Ganassi ahead near end of Rolex 24
The No.1 Ganassi car has retaken the lead of the Rolex 24 at Daytona after Joao Barbosa crashed the No.59 Brumos Porsche while in front with four hours remaining
Barbosa lost control of his car following a caution period, due to the breakage of a bolt in the right rear suspension. The team had recovered from being a lap down and were very much in contention until the incident.
Juan Pablo Montoya had just jumped on board the No.01 Ganassi car following a change in the driver rotation, which saw Dario Franchitti take over from Scott Pruett for a very short third stint, when he was finally able to drive the car in dry weather conditions.
"We haven't had any problems," Franchitti said. "The problem is last night I got in the car and it was raining already and dark. It was very difficult to see whether the track was drying out or it was raining more. I found that difficult and then again last night in the second stint it rained pretty heavily.
"I think I'm finished (with the driving) now. Juan Pablo is in the car now and then Scott will take it to the finish.
"I think the car is very good in the corners but maybe a little bit slower in the straight than the Ford, but I think we have a good chance."
Going into the last four hours of racing, only two cars remain on the lead lap, with the No.6 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley currently driven by Burt Frisselle chasing the lead Ganassi car. AJ Allmendinger is expected to take over from Frisselle for the final stint.
The No. 23 Alex Job Racing Porsche Crawford driven by Joey Hand, which was also back in contention for victory, had to pit close to the twentieth hour with smoke coming from the right rear, and is already more than 15 laps behind the leaders.
The No. 99 Bob Stallings/Lowe's Pontiac Riley also fell out of contention due to gearbox problems that forced Jimmy Vasser to pit for repairs. They currently run third but are five laps down from the leading pair.
In the GT class the No.70 Speedsource Mazda RX-8 has taken a comfortable lead.
Weather conditions have improved in the morning and the threat of rain is apparently gone, with the sun shining and rising track temperatures on the 3.5-mile road course.
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