Congratulations Dan !
Wheldon, Dixon and Mears Score First Overall Victory in Rolex 24 At Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 29, 2006) -- In a race featuring superstars from the worlds of sports car racing, NASCAR and open-wheel racing, a trio of "ringers" claimed the overall victory, as IRL IndyCar Series champions Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon and NASCAR rising star Casey Mears took the 44th Running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Round 1 of the 2006 Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve.
With Mears behind the wheel and slightly less than six hours remaining, the race-leading Patrick Long had an extended stay on pit lane as the Alex Job Racing/Emory Motorsports team changed the half-shaft on the No. 23 Shred-It/XM Satellite Radio Porsche Crawford. That would prove to make the difference in the race, as Mears inherited the lead and he and his co-drivers stayed out of trouble the rest of the way to score a victory by one lap over the No. 60 Flight Options Lexus Riley of Oswaldo Negri Jr., Mark Patterson and Champ Car World Series teammates A.J. Allmendinger and Justin Wilson.
The No. 02 team led a race-high total of 272 laps, and overcame various mechanical issues that dropped them as low as 20th in the overall running order. The No. 02 machine fell two laps down to the leaders on three different occasions, but the Ganassi team battled to the front following each setback to score a hard-earned victory.
Mears led the Ganassi squad with 109 laps at the head of the field, and celebrated his first-ever major league race victory. He also became the first full-time active NASCAR driver to earn an overall Rolex 24 At Daytona victory.
"I just can't believe I'm sitting here right now as a winner of this race," Mears said. "I honestly didn't think this would happen like this, so I'm very excited to have this one. First off, what a team Scott, Dan and I had behind us. I just can't explain it. These Ganassi guys went over the wall and back all night to keep this car running. Without them there's no way we could have accomplished this. I talked to Benny Parsons in Victory Lane and he said to me now that I've been to this place and seen Victory Lane; you're allowed to come back and visit. Hopefully that's exactly what I'll be doing when I come back here in a few weeks in the NEXTEL Cup Series car."
Wheldon, the 2005 Indianapolis 500 winner and IRL IndyCar Series champion, became the first driver to win the Rolex 24, the IndyCar championship and the Indianapolis 500 in the span of less than one year. Wheldon joined A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Bobby Rahal and Al Unser Jr. as the only drivers to accomplish all three in their careers.
"There are some great names associated with the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and some even more impressive ones that go hand in hand with Chip Ganassi Racing," Wheldon said. "This is simply one of the biggest races around, and to be a part of winning this for Team Target and the whole crew is something I've very proud of for sure. This team prides itself on winning the big races, and now I can say I'm a part of delivering one for those for the whole organization."
Dixon, the 2003 IndyCar Series champion, started the car from the outside of the front row and led a total of 105 laps himself. It was Dixon's third start in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and was his first overall victory after finishing sixth in the Daytona Prototype class in each of his previous two appearances.
"The race started well for the Target Team off the front row, but shortly thereafter we had a brake failure that we had to overcome," Dixon said. After that, we had to replace a gearbox and an alternator - things that usually take quite a while to fix under any circumstances. The guys just continued to amaze me with their work under pressure and their ability to keep the car running at all costs. The whole effort is a credit to Chip Ganassi Racing and the kind of team we have."
In addition to it being the first Rolex 24 At Daytona victory for the three drivers, it was also the first-ever Rolex 24 At Daytona victory for the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. It was also the first Rolex 24 At Daytona overall win for Lexus, which powered the second-place finishing No. 60 Flight Options Lexus Riley for Michael Shank Racing in addition to the No. 02 machine.
As is the case with every Rolex 24 At Daytona, the keys to success in the 2006 rendition were the ability to run consistent lap times, avoid trouble on the race track and minimize the amount of time spent in the pits or in the garage area making repairs. The No. 60 team did just that, making just two unscheduled stops. The car was a fixture in the top 10 throughout the race and led a total of 47 laps en route to its runner-up result, which was a Rolex Series career best for Patterson.
The 734 laps completed was a new Rolex Series record, topping the previous record of 723 in the 2000 event. However, the 762 laps completed in the 1992 Rolex 24 At Daytona remains the overall race record. The race featured 13 different leaders and a total of 39 lead changes, which was the second-most lead changes in Rolex Series history, just behind the 44 times the lead swapped hands in the 2005 Rolex 24 At Daytona
