The finish in the 45th anniversary of the prestigious Rolex 24 At Daytona came down to a three-car battle on the same lap in the final hours. The #01 Telmax Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus Riley and driver Scott Pruett outlasted the #11 Samax Citgo Pontiac Riley and Patrick Carpentier and the #10 SunTrust Racing Pontiac Riley and Jan Magnussen to win the Rolex 24. It’s the second straight victory in the Rolex 24 for owner Chip Ganassi and the second Rolex 24 victory for Pruett, who won the twice-around-the-clock challenge back in 1994 with Nissan.

For Salvador Duran and Juan Pablo Montoya, the other co-drivers on the #01 car, it was their first Rolex 24 triumphs in their first Rolex 24 starts. The #01 car had the third closest Rolex 24 margin of victory - 1 minute, 14.749 seconds - over the #11 car while the #10 SunTrust Pontiac Riley, which battled clutch and brake problems in the final hours, finished third. The winning #01 car turned 668 laps and 2,378 miles on the historic 3.56-mile road course, which is equivalent of a road trip from Daytona Beach to Phoenix, AZ. The #10 car featured the driving lineup of Magnussen, Wayne Taylor, Max Angelelli and three-time Daytona 500 champion Jeff Gordon.

Montoya becomes the first driver since Mario Andretti to win a Rolex 24, a Formula One race, an Indianapolis 500, and a Champ Car/IndyCar Series title. Meanwhile, Gordon, who was joined by fellow NASCAR stars Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte, hopes to return again in the future for the Rolex 24.

[DIS PR]

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