Open Race Thread: Grand-Am Series Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona | Daytona International Speedway

With all due respect to the Sprint All-Star Race, the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona is perhaps the most legitimate all-star race in the history of the business.

The event has always preceded most touring series' schedules, allowing champions from NASCAR, IndyCar and Formula1 to participate at different points in their careers. The 24-hour nature of the event requires a three-to-five driver rotation, forcing teams to seek several top-tier one-offs.

The most fascinating aspect of the race is the sheer number of top class drivers gathered in one garage at Daytona International Speedway. An argument could be made that the 24 Hours of Daytona boasts the largest gathering of world class auto racers in any location at one time. With roughly 60 teams at four drivers per car, the 24 Hours of Daytona will see about 240 of the world's best drivers turn fast laps at the World Center of Speed.

The All-Star nature of the race is best explained by Wikipedia.

NASCAR stars such as Rusty Wallace, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Kyle Petty, Mark Martin, and Robby Gordon have all participated, with Martin and Gordon notably winning several class victories for Roush Racing in the GTO class in the 1980s-90s. In 2001, Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. teamed together in a Corvette, just weeks before Earnhardt's fatal crash at the same track in the 2001 Daytona 500.

Indianapolis 500 winners Buddy Rice, Dan Wheldon, Hélio Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish, Jr., and Dario Franchitti are all recent participants. Other recent IndyCar drivers such as Paul Tracy, Sébastien Bourdais, Danica Patrick, Jimmy Vasser, John Andretti, and Graham Rahal.

Grand-Am Racing is split into two distinct formulas. Look at it as two different races taking place on the same track at the same time. The Daytona Prototype cars (DP) use less expensive materials and technologies and the car's simple aerodynamics reduce the development and testing costs.

Specialist chassis makers like Dallara, Lola and Riley provide the DP cars for teams and the engines are branded under the names of major car companies like Pontiac, Lexus, Ford, BMW, and Porsche.

Meanwhile, the Gran Turismo cars (GT) are closer in appearance and design to their street counterparts. Recent Daytona entries have included BMW M3s and M6s, Porsche 911s, Chevy Camaros and Corvettes. It could be argued that the GT class is closer to the "Win on Sunday and sell on Monday" motto than the NASCAR Cup Series ever was.

Watching the much faster DP cars attempt to navigate around the GT cars is one of the most fascinating aspects of Grand-Am Racing and one that will ultimately decide the outcome of the race.

And let's face it, approximately four months after Homestead, any form of racing is a welcome addition. The Speed network television broadcast starts at 3:00 p.m. EST with the green flag set to drop at 3:30 p.m. The race is timed and will last approximately 24 hours. Delays requiring a red flag will stop the clock and a safety car will be in effect for all caution periods. Local yellows will also be utilized for isolated incidents.

The complete rundown of the rules can be found here.

A list of participating NASCAR drivers by Rolex 24 teams as well as a starting lineup can be found after the jump.

Let's rock.

Starting Line Up by Position
Daytona International Speedway - Road Course
50th Annual Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona
Provided by GRAND-AM Statistics - Sat, November 19, 2011 @ 04:09 PM Eastern

NASCAR Drivers Highlighted in Bold