Hotrod
2022 RFFL Champion
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See article at the link belowAnd yet we STILL don't know what happened to the safety car Saturday morning!!!
2024 Rolex 24 at DAYTONA
- Thread starter FLRacingFan
- Start date
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
Yeah, I guess that's a good theory, even if it isn't one I personally can understand. If the better-known NASCAR drivers where there this weekend, that would only be one race. They wouldn't be showing up every week.
racingfan7
Start and Park
I’m just saying that Dale Earnhardt & Dale Jr and even Tony Stewart when he ran drew more attention to the 24 hours.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
Yep, although I was thinking more about TV audience or even just RF participation. TV has reported record crowds for both the 24 and the Roar, although I notice they don't give numbers or estimates.
Yeah, that's tough to overcome. Even though they lack the fame of the 24, the non-endurance races are probably easier for newcomers to understand. Fewer teams and cars, fewer drivers per car, less time and thus less strategy. But what do I know; I've long said when you take someone to their first NASCAR race, it should be a Truck or Xfinity race.
Mispeedway15
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I don’t get why it’s like this either. They want to run sprint car races at some place in the middle of nowhere, but don’t wanna run in the Rolex 24? Weird
Sprint cars are far more fun to drive.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
Even if they wanted to (and maybe they do), it’s pretty tough to get a ride as a Gold- or Platinum-rated driver without any actual sports car experience or connections.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
Running a sprint car occasionally is less of a commitment. It requires less planning and coordination. It's also a type of car they're more likely to be familiar with.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
There are also potential manufacturer conflicts. This year there were only a handful of Fords and GMs, and it's tough to convince manufacturers to let drivers off the reservation.
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
Admittedly I didn't get a chance to see it all, but I'll take in a couple of hours a night this week.
Driver of the race has got to be Nasr who managed his gap, tires and fuel (or energy) just right and beat a slightly faster car. How this guy didn't keep a drive in F1 is beyond me. Bloomquist is a savage, but the two cars were so close there wasn't much he could do. He never got close enough to give it a go, but it was still a stirring drive.
Worst luck again goes to the yellow #3 Cadillac. That thing was visually the fastest car out there, and had one of the better driving crews. Caddy has to be disappointed they didn't get this one because they had the pace and controlled most of the race. It looked like the 3 had the pace on everyone, but apparently Bourdais has not run out of bad luck yet. That car is snakebit.
Biggest disappointment for me was how BMW was virtually a no show. The telecast didn't mention much about them, and they didn't show them much either. They always seem to be right on the edge of breaking through and never seem to seal the deal. I'm not necessarily a BMW fan, but I'de like to see them get a win or two, just because they are so close to putting it all together.
After being nowhere most of the race Deletraz put in a good final sprint in an Acura to round out the podium and salvage some points but those cars don't have the pace right now. They were simply BOPed to run too heavy.
It was a good race for the privateer Porsches which ran near the front all race, one of which finished 44 seconds off the front.
The GT battles were again insane.
Finally, the Creech Ligier caused at least two full course yellows, so we have to thank them for keeping the pack closed up! That car was not only slow, but it kept falling apart. They can't run the whole season that badly. They really need an Oreca.
Driver of the race has got to be Nasr who managed his gap, tires and fuel (or energy) just right and beat a slightly faster car. How this guy didn't keep a drive in F1 is beyond me. Bloomquist is a savage, but the two cars were so close there wasn't much he could do. He never got close enough to give it a go, but it was still a stirring drive.
Worst luck again goes to the yellow #3 Cadillac. That thing was visually the fastest car out there, and had one of the better driving crews. Caddy has to be disappointed they didn't get this one because they had the pace and controlled most of the race. It looked like the 3 had the pace on everyone, but apparently Bourdais has not run out of bad luck yet. That car is snakebit.
Biggest disappointment for me was how BMW was virtually a no show. The telecast didn't mention much about them, and they didn't show them much either. They always seem to be right on the edge of breaking through and never seem to seal the deal. I'm not necessarily a BMW fan, but I'de like to see them get a win or two, just because they are so close to putting it all together.
After being nowhere most of the race Deletraz put in a good final sprint in an Acura to round out the podium and salvage some points but those cars don't have the pace right now. They were simply BOPed to run too heavy.
It was a good race for the privateer Porsches which ran near the front all race, one of which finished 44 seconds off the front.
The GT battles were again insane.
Finally, the Creech Ligier caused at least two full course yellows, so we have to thank them for keeping the pack closed up! That car was not only slow, but it kept falling apart. They can't run the whole season that badly. They really need an Oreca.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
Next year the series is going to require GTP and GTD Pro teams to run four drivers per car at Daytona, and I believe Ford said when they expand their GT3 programs next year they may add some NASCAR and/or Supercars drivers to their factory pool. Maybe there will be a couple of opportunities next year.
But still, it’s as much a consequence of the fact that the level of talent of the teams and drivers is as high now as it’s been maybe ever. There’s a ton of manufacturer involvement and they all have pretty substantial driver pools to dip into, even for the third or fourth guy in the Pro-Am GTD lineups, and they all have familiarity with the equipment. The last few times a Cup star has shown up at the Rolex they’ve been more out of their element than they were 10-15 years ago.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
I was pretty disappointed about the 01. Palou and Bourdais were two of the quickest drivers out there. It’s just insane that whether that car runs in IMSA or WEC, it’s just so snakebitten. Likewise for the BMWs…they still don’t seem to have elite pace, but decent pace, and reliability issues cropped up again. Hopefully that cleans up after Daytona like last year.
Was such an odd amount of attrition in GTD Pro as well. Some expected issues with the four new combined Mustangs and Z06s, but some really bad luck like for Lexus. I think at Sebring that class is really gonna shine like it couldn’t entirely this weekend.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
They didn't give TV much reason to show or discuss them. After last season, I thought they'd be more competitive this weekend. Nope, they were back to rounding out the field. Maybe they'll do better in the shorter races.
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
I said there might be the team to watch, so naturally they had a bad race!
One thing I noticed is how swoopy these cars looked at night, especially the yellow Caddy. Maybe the night played some visual tricks, but it looked like they were really shagging it. This is what we've been waiting for the last 50 years and today showed that's been worth it.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
Eh, I thought this race wasn't as good as the last two or three. Too much caution time, several teams that should have done better, short-sheeting the finish. At least the P3s weren't clogging thing up.
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
There was also a photo finish in LMP2 last year. Hard to top that.
More attrition than I expected, but it was great watching the 7 and 31 duel head-to-head over the final six hours.
This might be my sports car racing hot take, but I think Sebring is usually a better race (I might say the same for Petit as well) and I think especially with the Lambo GTP debuting it’s going to be even better come March.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
I wish they would release numbers for this, but that’s two years in a row with a record crowd. Le Mans has already sold out for the second year in a row as well. Really great times right now.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
The checkered flag was, in fact, premature.
Charlie Spencer
Road courses and short tracks.
Thanks. So much for my theories.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
I don't think it really matters in the end. Everything was pretty much decided. But it sure made for an anticlimactic ending.
Greg
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a
The Rolex 23.95
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
It's like Indianapolis. The bar has already been set pretty high.
As far as the missing lap, there's not much they could do about it and the rule is pretty plain anyway.
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead