The 2008 Rolex 24 at Daytona was the first round of the

2008 Rolex Sports Car Series season The 2008 Rolex Sports Car Series season was the ninth season of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16. The 14-race championship for Daytona Prototypes (DP) and 13-race championship for Grand Touring (GT) cars ...

and the 46th running of the

24 Hours of Daytona The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car racing, sports car Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flo ...

. It took place at

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...

between January 26–27, 2008.

Qualifying

In the

Daytona Prototype A Daytona Prototype was a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the Grand-Am Road Racing, Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series as their top class of car, which replaced their main prototype rac ...

class, pole position was taken by

Oswaldo Negri Jr. Oswaldo "Ozz" Negri Jr. (born May 29, 1964) is a Brazilian racing driver from São Paulo. Racing career Formula Three and Indy Lights He raced part-time in the British Formula 3 International Series, British Formula Three Championship from 1987 ...

in the #60

Michael Shank Racing Meyer Shank Racing (MSR; formerly Michael Shank Racing) is an American motorsport organization that competes in the IndyCar Series and the IMSA SportsCar Championship. History Atlantic Championship Michael Shank, co-owner of Meyer Shank Racing ...

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

powered

Riley Mk XI Riley may refer to: Businesses * Riley (brand), British sporting goods brand founded in 1878 * Riley Motor, British motorcar and bicycle manufacturera 1890–1969 * Riley Technologies, American auto racing constructor and team, founded by Bob Ri ...

with a laptime of 1:40.793. Teammate

A. J. Allmendinger Anthony James Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981), nicknamed "the Dinger,” is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. Allmendinger ...

locked out the front row for

. In the Grand Touring class, the #70 SpeedSource

Mazda RX-8 The Mazda RX-8 is a sports car manufactured by Japanese automobile manufacturer Mazda between 2003 and 2012. It was first shown in 2001 at the North American International Auto Show#2001, North American International Auto Show. It is the direct s ...

GT with Sylvain Tremblay was fastest with a laptime of 1:50.788. The #56 Mastercar

Ferrari F430 Challenge The Ferrari F430 Challenge is a production-based race car built by Ferrari. The car is directly based on the standard F430 and uses the same 4.3L V8 engine. It was introduced at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show to succeed the Ferrari 360 Challeng ...

qualified 2nd in the team's debut at Daytona.

Race

The #01 Telmex Chip Ganassi Racing with

Felix Sabates Feliciano Sergio "Félix" Sabates Jr. (born September 9, 1945) is a Cuban-born former entrepreneur, and philanthropist living in the United States of America. He is a partner in Chip Ganassi Racing teams, which formerly fielded teams in the NASCA ...

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota, Toyota Motor Corporation. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked amon ...

-powered

Riley Riley may refer to: Businesses * Riley (brand), British sporting goods brand founded in 1878 * Riley Motor, British motorcar and bicycle manufacturera 1890–1969 * Riley Technologies, American auto racing constructor and team, founded by Bob ...

Scott Pruett Scott Donald Pruett (born March 24, 1960) is an American former racing driver who has competed in numerous disciplines of the sport. In the 1980s, Pruett established himself as a top sports car racer, winning two IMSA GTO, and three Trans-Am ...

Memo Rojas Guillermo "Memo" Rojas Jr. (born August 18, 1981) is a Mexican former race car driver. Successful in American sports car racing, Rojas is a four-time series champion in the Rolex Sports Car Series, a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona, ...

Dario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti (born 19 May 1973) is a British motorsport commentator and retired motor racing driver from Scotland. Franchitti won the IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011; the Indianapolis 500 in ...

, and

Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born 20 September 1975) is a Colombian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to , IndyCar between 1999 and 2022, and the NASCAR Cup Series between 2006 and 2024. Montoya won seven Formula One Grand ...

led 252 laps and gave Chip Ganassi racing their 3rd successive win at the Daytona 24 Hours. The #01 team took the overall victory by a margin of 2 laps over the #99

GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing was an American sports car racing team based in Lewisville, Texas that competed in the Rolex Sports Car Series, United SportsCar Championship and Pirelli World Challenge. The team campaigns the No. 99 GAINSCO Auto Ins ...

Pontiac Pontiac most often refers to: * Pontiac (Odawa leader) ( – 1769), Native American war chief *Pontiac (automobile), a former General Motors brand Pontiac may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apo ...

-powered

entry. At the start, many cars (including the eventual race winner) had to start from pit lane after changing their tires from wets to slicks. The #70 SpeedSource

GT of Sylvain Tremblay, Nick Ham, David Haskell, and

Raphael Matos Raphael Matos (born August 28, 1981) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He was the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights Series champion and the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Series champion. He lives in Miami. He is sometimes also called Rafa Matos. Ca ...

were the winners in GT, completing 664 laps and finishing 9th overall. The overall pace of the race was slowed due to wet weather during the night. A total of 22 safety car periods neutralized the race for 112 laps.

Race results

Class winners in bold.

References

External links

Official race results

Race results
{{24 Hours of Daytona 24 Hours of Daytona

Daytona Daytona may refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach, Florida * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Daytona, the region around Daytona Beach Motor racing * Dayto ...