Rolex 24 at Daytona: The Finish

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Once the sun came up and the fog lifted, everything went back to normal, or whatever "normal" is at a 24-hour endurance race. As you can see from the Foametix Porsche on the right, there's a lot of beating and banging that goes on during a 24-hour race. The #17 Porsche finished 10th in the GT class.

But in the end, the winner (or survivor as the case may be) was the 01 Chip Ganassi BMW Riley driven by Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Charlie Kimball.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Photo by Jennifer Thompson

From the top of the Champions Club, we had a birds-eye view of Victory Lane. I suppose kissing your car is a different way to express your joy, but if anyone knows how celebrate a win at the Rolex 24, it's Scott Pruett. He's now won the race five times and is tied with Hurley Haywood for the most wins in the 24-hour race.   And for even more fun in Victory Lane, just add confetti!

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

The winner of the GT class was Alex Job Racing's Audi R8. The car took the lead with about 40 minutes left in the race. The drivers of the winning GT were Filipe Albuquerque, Oliver Jarvis, Edoardo Mortara, and Dion von Moltke.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

The winner of Grand-Am's brand-new GX class was the #16 Napleton Racing Porsche Cayman. The car, which started from the pole and which led the class most of the race, was driven by Shane Lewis, Jim Norman, David Donahue, and Nelson Canache.

And so the weekend came to an end, and we crossed the Rolex 24 off our motorsports bucket list. We such a great time that we're trying get up to Watkins Glen in June ... and back to Daytona next January.

Rolex 24 at Daytona: The Fog

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

From the moment we decided to go to the Rolex 24, Matt started making plans to capture sunrise on Sunday morning. We headed back the hotel about 11:30 p.m., with plans to get up at 4 a.m. Unfortunately, the alarm didn't go off at 4. Fortunately, I woke up at 5, and we were showered and out the door in 25 minutes (I didn't know we could move that fast). And we were back at the track with plenty of time to spare. So early that Matt was able to catch the moon as it was setting over the front stretch.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Matt set up on the roof of the Champions Club. And as if on cue, the sky over the superstretch started turning purple and orange.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

And then the fog rolled in.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Within 20 minutes, the track was completely engulfed by the fog. From the top of the Champions Club, we couldn't see the superstretch, and the Ferris wheel had completely disappeared. There had been no forecast for fog, but the warm temperatures the day before and the cool temperatures overnight caused the heavy fog to roll in.

For safety's sake, the cars ran under caution. We waited patiently for the sun to come up to burn off the fog so the cars could run again. That wait ended up being an hour and 45 minutes.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Photo by  Jennifer Thompson

But the fog didn't deter Matt from heading down to the horseshoe to catch the cars in the fog. It's definitely not something that you see at the races every day. Above is the #6 Michael Shank Ford Riley, driven by A.J. Allmendinger, Oz Negri, Marcos Ambrose, Justin Wilson, and John Pew. The defending champion of the Rolex 24 made a run at the end, but they ended up finishing third.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Only a couple hours before, these two GT cars were probably battling for position. But the fog brought a caution, and these cars continued to turn laps while waiting for the fog to burn off. And it eventually did. And we, and they, headed to the finish.

Rolex 24 at Daytona: The Dark

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

And then it was dark. For half of the race, the drivers rely on Daytona's lights and the cars' headlights to find their way around 3.56-mile road course. The race used to go from noon Saturday to noon Sunday. I think I might prefer that if I was a driver because, when the sun came up, I knew the end of the race was near. Now, with the 3:30 start, there is still a lot racing to go once the sun comes up. Once it got dark, we headed over toward Lake Lloyd and the superstretch, where Matt used the available light and a slow shutter to get this photo (which is now my desktop at work -- love it!).

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

The dark reveals things that are not as easy to see in the light. Like the glowing rotors of a breaking car heading into the horseshoe. The #43 Sahlens BMW Riley finished 15th in the DP class.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Many of the images of the Rolex 24 include the Ferris wheel in the horseshoe. Here's the #50 Highway to Help DP zipping past the Ferris wheel. The car is owned in part by Brian Johnson, lead singer of AC/DC. The Highway to Help team sought to raise awareness for Alzheimer's disease. The car finished 12th in the DP class.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

 Just a few more Ferris wheel shots. Here's the #57 Stevenson Camaro, which was driven by John Edwards, Robin Liddell, Jan Magnussen, and Tommy Milner. The car finished 23rd in the GT class.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

And then there's the AF-Waltrip Ferrari, driven by Michael Waltrip, Clint Bowyer, Rob Kauffman, and Rui Aguas. Not a bad showing for NASCAR boys. They finished eighth in the GT class.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

One last Ferris wheel shot. Matt caught this from the roof of the Champions Club. Yes, you can also see this as my cover photo on Facebook (good thing I know the photographer). And I agree with Matt -- the cars totally look like toys! And it's almost as if there's a spotlight on the leader at the time (and the eventual winner).

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

And to cap off our night? Fireworks over the superstretch, again captured from atop the Champions Club. This is where our night ended. As we drove out of the tunnel to head back to the hotel for a few hours of sleep, the drivers and crews continued on through the night. But we'd be back later to catch the sunrise.

Rolex 24 at Daytona: The Start

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

All Saturday morning I had to keep reminding myself that, when the race started, it was going to last 24 hours. A whole day. From 3:30 in the afternoon on Saturday to 3:30 in the afternoon on Sunday. I've been to a lot of races, the longest being six hours. This was going to be unlike anything I've done before.

By Jen Thompson

We started the morning by checking out the Champions Club, which were our digs for the weekend. Then we headed over to the Fan Zone for the driver autograph session. There were so many fans and so many drivers, but we tried to get as many autographs as we could. Matt got the photos he took signed by Michael Waltrip (he's only been carrying them around for two years). And I was glad to have my Boris Said t-shirt from Seneca Lodge signed by the man himself.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Then we took our position on the Champions Club roof for the start of the race. Right on the start-finish line. Doesn't get any better than that. Before the race, we were treated to a parade of vintage Rolex 24 cars. During the driver intros, a bald eagle flew over the start-finish line. I would have thought it was part of the ceremony itself if I hadn't seen the bird pluck a fish out of the Lake Lloyd the afternoon before. And then it was gentlemen start your engines, and the 24-hour clock started ticking.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

And only a couple hours later, the sun started to set. The headlights started coming on, and we all started to settle in for long haul. As a side note, I was truly impressed by run by the two Sahlen DPs. For their first race in that category, they made a great run. Not easy when your first race is 24 hours long.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

 And then the darkness truly set in. It was time for the night portion of the race.

Getting to Know Daytona

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Today was our first full day at Daytona. We spent most of the day checking out some places to watch the race and for Matt to shoot some photos. And I think we're going to have some good options. Tomorrow, we'll also have access to the Champions' Club, so that will add some new places.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

We spent the morning watching final practice for the Rolex Series and checking out a few new spots in the infield. Here's the #59 Brumos Porsche. I think the driver's side is barely touching the track.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Here's the #22 Bullet Racing Porsche Cayman, which is running in Grand Am's new GX class. I'm curious to see how the GX class will run, especially SpeedSource's new Mazda6.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

In the afternoon, we checked out the Continental Tire Series race We walked along Lake Lloyd and found some bleachers in NASCAR turn 2. It was a great place to check out the high banks of Daytona. In addition to the photo at the top of the blog, Matt also caught the #88 Ranger Sports Racing Porsche. Thanks to the afternoon light, this Red Bull has wings and another set of horns (check out the shadow).

Hello, Daytona!

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

We've been talking about it for five years, and now we're finally here! Hello, Daytona! We're ready for the Rolex 24! We got into town late this afternoon and immediately hightailed it to the track for night practice. This was a good opportunity for Matt to scope out some shooting locations for the 24-hour race on Saturday and Sunday. And for the record, two were great and one was not so great. Above is the #61 Ferrari in front of the iconic Ferris wheel in the Daytona infield. Here are a few others.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

Here's the pack coming through the horseshoe, led by the #50 Highway to Help DP car.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

The #64 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari running through the infield.

Photo by Matthew Lowell Thompson

The #93 Turner Motorsports BMW.

Let the Countdown Begin!

As as sit here and look out the window at the falling snow here in the Northeast, my mind turns to Florida. Daytona, more specifically. Because Matt and I will be in Daytona in 26 days. While a place without snow is very appealing right now, it's the roar of the engines that's the most enticing to me.

As long-time sports car fans, the Rolex 24 has been on our bucket list, well, since forever. It's finally time to cross this one off the list. Our plans are in place, and I'll be sharing our trip on this blog and on Twitter (@4wheels_engine). We kind of "trained" for this race by doing the Six Hours at the Glen, but now it's time to do that race -- times four. And for anyone who has been lucky enough to go to the Rolex 24, please feel free to pass along any tips you have for the race!