Daytona Rolex 24 Hour Wrap Up

Here's a few pictures to wrap up coverage of IMSA's Rolex 24 at Daytona, including a really great link to IMSA's gallery of pictures shown rapid fire style on their web site.  Many of their pictures remind me of where I was shooting my pictures in, around and inside this iconic ' World's First Motorsports Stadium'. 

I'll repeat what I said in one of my earlier posts on Daytona- you HAVE to go see this place to appreciate it.  I recommend IMSA's 24 hour race here next year as an outstanding value for your money.  You get to see it all for one low price!


Enjoy the pictures and if you have time click on the videos embedded in the IMSA link.

IMSA Daytona 24 Hour Photos From 2016


And here are a few of my closing shots:

Penalty Box

Teamwork Times Two

Chevy Performance Dominates

Thank You Grassroots Motorsports For Your Hospitality

Day And Night It Goes On

Thank You Weather Tech For Your Sponsorship

The Heart of Racing - Alex Job Racing

From The Top Of The Stadium At Night

Lake Lloyd At Night

 

When You Need Help Fast Call Porsche 911

Very Relaxed Before The Race

Chevy VS Ford

Beautiful Display Inside The Stadium of Last Year's Cup Winner

 At Rest Before Saturday's Start

Porsche Team Drivers

Porsche Tune Up

Beautiful Sunrise On Sunday Morning

 

See you next year!

VW Bus Meets Cars & Coffee

This diversion from my Rolex 24 wrap up is a comment on the popularity of VW Mini Buses from days gone by. I had the good fortune of seeing a group of VW's at this month's Cars & Coffee in St. Petersburg, FL and thought this was too good  a quick post to pass up.

 Many new young fans were not around to see the original version of VW's mini bus made popular by Woodstock but these new converts from supercars and off road 4 wheelers have begun to rekindle the magic that these very useful people movers created.  Each example is a palette for the owner to create his or her own art and have a one of a kind vehicle.   For example, here's OSKAR, whose owner is Miles, a very well spoken young man that works at Air Cooled VW's in Tampa, FL.

I had the opportunity to  talk with Miles for a few minutes and found how his VW is far more than a vehicle to get around in- it's part of his life and an expression of creativity. That's what I like to see in a vehicle's owner- passion for and in the vehicle they drive.

 

OSKAR

 

 

And here's a few more of this iconic VW

 

 

 

 

And here are some of OSKAR's  Buddies

 

 

 

 

 

And This One's Being Reborn

 

Hope these pictures brought back a few memories.....

 

 

 

 

 

Daytona Rolex 24 Hour Post #3

Now,  Back to more of the Rolex 24 At Daytona sponsored by WeatherTech:

Enjoy the photos you have been waiting for.

Frikadelli Racing  GT3R Porsche

 

 

The One Two, The Two Won

 

Black Swan Racing

Crowd Favorite Mini Campers

Fast Pit Stops Help

Last Minute Tune Up

 

The Delta Wing Had A Chance Until The Crash

 

 

Chip Ganassi Racing- All Star Drivers

Dixon, Kanaan, McMurray and Larson

 

Scuderia Corsa

Visit Florida.com  #90  Corvette Prototype

 

GT Daytona and GTLM Porsches

Alex Job Racing and Porsche North America

 

And The Competition Continues In The Next Post.....

Race Alert! Less Than 30 Days Until The Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg

We interrupt the blog posts of the Rolex 24 at Daytona for a reminder that the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is less than 30 days away.  Here's a few shots from this afternoon at Advanced Auto in St. Petersburg. They were showing off one of the race cars.  I've also included a few pictures from last year to give you an idea of what you will see.  Come out and attend this, the first race of the season for Indycars in one of the most beautiful settings ever for a race.

2016 Teaser of a Picture

Brought To You By Firestone

 

 

 

From Last Year: 

Beautiful Vistas 

 

Close Competition

Meet The Drivers

And See The Teams

As They Get Ready To Race

 

 

Come See These Drivers And More....

March 11th - 13th

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rolex 24 At Daytona Post #2

This is the second in a set of posts covering the 54th Rolex 24 hour race at Daytona, known this year as the Weather Tech Championship.  There was a lot to cover with 24 hours of racing, preceded by a Ferrari Challenge race and the BMW Performance 200/ Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and a few hot laps with vintage sports cars.  Then there is the worlds first Motorsports Stadium as a part of the show that needs to be shown. 

I captured as much of this as one person on foot could- I must have walked 10 miles over the three days traversing from one end of the track to the other  and from the infield to the outside main entrances.  It was well worth it and I'll post many of the pictures that will take you there. Relax in the comfort of your den or office and take a look at the pictures.

As a bonus, I've attached a link to the IMSA video covering the entire race, perfect for a cold winter's day.  See below:

Rolex 24 Race Video- Watch Here

This video covers the race better than me writing a short novel for you, so I recommend checking it out.  My job is to bring you great photos of what it is like to attend one of America's greatest race weekends. I'll take you to the heart of the action on the track as well as to the top of the main grandstand, to late night tours of the garages and show you the beautiful vistas along Lake Lloyd deep in the middle of the 'Stadium'. I'll even post some pictures of the grandstand's grand entrances and the artful steel skeleton holding up over 100,000 fans.  Attending the three day event (Four if you want to arrive Thursday for the best campsites) was truly an experience. These pictures are a taste of what it was like being there. Put  Daytona International Speedway on your bucket list.

And another bonus- See this video about Lake Lloyd- the lake shown in some of my shots- this will put it in a new light and see how advanced the new Motorsports Stadium has become compared to the days when cars crashed and ended up in the lake as the video shows. There are some really interesting stories here that you will enjoy.  Click below:

Lake Lloyd Lore and True Tales

Here's the first photo montage - enjoy the pictures and imagine you are there.  This place is BIG- It will overwhelm you if you try to take it all in at once.  This blog post sets the stage - yes there's only a few cars on this post- wait for the next one in about a week - there will be many more!

                          ONLY IN AMERICA- DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Strong Bones

 

Iconic View

Sundown Over The Backstretch

The Sweeping Tri Oval

You Need A Map?

That Top Row is WAY Up There

Sunrise Over Lake Lloyd

Escalators The Size Of Atlanta Airport's!

 

 

 Mustang- Fast!

 

Crazy Paint Job

 

The Heart Of Racing- Alex Job Racing

 

Race Cars Everywhere- On the Ceiling

 

Friday Night Prep Work Before The 24 Hour Race

 

The Work Never ends

 

Cool Colors

 

Audi VIP Lounge- Nice

 

 

There's More - Next Post