Ganassi Racing one-two at Daytona after 18H

Ganassi Racing BMW Rileys were running first and second Sunday morning after 18 hours at the 49th Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, with Juan Pablo Montoya leading Memo Rojas by just over 20 seconds. Montoya's car suffered two flat tires early in the race and needed a new front splitter in the ninth hour, but had otherwise needed only routine maintenance and brakes. Rojas's BMW Riley needed a new gear cluster in the first hour, but ran relatively trouble free from that point.

#02 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates BMW Riley: Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya.

Photo by Eric Gilbert.

Joao Barbosa and Burt Frisselle sat in third and fourth, respectively, in the pair of Porsche Rileys fielded by Action Express Racing. AJ Allmendinger lay fifth in the first of the three Michael Shank Racing entries -- the Ford Dallara -- followed by Tracy Krohn in the Krohn Racing Ford Lola - the last car on the lead lap. The No. 23 United Autosports / MSR Ford Riley was seventh, one lap behind the leaders. Three laps back were the No. 60 Michael Shank Racing car and the No. 55 Level 5 Motorsport BMW Riley. The SunTrust Racing Chevrolet Riley rounded out the top-10, four laps adrift of Montoya.

The Gainsco Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet Riley was 40 laps behind the leaders after having experienced brake problems, a damaged exhaust pipe, and suspension damage incurred in an on-track incident with Montoya.

A broken radiator relegated the pole sitting Flying Lizard Porsche Riley to 12th overall, 17 laps behind Montoya. After 18 hours, the car still owned the race's fastest lap, in the hands of Jorg Bergmeister.

Dense fog slowed the race for about two hours and 45 minutes around 5:30 a.m. The field circulated behind the pace car for 61 laps. Aggressive driving was one of the hallmarks of the event after 18 hours, resulting in 17 caution periods for l08 laps and lots of flat tires. The Rolex Series' new Continental tires experienced a number of issues early in the race, but those issues seemed to resolve themselves when the teams began to heed Continental's recommended tire pressure and camber settings.

Tom Long led the GT class in the No. 40 Dempsey Racing Mazda RX-8. The No. 67 Racer's Group Porsche driven by Andy Lally lay second, followed by the No. 54 Racer's Groupe Porsche of Jeroen Bleekemolen.

See also: Prior to sunrise, caution slows field in Daytona