Posted (02/03/2004) -
By Wayne Nonnamaker
Coming into the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona our team had done all the preparations we could possibly imagine. We had two full crews lined up for the 24 Hour race; we had three people who were dedicated to just feeding the crew; we had shelving and dry erase boards and everything you could possibly think of to make this happen... and yet we still felt like there was more we could have done. Doing a 24 hour race is much like going to war. Once the race has started, if you weren't prepared for every situation, you will fail.
Our team is very well versed in running endurance races. We have done almost a dozen 24 hour races throughout the team's twenty year history, but not once had we done the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona. As one of the top ten premiere motorsport events in the world, the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona attracts top name drivers like Tony Stewart, Scott Pruett, Paul Newman, as well as the best sportscar drivers in America. The prestige of this event is second to none.
Before our team could dive into the 24 Hours on Saturday, we had the Grand Am Cup race to drive on Friday evening. We were entering three Porsche in the race with an all-star lineup of drivers. Our #40 Porsche was started by Joe Masessa and finished by Will Nonnamaker, a three time Champion. Our #43 Porsche was started by Will and I's dad, Joe (last years Grand Am Cup Champion), and I was finishing the car (myself being a three time Champion as well). In our #44 car we had professional driver Craig Stanton starting for Six Time Champion Terry Borcheller.
The Grand Am Cup race turned into being a fuel strategy race. We split our strategies mid-race so that we weren't all on the same fuel window allowing us to take advantage of any condition the race might bring at us. As it turned out the #44 Porsche had the best strategy bringing home the win. Terry and Craig did an excellent job driving and we are looking forward to having them as part of the team this entire season. My ride, the #43, scored a fourth place finish after a late race pitstop. Will and Joe Masessa scored a ninth place finish after going a lap down early in the race.
After the Cup race Friday night the crew didn't have any time to enjoy the win as we immediately began to prepare the #41 Porsche for the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona. The race started at 1:11 PM on Saturday. We had heard there was a potential for rain so we talked through our strategy for a dry race and a rain race.
As the race started on Saturday we had a minor mechanical glitch. It took a couple of laps to sort out the problem but we got it right and started moving up through the pack. As we moved into the third hour of the race the sprinkles started to show up on the windshield. We pitted for rain tires and put Paul Menard in the car.
Paul and Charlie took the first two stints in the rain around the Daytona track. As with any track, there is a specific rain line at Daytona International Speedway. Since Paul and Charlie had already learned the line, and since they were doing so well, we decided to have Paul and Charlie drive the majority of the rain stints. Little did we know that only one hour of the remainder of the race would be run under dry conditions.
As the race progressed, we moved up through the pack. By morning we were in fourth place and chasing third. As the rain continued to pound the Speedway, Grand American officials were forced to throw a three hour caution to help dry the puddle lined track. After we went green for one hour of soggy conditions, the race went to a red flag conditions to help dry the track some more. As the race approached eleven o'clock, the race went back green for a chase to the checkered.
We never did catch the third place Porsche, but we were satisfied with our fourth place finish in our first attempt at the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona. We finished<
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