caracingnews.com - Rolex 24 At Daytona - Press Info
http://caracingnews.com/admin/newsletter/Images/logo_caracingnews.gif May 28, 2010 <http://caracingnews.com/event.asp?id=235> http://caracingnews.com/images/logo_small/7_2008_R24D_logo.gif <http://caracingnews.com/event.asp?id=235> Rolex 24 At Daytona Daytona (FL), USA http://caracingnews.com/admin/newsletter/Images/pr_leaf_right.gif T-MINUS 21 MONTHS: DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, THE EARLY STAGES Anticipated by drivers, auto manufacturers and race fans everywhere, the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona is always the first major car 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, known by 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 of Daytona. As a lead-up to this important anniversary, we will be presenting a once-a-month look back through the history, people and events that have made this race what it is today. For this month, (May), we take a look at how the Daytona International Speedway and the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona came into being, going right back to the very beginning. An idea becomes reality Automobile racing and the state of Florida, USA, first began their long-standing relationship in 1903, when the first speed trials took place on Ormond Beach, just north of Daytona. Racers discovered that the unusually hard-packed sands of Daytona Beach proved an ideal setting for land-speed record attempts. International interest in the spot grew and it was here that Sir Malcolm Campbell (GBR), wearing a Rolex Oyster, set a new record land-speed of over 481 kmh (300 mph) in his Bluebird in 1935. However, with the discovery of Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats as a larger, safer place for land-speed record testing, race traffic began to drift away from Daytona. In 1936 local city officials turned to stock car and motorcycle racing on the beach and parallel roads in order to maintain Daytona Beach's position in the motor sports community. At about the same time, a young mechanic named Bill France (Sr.) moved from Washington, D.C., to Daytona Beach and was active in local racing and promotion. No one could have predicted the role this young man would play in the future of motor sports, but by 1947 France was sure of one thing: the motor sports industry needed a change. Just one year later, following a series of discussions with race promoters, officials and drivers, France founded NASCAR and changed the face of motor sports forever. France became the driving force behind the promotion of racing in Daytona, and by the 1950s growing beachside development and traffic, along with deteriorating conditions on the sand portions of the track, were making racing on Daytona Beach increasingly difficult. France knew Daytona needed a permanent racing facility, and he took it upon himself to begin lobbying city officials for a speedway in 1953. It took six years, but France saw to it that in 1959 Daytona International Speedway opened. France knew from the start that he wasn't looking to make this simply the most important track in NASCAR stock car racing. He wanted his brand new facility to play a major role in the international industry, and the only thing that could attract that kind of attention and publicity was what was thought of as the "elite division" of American motor sports: sports car racing. So France devised a revolutionary concept and constructed an infield road course, perfect for major sports car and motorcycle races, inside the high-banked 4.02-kilometre (2.5-mile) tri-oval of the track, and in 1962 he hosted the inaugural Daytona Continental, a three-hour race run counter-clockwise on this 6.13-kilometre (3.81-mile) infield circuit. The race quickly attracted attention because of its impressive car and driver line-up. In addition, for the first time in history the construction of the track allowed fans to see the entire course from their grandstand seats, instead of being limited to the action directly in front of them as on a traditional circuit. The circuit's staggering 31-degree banking fascinated and intimidated the strong field of drivers that flocked to the race. "I remember going to Daytona for the first time," recalled Dan Gurney (USA). "You'd go through that tunnel and come out inside the speedway, and here is this gigantic dream of Bill France Sr. It was - and still is - an impressive sight. It was the granddaddy of all such tracks." That 1962 race was a great success: not only did 34 of the 50 starters run until the finish, but there were an estimated 18,000 fans on hand and it turned out to be the fastest sports car race ever run in the United States, with Gurney's red Lotus completing 82 laps at an average speed of 167.53 kmh (104.101 mph). The race evolved over the next few years with the 1964 and '65 editions becoming a 2,000-kilometre (1,243-mile) race, and in 1966 the race became a 24-hour endurance test. The 1966 edition featured the extreme temperature shifts that the 24 Hours of Daytona is known for: sunny and pleasant one moment and bitterly cold the next. Freezing temperatures during the night meant no driver was allowed to race for more than four consecutive hours. "What I remember most about that particular year was there was ice on the top lane on the banking," Phil Hill (USA) recalled. "It was that cold." France announced the two-day attendance at 29,632. "It more than tripled what we drew for the Continental in 1965 when it was a 2,000-kilometre race," France told the Daytona Beach Morning Journal. "We didn't make a bundle of money on the 24-hour race, but we did start building towards a race that will become one of the great automotive events in the world." France was right. Since 1966 this annual January event has joined the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring as the triple crown of international endurance competition. The event has been run in 24 hours ever since, with the exception of 1972 when the speedway experimented with a six-hour format, and in 1974 when the international fuel crisis forced a one-time cancellation of the race. This race has come a long way since its beginnings. Virtually every major manufacturer has been involved at some point with full factory teams or through enthusiastic privateers. Over the years the race has attracted great cars from Porsche, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Ford, Jaguar and many more, including a host of specialized chassis builders. The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona has turned sunny Florida into a welcome destination for the winter-weary racing world, and all eagerly await the next edition, set to take place on a newly paved circuit in 2011. ------ Editor's Note: Primary source of information is J.J. O'Malley's book, Daytona 24 Hours: The Definitive History of America's Great Endurance Race, a must-read for any fan of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona! Bill France inaugurated in NASCAR Hall of Fame May 2010 has been a very important month in NASCAR history as May 11 marked the grand opening of NASCAR's brand-new Hall of Fame in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. This past Sunday, both Bill France Sr. and Bill France Jr. were among the five inaugural inductees, bringing the story full circle from its early beginnings to current times. Among the other inductees were seven-time Daytona 500 champion and Grand Marshal of the 2007 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona Richard Petty, along with the 1960 Daytona 500 Junior Johnson, seven-time NASCAR champion and 1998 Daytona 500 champion Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt made his lone Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona start back in 2001 behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette and finished 4th overall, 2nd in the GTS class. "Daytona International Speedway is proud to have a strong tie to each honouree in the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class," Track President Robin Braig said. "Each individual from the inaugural class made a significant and long-lasting impact on the history and success at Daytona International Speedway." For more information in the NASCAR Hall of Fame please visit www.nascarhall.com Rolex Cosmograph Daytona: Optimize your machine The Rolex 24 Hours of 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 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona has a history and class around it that everyone trying to aim for the top in motor sport understands and respects. Each driver wants to win 'his' Rolex Daytona," says eight-time Le Mans winner and Rolex Testimonee Tom Kristensen (DEN). "Motor sports is all about getting the best out of your machine through optimization and technology, and anyone who is interested in that is also interested in mechanical watches. Ask anyone in the motor sports world to name a watch and the first to be mentioned is bound to be the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. And to win a Rolex Daytona at the Rolex 24 At Daytona must be quite something," Kristensen adds. Never having raced at Daytona yet, this top driver still hopes to have his chance someday. In the meantime, his primary objective is the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, set to begin 12 June. Tom Kristensen, son of Danish Touring Car Champion Carl Erik Kristensen, is known for breaking records right and left. In addition to Kristensen's eight wins at Le Mans, his results are impressive: he can claim five victories in the 12 Hours of Sebring and has competed and won in 15 different racing categories, from karting to rally, touring, formula and sports cars. With victories, podiums and pole positions in all of the classes he has competed in, Kristensen has proved himself to be an extraordinarily versatile racing driver, the "World's Best Sports Car Driver of the Decade," according to Autosport magazine. Tom Kristensen has joined the elite family circle of Rolex Testimonees and was presented with an Everose Rolex Daytona Cosmograph in Copenhagen. Kristensen joins other outstanding personalities of sports and the arts such as Roger Federer, Carlo Janka, Sir Jackie Stewart, Roger Penske, Cecilia Bartoli, Jack Nicklaus and Hermann Maier. For more information on Tom Kristensen and his achievements, please visit www.tomkristensen.com About the Rolex 24 Hours Of Daytona The Rolex 24 Hours Of 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 motorsports 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 of Daytona or to download free, high-resolution images for editorial purposes, please register online at www.caracingnews.com <http://www.caracingnews.com/> International Media Contacts Key Partners (KPMS) Sabrina Zumkehr M: +41 79 359 15 47 E: sabrina@kpms.com Karen Cooper M: +41 79 267 2300 E: karen@kpms.com Key Partners (KPMS) Main Office T: +41 32 724 2829 E: info@caracingnews.com www.caracingnews.com <http://www.caracingnews.com/> Edit <http://caracingnews.com/editaccount.asp?u=12811&c=285306> your account Unsubscribe <http://caracingnews.com/unsubscribe.asp?uid=12811&cn=285306> from caracingnews.com <http://caracingnews.com/photo_enlarge.asp?id=9546&eid=235> http://caracingnews.com/events/235/9546_1_DAYT10sc_2097.jpg <http://caracingnews.com/photo_enlarge.asp?id=9552&eid=235> http://caracingnews.com/events/235/9552_1_DAYT10sc_2493.jpg <http://caracingnews.com/photo_enlarge.asp?id=9589&eid=235> http://caracingnews.com/events/235/9589_1_DAYT10sc_3934.jpg <http://caracingnews.com/photo_enlarge.asp?id=9596&eid=235> http://caracingnews.com/events/235/9596_1_DAYT10sc_1622.jpg <http://caracingnews.com/photo_enlarge.asp?id=9600&eid=235> http://caracingnews.com/events/235/9600_1_GettyImages_96844808.jpg <http://caracingnews.com/photo_enlarge.asp?id=9601&eid=235> http://caracingnews.com/events/235/9601_1_GettyImages_78478499.jpg <http://caracingnews.com/photo_enlarge.asp?id=9602&eid=235> http://caracingnews.com/events/235/9602_1_GettyImages_83558152.jpg <http://caracingnews.com/photo_enlarge.asp?id=9603&eid=235> http://caracingnews.com/events/235/9603_1_GettyImages_97460288.jpg
