Nothing To Do This Weekend? Watch 24 Hours of Action

For most people this weekend marks a weekend full of rest before the big game next Sunday. Wait, wait, wait… I forgot that you do have the Pro Bowl to watch if you want to see what Friday walkthroughs look like for professional athletes. Unless you want to watch some racing, and by some racing, I mean 24 hours of none stop racing.

At the Daytona International Speedway this weekend, drivers from every series in the world will all meet up to race for 24 straight hours. At 2:10pm on Saturday afternoon, teams will take the green flag hoping that their equipment will hold up and they will be in victory lane 24 hours later.

Don’t think this race can be competitive, think again. Last year, the team that won crossed the finish line less than two seconds ahead of second place. In 2009, we saw the closest finish in the 24 hour race history, 0.167 seconds. No that is not a misprint, after 24 hours the margin of victory was 0.167.

Chip Ganassi has won five out of the last nine 24 hour races at Daytona setting the record for most wins by an owner along the way. Ganassi will again have the well-known 01 and 02 cars in the field this year. The 01 car will have veteran Scott Pruett leading the way.  Pruett is tied with Hurley Haywood with five overall wins, this could be the year Scott Pruett becomes the all time winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The 02 car though, might be the sexiest car in the race, at least to American race fans. Well-known Indy car drivers Scot Dixon and Tony Kanaan will join NASCAR rookie of the year Kyle Larson and fellow NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray. Look for both of these Target sponsored cars to be fighting at the end.

            In other classes it is hard to go against Andy Lally, who has more wins and podium finishes than anyone in the history of the Grand Am Class. While the final minutes tick off the clock, it will be a surprise if Lally’s #44 is not fighting for the win.
            For someone to confidently pick a winner of this race is crazy. You will see brake pads being changed, body parts being repaired, and all kinds of other maintenance taking place on pit lane and sometimes it comes down to the seconds used by the crewmembers.
            Don’t take my word for it, save your money for Super Bowl weekend, stay in and tune in to watch the prototype cars fly by other classes on the high banks and fast straightaways of Daytona International Speedway’s road course. Check your local FOX channels for television coverage or you can catch all the coverage on Fox Sports Go and IMSA.com.
            If you enjoy it, the best part of this great event is that usually you can find four-day infield/ grandstand wristbands for 90 bucks. Comment if you know about another 4 day sporting event that will allow you in for 90 bucks. 

MAYDAY JAY JAY

Twitter @MayDayJJSports