Entry List – IMSA WeatherTech 240 At Daytona
IMSA WeatherTech 240 At Daytona
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona, Florida
March 18-21, 2020
Fast Facts
Race Day/Time: Saturday, July 4 – 6:05 p.m. ET
U.S. Television Coverage (All Times ET): LIVE – NBCSN, NBC Sports App, NBCSports.com
TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag, 6:05 p.m. – 8:45 p.m. ET
IMSA.com Live Qualifying Stream: Saturday, July 4 – 1:55 p.m. ET
IMSA Radio: All sessions live on IMSA.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins Saturday at 6 p.m. ET (Sirius channel 216, XM 202, Internet 972)
Tickets: DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com
Circuit Type: 3.56-mile, 12-turn road course
Race Length: Two hours, 40 minutes
Track Social Media: Twitter/Instagram: @DISUpdates; Facebook: DaytonaInternationalSpeedway
Event Hashtags: #IMSA, #WeatherTech240
WeatherTech Championship Track Records
Qualifying:
DPi: Oliver Jarvis, Mazda DPi, 1:33.685/136.792 mph, January 2019
LMP2: James Allen, ORECA LMP2, 1:35.904/133.627 mph, January 2019
GTLM: Nick Tandy, Porsche 911 RSR-19, 1:42.207/125.392 mph, January 2020
GTD: Zacharie Robichon, Porsche 911 GT3 R, 1:45.237/121.782 mph, January 2020
2020 Rolex 24 At Daytona Race Winners:
DPi: Ryan Briscoe/Renger van der Zande/Kamui Kobayashi/Scott Dixon, No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R
LMP2: Ben Hanley/Henrik Hedman/Colin Braun/Harrison Newey, No. 81 DragonSpeed USA ORECA
GTLM: Jesse Krohn/John Edwards/Chaz Mostert/Augusto Farfus No. 24 BMW Team RLL MBW M8 GTE
GTD: Bryan Sellers/Madison Snow/Corey Lewis/Andrea Caldarelli, No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3
Storylines
- IMSA Returns to Racing: The WeatherTech 240 At Daytona marks IMSA’s return to racing after more than five months of silent engines due to the coronavirus pandemic. With the Rolex 24 At Daytona in the books, next weekend’s race will kick off a reshuffled 10-round schedule that will conclude on Nov. 11-14 with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts.
- Three’s a Party: While the WeatherTech Championship is comprised of four classes, the Independence Day race will only feature three – DPi, GTLM and GTD. Eight cars are entered in the top-tier DPi class, six in GTLM and 13 in GTD. The LMP2 class will return to the grid for the Cadillac Grand Prix of Sebring on July 16-18.
- Welcome to the Show: Three new teams are entered at Daytona, only one of which has previous WeatherTech Championship experience. The No. 76 Compass Racing McLaren 720S GT3 is back for its second season of WeatherTech Sprint Cup competition with a driver change. Paul Holton returns, but is now accompanied by Corey Fergus.
- New entries Gradient Racing and Team Hardpoint are ready for WeatherTech Sprint Cup campaigns of their own. Gradient will field the No. 22 Acura NSX GT3 with Marc Miller and Till Bechtolsheimer, while Rob Ferriol and Spencer Pumpelly lead the charge for Team Hardpoint in the No. 30 Audi R8 LMS GT3.
- Mazda Motors Forward: The partnership between Mazda and Joest Racing originally was slated to conclude after the originally scheduled Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March. Since the event was postponed, January’s Rolex 24 was the last event with Joest at the helm. The Nos. 55 and 77 Mazda DPis are now listed under the Mazda Motorsports banner.
- Spengler Still Snazzy? Canadian racer Bruno Spengler definitely made a name for himself in the IMSA iRacing Pro Series, winning the season title and two of the season’s ix rounds. Can his virtual success translate into real life success throughout the year? Keep an eye on the No. 25 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE and co-driver Connor De Phillippi to find out.
Who’s Hot?
- 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R – The overall-winning team in January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona heads to the WeatherTech 240 At Daytona riding a two-race podium streak after finishing second in the 2019 WeatherTech Championship season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
- BMW Team RLL – The two-car GTLM team has had one of its cars on the podium for three straight races. The No. 24 M8 GTE won the Rolex 24 At Daytona and finished third in the 2019 penultimate round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, while the No. 25 BMW finished third at Motul Petit Le Mans. Co-driving the No. 24 again at Daytona will be John Edwards and Jesse Krohn, with De Phillippi and Spengler sharing the No. 25 BMW.
- Audi – The German manufacturer heads to Daytona on the strength of back-to-back podium results in GTD. Mirko Bortolotti, Rolf Ineichen, Daniel Morad and Dries Vanthoor finished third at Daytona in January in the No. 88 WRT Speedstar Audi Sport R8 LMS GT3 after the No. 20 Montaplast by Land Motorsport Audi took second in GTD at Motul Petit Le Mans last October in the hands of Morad, Christopher Mies and Ricky Feller. The lone Audi in next Saturday’s field will be the new entry from Team Hardpoint, the No. 30 Audi of Rob Ferriol and Spencer Pumpelly.
Who’s Good Here?
- Andy Lally – The co-driver of the No. 44 GRT Magnus Lamborghini Huracán GT3 will be one to watch, as he has two wins from previous GRAND-AM GT summer races at Daytona (2006, 2010), in addition to five class victories at the Rolex 24. Lally and co-driver John Potter are also on the heels of a second-place finish at this year’s Rolex 24.
- Bill Auberlen – A victory at the 2019 Motul Petit Le Mans tied Auberlen with Scott Pruett for most IMSA wins and he’s looking for more. Like Lally, Auberlen also has two Grand-Am GT wins at Daytona in July (2002, 2004) and two wins at Daytona in the Rolex 24.
- Porsche – Since 2000, Porsche is the winningest current manufacturer in Daytona summer races with five wins across four classes: 2000 GTU, 2002 GTS, 2004 SGS, 2009 and 2010 GT. Porsche has three contenders in the field on July 4 – the Nos. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR-19s in GTLM and the No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R in GTD.
- BMW – BMW follows Porsche with four wins of its own since 2000, starting with the 2003 Sports Car Racing Prototypes II category, the 2004 and 2005 GRAND-AM GT classes and closing out with the overall 2010 victory in a BMW Riley. In addition to the Nos. 24 and 25 BMW Team RLL M8 GTEs in GTLM, there is the lone No. 96 BMW M6 GT3 entered by Turner Motorsport in GTD.
Daytona Summer Race Winners Since 2000 in 2020 Field (2):
Bill Auberlen (2) – Grand-Am GT (2002, 2004)
Andy Lally (2) – Grand-Am GT (2006, 2010)
Daytona Summer Race Winning Manufacturers Since 2000 in 2020 Field
Porsche – 5
BMW – 4
Chevrolet – 3
Ferrari – 2
Mazda – 2
Lexus – 1