the first time Chevrolet had won an international endurance race.
1970: More than 35,000 turn out to watch the clash of the supercars. The
John Wyer Gulf Porsche 917, driven by Pedro Rodriguez (MEX) and Leo Kinnumen
(FIN), was up against Mario Andretti in a red Ferrari 512S. Rodriguez took
the lead after just two hours and 35 minutes and held it to finish with a
45-lap lead and an average speed over 114mph ahead of the other Gulf Porsche
917 and Andretti in 3rd. Little known Gianpiero Moretti from Milan drove his
Ferrari 512S to 29th place and in 1998, nearly 30 years later, he would win
his first Daytona endurance classic in a Ferrari 333SP after fifteen
attempts.
1971: The John Wyer Porsche 917K, driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Jackie
Oliver (GBR), won in the closest finish since 24-hour racing started in
Daytona. The Porsche reached 225 mph on the back straight as it entered the
31-degree banking, and Rodriguez had to catch the Ferrari in the closing
laps by 10 seconds to win. The top two cars were running just over a lap
apart at the finish, with the leading Porsche trailing smoke and the
Bucknum/Adamowiez Ferrari, with a valve problem, belching flames each time
it decelerated.
1972: FIA engine rules change from a five-litre to a new three-litre Formula
One based concept, rendering the mighty Porsche 917, Ferrari 512, and Ford
GT40 obsolete. In an experimental move to attract more crowds, and due to
lack of engine reliability over long distances with the three-litre rule,
the Daytona race is shortened to six hours. Ferrari enters three 312PBs to
challenge three Alfa Romeo T33s - an all-Italian battle. Mario Andretti
(USA) and legendary Le Mans driver Jacky Ickx (BEL) win at an average speed
of 124 mph, with the Alfa in 2nd. Hurley Haywood (USA) wins the Sports
Touring Class in a 911S Porsche. Over 26,500 people were in attendance,
according to National Speed Sport News.
1973: After the six hour race failed to boost attendance, the FIA approves
Bill France's request to return to the 24-hour race format. A record crowd
celebrates the return of round-the-clock racing, despite the fact that
neither Ferrari nor Alfa Romeo teams were participating in this race as the
distance did not favour their cars. Five special prototype cars - Mirage and
Matra from France, Lola from Britain and Porsche from Germany - rise to the
challenge but all fail. Brumos Porsche wins by 22 laps in a new Carrera RS,
driven by Hurley Haywood and Peter Gregg (USA), the first overall victory
for a 911-based Porsche in international competition. The venerable 911
would dominate sports car racing for the next decade, and Hurley Haywood
would go on to win the Sebring 12-hours a few weeks later.
1974: An OPEC oil embargo late 1973 leads to an international gasoline
crisis. Escalating gas prices and long fuel lines mean drastic action: the
speedway proposes to shorten race time to 12 hours along with a date change
to July in order to still run the race. Unfortunately, the sanctioning
bodies do not agree to the date change and the Daytona speedway has no
choice but to cancel the event.
1975: The race is sanctioned for the first time by the International Motor
Sports Association (IMSA) and becomes the opener for both the IMSA Camel GT
Series and the FIA World Championship of Makes. Early morning fog worried
race officials who considered red-flagging the race until Hurley Haywood
radioed in that they time his next lap. He then ran the fastest lap of the
race and asked officials, "How was that?", effectively ending all thoughts
of bringing out the red flag. 51 cars started the race, 25 made it to the
finish. Gregg and Haywood led six Porsche Carrera RSRs home in their second
straight Daytona 24 Hour victory in the Brumos Porsche.
1976: Endurance racing traditionally continues "rain or shine", only
extraordinary conditions can bring racing to a halt. This was an edition
full of surprises: new BMWs ran at the front, eight NASCAR stock cars in the
field, water-tainted fuel and an unprecedented "turning-back of the clock"
during racing. Around 9am the leading BMW, driven by Brian Redman (GBR),
Peter Gregg and John Fitzpatrick (GBR), began having inexplicable engine
problems. These then hit other teams and water-tainted fuel was found to be
the culprit. The race was stopped for 2 hours and 40 minutes so that teams
could purge their fuel lines and replace fuel cells. The clock reverted to
9am and the standings at that time. The BMW driven by
Redman/Gregg/Fitzpatrick took the win and the doubled purse of $100,000,
thanks to a joint promotion with Le Mans.
1977: Turbos make their appearance on the Daytona circuit with the
factory-entered turbocharged Porsche 935, driven by Jacky Ickx and Jochen
Mass (GER), rumoured as the car to beat. However that tremendous power wears
down the tires, lowering the cars' reliability, an essential factor in
endurance racing. Ecurie Escargot's Porsche Carrera 911, driven by John
Graves (USA), Dr. Dave Helmick (USA) and Hurley Haywood, takes the win by
just 53 seconds. "It's a team of snails," said Helmick. "We may be slow, but
we're still faster than you." Hollywood star Paul Newman placed 5th in his
Ferrari Daytona, driving with Elliot-Forbes Robinson (USA) and Milt Minter
(USA).
1978: This edition of the race features 29 foreign drivers from 11 different
countries, and 16 international teams, including the first-ever Japanese
team Mazda Auto Tokyo with their rotary engine Mazda RX-3s. Twelve Porsche
935 Turbos, two with twin-turbos, dominate the entries. They sweep up 14 of
the top 15 finishing positions and manage an all-Porsche victory procession
of the top five finishers, with the Brumos Porsche twin-turbo 935 driven by
Rolf Stommelen (GER) and Antoine Hezemans (NED) finishing 1st. American
actor David Carradine drove his Ferrari Daytona to 8th place to break up the
otherwise entirely clean sweep for Porsche.
1979: The turbocharged cars were still facing issues: all 13 turbocharged
Porsche 935s had problems and only four made it to the finish. Paul Newman,
in a turbo-car for the first time, led in Dick Barbour's Porsche until
retiring just before dawn with a blown head gasket. The Michelin tires on
the Ferraris failed to handle the speeds on the banking. Ted Field's
Interscope Porsche 935 just wins the race, with Haywood and Hawaiian drag
racer Danny Ongais, as their turbocharger fails with just 10 minutes
remaining. Under IMSA rules they would win the race, but to secure FIA world
championship Group 5 points the car had to be driven over the line. Ongais
parked the crippled Porsche on the apron and waited for the 24 hours to
expire, then slowly rolled across the finish line, winning the race and
setting four new records: 684 laps, 2,626.56 miles, a 49-lap margin of
victory and an average speed of 109.409 mph.
More to come next month, but if you just can't wait, be sure to pick up a
copy of J.J. O'Malley's book, Daytona 24 Hours: The Definitive History of
America's Great Endurance Race. It is a "must read" for any fan and a great
source of information on the history of the Rolex 24 Hour At Daytona.
In Current News: Repaving has officially begun
On Monday, 12 July, Darrell and Michael Waltrip, the only brothers to win
the Daytona 500, took a backhoe to the daunting Turn One high banks of
Daytona International Speedway. This was the ceremonial groundbreaking of
the historic repaving project at Daytona International Speedway.
"I've tried to knock the walls down but I've never tried to tear the track
up," said 1989 Daytona 500 champion Darrell Waltrip. "That was a first for
me."
"I'm going to get me a chunk of that and take it back to North Carolina,"
said Michael Waltrip, the 2001 and 2003 Daytona 500 champion. "This place is
special to our family. It's part of who we are. I don't come through that
tunnel and not think about what this place means to me. I'm a
traditionalist. I love Daytona and I love this being the Mecca of NASCAR
racing."
The repaving project officially began on 5 July, with crews removing light
poles, SAFER barriers and safety fences, and beginning to mill asphalt on
the Superstretch and the Frontstretch.
Daytona International Speedway's entire 2.5-mile tri-oval will be repaved in
addition to the skid pads, apron and pit road. Concrete will be used for the
pit stalls. All of the existing asphalt will be removed, right down to the
original 52-year-old lime rock base, which will be leveled before paving
will begin.
An estimated 50,000 tons of asphalt will be used to pave nearly 1.5 million
square feet, or about 33 acres. The repaving has a target completion date of
1 January 2011.
Daytona International Speedway is posting project updates at
www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/repave and on its social sites on
Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/DISUpdates> and Facebook
<http://www.facebook.com/daytonainternationalspeedway.com> .
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona: Optimize your machine
The Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona is a world-class race, rewarding all its
deserving winners with a place in motor sports history and a steel Rolex
Cosmograph Daytona, named "the world's rarest watch" by WatchTime magazine.
The Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona is the reference for those with a
passion for driving and elegance. It was designed as the ultimate tool for
drivers in endurance races. The central second hand allows an accurate
reading of 1/8 second and the two counters at 9 and 3 o'clock respectively
measure time in hour and minute increments. This allows the driver to
capture his course times accurately and thus determine what speed he must
drive in order to win the race.
For more information about the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, please visit
www.rolex.com.
About the Rolex 24 At Daytona
The Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona, America's most prestigious sports car race
and one of only two 24-hour sports car events in the world, will mark its
50th running at Daytona International Speedway in 2012. The
twice-around-the-clock challenge kicks off the international motor sports
calendar, as well as the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, and features a
star-studded line-up of drivers from around the world on Daytona's demanding
3.56-mile road course.
For more information about the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona or to download
free, high-resolution images for editorial purposes, please register online
at www.caracingnews.com <http://www.caracingnews.com/>
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