24 Hours of Daytona Ends With Two Cars Seconds Apart for Class Win

The Rolex 24 Hours Of Daytona This weekend saw 24 hours of sports cars rattling windows in order to kick off the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

This was a huge year for the series, as it introduced GTP, a new top-class, which saw new cars compete for the overall win.

But, it was the LMP2 class that had everyone talking.

If you’re unfamiliar with multi-class sports car racingIn this case, five races are happening simultaneously. LMP2 is the middle between three “prototype” They were the only classes in this series and put on an amazing show on the final lap for the class win.

First, consider how amazing it is to be able to win after 24 hours racing, weathering technical difficulties, and keeping your nose clear, two cars are even within striking distance of each other.

That’s what we had on Sunday afternoon.

Two LMP2 teams were in contention for the win on the final lap. Crowdstrike Racing, by APR, had Ben Hanley as the driver. Proton Competition had James Allen at the wheel for the final stint.

We Had a Jaw-Dropping Final Lap at Daytona With LMP2

Allen had Hanley in his sights when he entered turn 1 of the final lap. But Hanley skillfully used every inch to keep speed through the straight-hander and force Allen back from any potential moves.

I’ll admit, at this point, I thought that was all she wrote. Crowdstike Racing, Hanley and Crowdstike Racing created a large gap through the infield and back onto oval. I thought for sure they’d be able to maintain that lead to the checkered flag.

However, down the backstretch and through the Le Mans chicane — AKA the Bus Stop — Hanley encountered lapped traffic.

Surely, the immortal words of Lloyd Christmas echoed through James Allen’s head: “So you’re telling me there’s a chance.”

Allen grabbed a slipstream out of the class-leading LMP3 car, and used it to beat Hanley into the trioval. The result was amazing in photos.

The distance between the cars was only 11 hundredths second after 24 hours. Referring to the above, a typical blink is about three-tenths second.

That’s absolutely unreal.

Of course, this was not the race to win the overall. That went to Meyer Shank Racing’s Acura ARX-0 driven by Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, and IndyCar vets Simon Pageneaud and Helio Castroneves. The win marked Castroneves’ third-straight Rolex 24 victory.

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