NASCAR Cup Series

Rolex 24 action is wild and woolly

Published Jan. 29, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

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In the early laps at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday the running joke became: I went to the Rolex 24 and a NASCAR race broke out.

IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti called the action “absolute madness.”

Franchitti’s Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Pruett, a five-time Rolex 24 winner and defending DP champion, said, “people are driving crazy.”

“It seems like it’s the last two hours of the 24 hours, not the first two hours,” Pruett said. “I don’t really understand why that is. It’s really common for the first two or three hours, guys trying to prove they can win.

“I’ve seen six or seven spins right in front of me. It’s going to be one of those races. I’ve had to dodge guys spinning in front of me; I’ve had to dodge guys who went flying off course.”

For a driver used to competing with reinforced bumpers, Jimmie Johnson acknowledged it was “tough” to be aggressive in the DP cars. Johnson also felt he was at a disadvantage because he didn’t know all the players.

“You’re not really sure who’s in the car in front of you,” Johnson said, “After you yell and scream a few times on the radio, they say, “Well, that’s so-and-so,’ and I don’t really know these guys well enough to understand what that means, but I can tell in the inflection in my crew chief’s voice a few times that I should be expecting that from a few guys.

“The other thing, it is so hard to not just turn someone around and get rid of them. With the Cup car, you can do that easily. These cars, it will end your day. So, I had to stop myself a few times. And after two or three times of being there and getting chopped — I’m like ‘Man, if you were in a Cup car you’d be sitting there backed in right now.’ I miss that aspect of Cup cars. If Kevin Harvick was in one of these, I think he would just run ’em over.”

Johnson has won five NASCAR Cup championships, but he’s 0-for-7 in trying to win the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“The race is such a challenge mentally and physically,” Johnson said. “The cars are a lot of fun. Being able to see friends and guys I have respected and watched over the years race, shoot the breeze with them some and then be out on the track with them wheel to wheel is a lot of fun as well. It is a great event.”

Johnson is driving the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet along with Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty. Wihtout a fourth driver, Johnson knew he would have to pace himself.

“Luckily I’m not in the rhythm on the Cup side, and I have done this enough over the years to understand how chaotic the race is and what is important for me from a rest, hydration, nutrition standpoint to be ready,” Johnson said. “I feel that I am better prepared coming in on all those fronts and have more things in place during the event to make sure I am well rested and ready to go.

Johnson’s teammate Gurney qualified 10th with an Earnhardt Childress Racing engine. ECR, which powered Jamie McMurray to wins in the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400, also provided engines for the SunTrust entry and Spirit of Daytona Racing.

“It doesn’t really matter where you start, but speed does make a difference,” Johnson said. “There is no room for error, and you can break gear boxes, get off the road and rip the nose off the car, get into traffic and crash the car.

“Ideally, you want to have some speed that you can call on when need be. I don’t know if we are there, but the car is much more competitive. If you can be within a half-second to three-tenths from the fast guys, that is a good place to be because traffic plays such a big game in your overall lap time, and you can have a huge gap and lose it just because of where traffic falls. I think we are back in the window of where we want to be right now.”

CAMARO TO NASCAR?

How about those Camaros under the lights at Daytona International Speedway?

General Motors fielded three in the GT division of the Rolex 24.

So how long before Chevrolet bring its iconic nameplate to NASCAR?

With NASCAR overhauling the cars for the 2013 Sprint Cup season, there are many fans — including officials from the sanctioning body — that would embrace the addition of the Camaro brand.

However, Chevrolet has yet to declare which model it will submit for the 2013 series.

“We’re working with NASCAR to get more identity in the next generation of car,” said Mark Kent, General Motors Racing Director. “I think we leaned a lot with the Nationwide car on how to do that. So as we’re looking at the next generation, we’re looking at our whole lineup to figure out which one fits best.

“We’re excited about the path we’re going down. It might not necessarily be a Camaro, but it will be a model that the race car will be totally aligned with the street car.”

Unfortunately, that doesn’t sound like NASCAR. With a variety of racing series to choose from, GM engineers don’t have to work overtime to develop a design that would compromise sleek lines of one of American’s most beloved brands. Although the 2013 Sprint Cup cars will have cosmetic aspects to identify the model through decals, grills and windows, the new vehicle will be a combination of the four current manufacturers.

“We just don’t want to force it where it doesn’t fit,“ Kent said. “There are so many great opportunities for it whether it’s here in Grand-Am, GS, GT. It’s truly a production shape. Go to the NHRA and look at Pro Stock, Stock Eliminator, there’s great opportunities for the car to look like the real car.

“We’ll explore all those opportunities and if something presents itself, we’ll take a look at it.”

NASCAR fans welcomed the move to “pony cars” in the Nationwide Series last season.

But historically, the sanctioning body’s stark departure from stock cars has been a major source of fan complaints. While Ford and Dodge stepped up with Mustangs and Challengers, Toyota and Chevrolet duplicated their Sprint Cup entries.

When the final Cup submissions are made for the 2013 models, Dodge is expected to field Chargers. Ford is pleased with the exposure the Mustang is receiving in the Nationwide Series and would like to further promote the brand in Cup. Toyota will introduce a whole new car to jibe with NASCAR’s model change. And then there’s Chevrolet.

“We’ve had discussions with NASCAR, but they’re definitely not pushing us,“ Kent said of the Camaro. “They’re a very good partner. They understand what our objectives are and they respect those.

“We’re definitely pleased with the direction they’re going. I think the new front end for 2011 is a tremendous step forward over last year. We’re looking to the next generation beyond that, where we believe there will be a lot more brand identity. We’re very excited and we’re glad to be working hand-in-hand with NASCAR to do that without upsetting the balance of the sport.”

BIG SEXY READY TO ROLL

AJ Allmendinger didn't find the speed he was looking for when he qualified the No. 6 Michael Shank Ford Riley eighth in the DP class.

"We're a little bit off from where we were at testing with this car," Allmendinger said. "I haven't driven the car since qualifying, but Justin (Wilson, his teammate) thinks it's better. It's not great, but it's better."

For Allmendinger, 29, this is his fifth Rolex 24. His best finish was second in 2006.

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