DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Richard Dole/LAT photo courtesy of IMSA —
Just when it looked like the Action Express Racing team was going to be in position to hand Scott Pruett his sixth Rolex Daytona Cosmograph, the winds of the 54th annual Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway blew in the opposite direction.
After a 20-minute stint out in front of the field following the race’s 20th full-course caution period, Filipe Albuquerque veered abruptly pitside with three hours, 30 minutes to go and took his car right to the team’s garage stall in a stunning twist of events. The issue was quickly diagnosed as a broken part in the left-rear axle assembly.
While the team made lightning-quick repairs, only losing six laps and falling to sixth in the running order, their shot at the win has been seemingly dashed.
This team is one that made history over the past two years in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, completing all but one lap (Austin 2015) of a possible 4142 circuits in that 24 month, 20 race span.
(F. Peirce Williams/LAT for IMSA photo)
In a similar shocking twist, the leaders in GT Le Mans — Corvette Racing’s No. 4 entry — were penalized out of the lead for running the red light at pit exit, handing the top spot to the sister No. 3 machine and dropping them out of the top five in the class running order.
Now, with three hours remaining, the No. 10 Konica Minolta/Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP of Max Angelelli leads the No. 2 Tequila Patron/Extreme Speed Motorsports Honda-Ligier JS P2 of Johannes van Overbeek and the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com/Spirit of Daytona Corvette DP of Marc Goossens.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network. Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 21-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for both the United Sprint Car Series and the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: speed77radio@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
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