The Rolex 24 Hour Race at Daytona starts this Saturday. It's not a nascar race; it's not an IRL race; and it's not a champ car race. In some ways it's better - like all those rolled together with a big bow.
The Rolex 24 Hours is the yearly inaugural event of the of the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series. Two different styles of cars in two different series are run simultaneously - Daytona Prototypes (DP's) and GT cars (think Porsche and Pontiac GTOs).
Since the race runs over a 24 hour period - with the cars continually circling the road course in the infield of Daytona International Speedway, drivers are teamed up for the race. Teams range from three to five people.
The driver's list reads like a who's-who of the racing world.
From Nascar: Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, Rusty Wallace, Casey Mears, Kyle Petty and Boris Said.
From IRL: Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Danica Patrick, Bryan Herta, Buddy Rice, Scott Sharp, Eddie Cheever, JR., and Patrick Carpentier.
From Champ Car: Sebastian Bourdais, Paul Tracy, Justin Wilson, AJ Allmendinger
From other series: Scott Pruett, Max Angelelli, Wayne Taylor, Butch Leitzinger, Andy Wallace, Milka Duno, and Max Papis.
The most interesting time to watch the race (in case you don't have 24 hours to devote to it) is Sunday morning. Usually by that point, heartbreak is coming to fruition. The cars that have run for 20 hours suddenly start breaking down. Usually at least one car breaks down with less than an hour left in the race - and it is usually one of the top three cars.
Why you should care: Where else can you see Nascar champions, IRL Champions, Champ car Champions and International racing Champions race - sometimes for the same team? Bragging rights are on the line.
Besides, what else do you have to do while you're waiting for the Super Bowl next weekend? And, who knows, you may even get hooked on racing...
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