Haywood Earns Honorary Starter Title for Rolex 24

This weekend, 55 cars will take to the track Saturday for the 55th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the opening race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The 24 hour endurance race is slated to wrap up Sunday afternoon. Photo: LAT Photo USA for IMSA

It’s hard to imagine a more appropriate honorary starter for the 55th running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona: Hurley Haywood, five-time winner of the race, but Haywood is far more than that.

Often, he has been the face of sports car racing in the U.S., linked invariably to Daytona and to Porsche, though he raced – and won – at so many other tracks, and during his career he drove many different kinds of cars.

But Haywood has played many other roles besides champion. He has mentored younger drivers. He has patiently explained racing to members of the mainstream media trying to cover a big race. He has won, and lost, with grace. His five overall wins tie him for the most with Scott Pruett, who will be going for a GT Daytona class win in the first outing for the Lexus RC F GT3.

“I spent 40 years taking the green flag,” Haywood said, “but never throwing it. It’s exciting to be here. There are a lot of great-looking cars and a great driver lineup.”

Haywood waves that flag at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

KEATING DOES THE DOUBLE: Texas car dealer Ben Keating’s passion for IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship racing has been apparent from the start of the series, as he fielded one, and sometimes two, Dodge Vipers in the GT Daytona class.

But with Dodge discontinuing the Viper, Keating needed a new car to race, and he chose the Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3, a car that has raced overseas but is new to the WeatherTech Championship.
You’ll have to maintain your masculinity at all times and illustrate the world that you are getting the medicine in cheap. prices online cialis Saffron M Power capsules are quite suitable option that can cater you desirable results within tenure of few months. purchase levitra online When a man is aroused there is a release of nitric oxide associated with use of cialis prescription for treatment of ED has been well documented. Low testosterone level can also affect body and viagra without prescription uk mood equally.
But apparently that wasn’t enough. Keating, 46, also will be racing in the No. 8 Starworks Prototype Challenge entry, sharing that car with four other drivers. The goal is to score a podium finish in two separate classes, which will be a first in the IMSA WeatherTech series.

So if you see a guy on pit road, wearing either a helmet or a cowboy hat, chugging black coffee at 2 a.m., wish Ben Keating luck.

MAZDA ADJUSTS STRATEGY: Previously in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the two Mazda Prototypes have gone for it from the green flag, and possibly as a result have suffered early mechanical failures or debilitating crashes.

This year, though the new Mazda Prototype has plenty of speed, the goal is to make it to Sunday, and then go for a good finish. They have been practicing pit stops and driver changes as much as they have been practicing on the track.

And they are also paying attention to minor problems from past races. Example: The team has been working on making sure the plastic drinking water tube and the radio cable, which attach to the drivers’ helmets with Velcro, are exactly the right length. Last year, the tube and cables were too long, and the drivers sometimes got tangled up in them in driver changes.

Attention to detail: That’s what wins a 24-hour race.