DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Sure, Chip Ganassi's driver lineup looked unbeatable: three Indy 500 champions, a Daytona 500 winner and the reigning sports car season champs. But in the always grueling, unpredictable and increasingly wild and woolly Rolex 24 at Daytona, it takes more than talent. It takes luck, preparation and in Sunday's case, great tenacity to win.
Reigning Grand-Am Series champ Scott Pruett took the lead from his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, 2008 Indy 500 champ Scott Dixon, with 45 minutes left in the twice-around-the-clock race on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course, then held him off on a re-start with one lap to go to give Ganassi his fourth Rolex 24 win in the last six years.
Ganassi is the first owner in racing history to simultaneously own the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400 and Rolex 24 trophies -- something people are already affectionately calling the "Chip Slam.''
"I don't drive the cars, I don't change the tires and I don't work on the engines,'' Ganassi said, modestly acknowledging the accomplishment. "I'm just the guy that gets to stand up here and talk about it. It's a lot of other guys that do the hard work.
"A win here does not reward you at the next race. We had a great day today and tomorrow we're on to the next race.''
The first four finishers were separated by less than four seconds after 24 hours of what was one of the most competitive races in the event's 49-year history. It was the fourth overall and ninth class win for Pruett, who co-drove with Memo Rojas, second-generation IndyCar driver Graham Rahal and sports car veteran Joey Hand.
"We were very optimistic, but did we know we'd win? No,'' Pruett said about his last stint in the car after chasing his teammates for much of the race. "But Joey (Hand) did a great job making up time. We knew we had a strong car and were just looking at our options.''
Andy Lally drove the No. 67 TRG Porsche to victory in the GT class after starting at the rear of the field when his pole-winning speed was disqualified due to a technical violation. Bryce Miller crossed the finish line second in the Miller Racing Porsche GT3. And Joe Foster finished off a career-best third place for co-driver Patrick Dempsey in the Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8.
Not only did the winning TRG Porsche have to make its way through the field, the clutch was broken for the last 17 hours of the race.
"Hell yea, there's a little bit of vindication in this,'' TRG team owner Kevin Buckler said with a smile.
All the competitors acknowledged this was one of the hardest-fought races in recent memory. Not only was there a large field of quality drivers representing all forms of motorsport, but the racing itself was aggressive -- seeming at times more like a 24-hour sprint than an endurance race.
"When I woke up this morning, there were still like seven cars within nine seconds, it's just crazy and shows how competitive this race really is,'' Dixon said.
Many of the favorites were quickly rendered non-factors. The pole-winning Porsche never got back into contention after an early race collision sent it to the garage for major repairs. And once again, five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was denied a real shot at one of sports car's greatest trophies.
Johnson's No. 99 GAINSCO Chevrolet had brake issues, was the victim of aggressive racing and then struggled with one mechanical problem after another. The team's 15th place overall finish -- 12th in the DP class -- was actually impressive considering all the obstacles it had to overcome.
Not to be lost in the day was Dempsey's third-place finish. The result was popular in the garage and in the grandstands as the Hollywood star has been gaining respect from his competitors for years as a race driver and not as an actor who fancies himself as one.
"When we started this team a couple years ago, it was a dream to be on the podium here at Daytona,'' said an emotional Dempsey (right), who races in the Grand-Am Series in between his day job starring on the television hit "Grey's Anatomy."
In fact, he had to fly to Park City, Utah, Friday night for a film premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and arrived back in Daytona Beach only hours before the start of Saturday afternoon's race.
He led the GT Class twice for 28 laps late Saturday night and joked that with his first podium finish in the Rolex 24, "Yeah I'm retiring from Grey's Anatomy as of today. I'll be racing full time from here on in. There's a headline for you.'' he said smiling.
"I hope I can successfully balance both out and be competitive in both of those arenas and make time for both. Next time hopefully my family is here to see it,'' Dempsey said, tears in his eyes.
His co-driver Joe Foster patted him on the back and said, "He's got a true passion for the sport. He's not one of those jackasses that just comes in here to race because it's cool.''
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