Daytona 24: SAMAX race report

The No. 17 SAMAX Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car recovered from an eventful night to finish seventh in the GT class in the 2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona. The team lost valuable track position while the car's radiator was replaced, but driver Johnny Mowlem also set the third-fastest GT lap of the race during a double night stint. The mixed fortunes continued with the loss of power steering late in the race, balanced by consistent drives by Mowlem, Lance David Arnold, Bryan Sellers, Jan Seyffarth and David Shep.

Lance David Arnold: "It was a big experience for me. To drive the double stint at night, when you can smell the barbecues from around the track, and all the atmosphere, it's another kind of feeling. It's really great!"

Johnny Mowlem: "Once you've won it, as I have, anything other than winning a Rolex watch is unacceptable. So if we were second, I'd be a bit happier than being seventh, but not a whole lot, because the worst part is getting on the podium and seeing people getting watches when you're not getting one!"

Bryan Sellers: "It's been a long 24 hours -- I can't remember all the stints. We had a rough start that put us behind a bit, but everybody did a good job recovering. Leading up to the race, most of us were convinced the car wouldn't go 24 hours and here we are at the end of the race. We're not where we want to be, but nobody can be unhappy with what we have."

Jan Seyffarth: "It's great to be here and to finish the race. It could be better, but we are happy with the seventh place. I wouldn't save all the details of the week, but the whole experience, yes! I WILL come back."

David Shep: "The last laps felt fantastic and the finish is a true testament to this crew and to our own family motto to never give up. Daytona is an amazing track because it teases you. At four o'clock this morning when we were in fourth place, closing on a podium, it got everybody's attention. But like the lady of fate that Daytona is, she snatched it away from us. But we finished. Anything else is a bonus."

-samax-