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.