drivinhard

mgg

Another year another joke. I am so FN sick of the guys who come with the rules for this race. Now Corvettes and Camaros that were once competitive shouldn'e even be out there. Rules have now these truly great cars nothing more than back markers. It makes me sick. Whelen and Stevenson should just say F- off. If you want to make a Porsche -Audi show then go ahead.

Even worse is the DP class. Corvette DP's were DOMINANT. NOw they are not even competitive. Wayne Taylor said it best. We are raceing to be the fastest Corvette DP since we cannot compete against the others. What a FN joke and a waste of time. They should pull all the DP Corvettes off the track and boycott this mess. Whelen and Stevenson should do the same. I guess that any series that has any link to NASCAR would be certain to be fd -up. Screw this race if thats what you want to call it. I am not saying that these cars have to win but to not even be competitive is a joke. I do not know the changes they made to the DP cars with the restrictors but it must have been something like sticking a tennis ball in the throttle body.

dvandentop

yeah it is crazy the difference between some of the dp cars

sierra 43

Just got back to the RV park after spending almost 8 hours at the race. I'll pull out in the morning and watch the rest on TV, at my house.

I must admit that there has been no answer for the 01 and 02 BMW Riley's this year, it appears they will have to break or beat themselves.

For what it's worth last year it was the Fords that finished 1,2,3 and Ganassi whined about rev limiters and areo packages that favored the the Fords and Corvettes, and Wayne Taylor just whined all year about everything. Then Starworks said they were being conspired against. Gainsco just didn't have a clue.

Now my point is that who ever is winning has an unfair advantage in somebody's world.

The bottom line is the Stevenson Camaro is a big car to push through the air. Because of this they should be allowed more horsepower, they can run the infield with any other GT car, just not the banking. It did lead it class for a while, not bad.

The Whelen Corvette I do not have an answer for it. Maybe if it sounded like a race car it would do better, the thing is silent.

I do not like spec racing anymore than anyone else, but lets don't trash the whole series based on one race.

Thanks for listening.

C5Natie

The Corvette DP barely were given a slightly bigger restrictor. 1.8in vs 1.75 I think. They said it should net 5hp more and also they were given 100revs more. Sucks ***** to think thatll make up the difference after handicapping them so much. Im just waiting for ALMS.

sierra 43

Daytona is a top end track, no doubt. If you watch from either end of the infield you can see that the Fords seem to accelerate the hardest and the Corvettes go deeper into the curves, but the BMWs hit full stride about 2/3 around nascar 1-2 and just drive by the others. This is the one of a few tracks where the long full throttle speed will matter.

You can get the full track prespective by watching the race in in the Keech stands section B-C. We watch Thurs and Fri in the infield and the race from Keech.

Grand-Am will need to come the realization that giving DPs 500hp and GTs 450hp does not make them equal. Sports cars are not cookie cutter "stock cars" from nascar, thank god.

braknl8

Good gosh, you're video production is getting as fast as your driving these last couple of months....

mgg

After watching Montoya drive away from the field at the end of the race, there can be no debate as to the significant advantage the BMW's had. NOt dissing Montoya skills or the excellent prep by Ganassi but he was toying with both the Chevrolets and the Ford. It wasn't even close. The Corvette DP's were top notch under braking but when it came to the banking it was "SEE YA" for the BMW boys. I will criticize as my fear that when NASCAR gets involved with anything it will be FD up. I am just surprised they didn't throw a debris flag on the last lap to bunch everyone up to ruin a 24 hour race and make it a one lap sprint. Interesting how the Audi's who couldn't even sniff a podium last year dominated the Porsches. The Stevenson Camaro gets smoked on the banking and for the most part was not in it. WHo knows what happened to the WHelen Corvette as it was never given any camera time and was not competitive. WHy? I have serious doubts about this ****. A GT3 Porshe driven by a mom and her son smoking a WHelen Corvette being driven by Eric Curran. Please. Speaking of please. PLEASE NEVER ALLOW THE MAZDA SAVE THE WHALES DEISEL CARS TO EVER SET FOOT ON A RACE TRACK AGAIN.

Han Solo

I don't know what anyone can complain about. At the end of the day there were 3 different manufacturers on the lead lap in DP and 3 different manufacturers on the same lap in GT. I remember the day when there were 3 to 10 laps between first and second at the 24. Maybe they should just let everyone do what they want and return to those kinds of finishes. I guarantee you chevy wouldn't be in the hunt then.

C5Natie

Corvette DP's still finished 2nd 4th 5th 7th and 8th despite the handicaps. A bit more power and they wouldve kicked ***.

Scooter70

I agree. I was there in 2000 and 2001 when the Vipers and Corvettes won overall and most of the LMP cars couldn't finish the race. The fact that it's even close with 10 minutes to go is a testament to the parity of the cars. No matter what a sanctioning body does, there is always one car with an advantage and everyone else cries foul. Also remember that Daytona is not the only race on the schedule so Grand-Am is trying to maintain competitiveness over the whole year. While the BMWs had the straightline speed advantage this weekend, Corvette may very well have the upper hand at the other tracks where top end isn't the end-all-be-all.

mgg

Yes there were cars on the same lap at the end but the rules have changed. They have adopted the NASCAR rules allowing cars to get back on the lead lap ( lucky dog rule). This did not happen in the previously run 24hour IMSA races. As for competitive, it sure looks that way. Montoya was NEVER threatened by the Ford or Chevy. At the end of the race when the Max the ax was 20 cars lengths ahead with Bosa in between him and Montoya, one would think he would have had a fighting chance. Montoya on cold tires dicked around for a lap then just BLEW by Bosa and MAx like they were GT cars. Then proceeded to lengthen the lead. I am not buying the NASCAR way of making good for TV viewing. Let them race. I am not saying that the BMW Ganassi cars and drivers did not so a fine job of raceing and preparing their cars, I am questioning the level playing field not as if it was done on purpose, but there is NO mistaking the difference in power between the BMW and the CHEVY's and FOrd powered DP cars

Wicked Weasel

Melanie Snow is a dam good driver. Watched her last year when i was at Laguna Seca and she was impressive. Her son Madison has been racing since he could probably walk and I believe has won a GT championship already.

I would love to see corvette do better but i wouldnt take anything away from the Snow's accomplishments.

mgg

I apologize for the way my comment sounded. I do not want to insinuate that the Mother and son team are not good competitive drivers. They are there doing it while I am not. I guess I was trying to show the competitive disadvantage I believe the Whelen team has been dealt with Grand-am. Eric Curran is fast. The Whelen Corvette is also pretty quick. I just find it hard to believe that there is not some rules in place that are making this car noncompetitive. I know World Challenge is not Grand -am but the competitive balance of the top five cars which include many manufactures is pretty good. I also do not understand how Mazda is allowed to run a RX-8 in this series. The car is not currently produced, runs an engine that was not available in any model RX8. Just seems odd to me. I am a big fan of different manufactures being represented in this series. I believe they have some work to do in balancing the rules to make certain cars more competitive. I am a big fan of the WHELEN team and would like to see them battling for a podium. I have great respect for all who are driving in this series.

Wicked Weasel

Its hard to tell what the Whelen corvette could of done since I believe it had fluid leak and mechanical issues which pulled them out of the race around lap 100.

That being said the corvette race car is almost nonexistent outside the DP field so obviously it is not competitive with the current rules otherwise I would expect to see more.

RX-Ben

Well, next year you will, but probably not in a G-A legacy class.

F4Gary

According to Currans facebook page, they had a fuel spill and brake problems.

I just wish Corvette/Chevy would support more racers like Porsche does.

Wicked Weasel

Was hoping for a cup car with the c7.

RX-Ben

Porsche has sold ~2400 GT3 Cup cars in the past 15 years, and those things are up to $225-250k now. That gives them a huge incentive to support racing, since they actually sell race cars and "win on sunday sell on monday" may actually apply to Porsche. Most mfgs (Chevrolet) sell the image. No matter how many times Corvette wins Le Mans, nearly nobody can buy that car. You can buy the very same Porsche GT3 that was at the Daytona 24.

Don't hold your breath on a C7 Cup car. I don't haven't heard of anyone like a Lutz or Gilles at GM trying to ram through a $125-150k customer car program.

wkidvette

Agreed, with the "lucky dog" rule comment, had that race run non stop with no cautions for the first 23 hours, then the BMW drivers could have driven over to the Chart House for an early dinner then returned to the track and still finish first. They were clearly far superior than anything else on the track. After the last yellow flag, it was a non race from that point until the finish in the DP class.