Daytona 24: SAMAX hour 12 report

Two SAMAX Motorsport cars remained in contention at the halfway point of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Unfortunately, the No. 71 SAMAX/Doncaster Racing Porsche was out of the race after 10h12. The crew found loose studs in three of the car's wheels and the car was retired to ensure the safety of the drivers Dave Lacey, Brent Martini, Greg Wilkins and Mark Wilkins.

The No. 17 SAMAX Porsche continued a strong pace during the second quarter of the race, with drivers Johnny Mowlem, Bryan Sellers, Lance David Arnold and Jan Seyffarth racing to fifth place in the GT class. The No. 11 Tuttle/SAMAX Riley Mk XI was 14th in the Daytona Prototype class at half-distance, paced by Brian Tuttle, Boris Said and Kyle Petty.

John Lacey, Doncaster Racing owner: "We have studs loose on three wheels and we can't guarantee new studs going in will be firm enough to race on a safe basis. When it comes to driver safety, we're making the right decision by pulling out of the race. With this banking at 180 miles an hour, we're not going to take a chance with our drivers."

Dave Lacey: "It's an unfortunate situation. John made a decision in favor of driver safety, as he should, and it caused us to retire from the race. It's an unfortunate situation. The guys worked really hard."

Brent Martini: "This is the first time I had a chance to participate with SAMAX and Greg and Mark and Dave. It has been a real privilege. They are just a class act -- impeccably prepared guys who are very focused, incredible professionals. Dreams still come true. I'm a 46-year-old kid driving a Porsche around a race track and loving every second of it."

Greg Wilkins: "The car was running well, so it's disappointing we had a couple of mechanical glitches -- a small part in the gearshift lever which set us down a number of laps and then the studs. Unfortunately, they cost us the ability to compete."

young direction

Travis Braun, 15, provides youthful direction as the data engineer for the No. 17 Porsche. His talent belies his age, as he calmly and expertly calls the team strategy. Braun's father Jeff is the strategist for the No. 75 Krohn Racing Daytona Prototype; brother Colin is a driver for Krohn Racing. Ironically, Travis Braun sees his future in journalism, not engineering.

Travis Braun: "It's really fun working with the whole SAMAX crew -- they're a great group of guys. I've got a general strategy before the race, but once the race starts, that all goes out the window, so you have to play a lot of it by ear. Some of it's instinct, but my dad taught me a lot, so I have to give him a lot of credit. As long as he's doing well, my brother's doing well and we finish well, it's going to be great."

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