Built fifty years apart, a C2 (1965) and a C7 (2015) Corvette win at the HSR Daytona Classic 24
In endurance race Group A, Ray Evernham won in his 1965 C2 # 19 big block roadster. The legendary crew chief, NASCAR Hall of Famer and Big Iron Garage owner drove all 4 stints. Remarkably Ray completed a total of 76 laps in an older production car, only 3 shy of the overall winners James Cullen & Dennis Olthoff in a 1970 Lola T70 MkIIIb prototype.
In endurance race Group F, JC France, Joao Barbosa and Tim Jenrum won in their 2015 C7 # 45 Corvette Daytona Prototype. It was a repeat of last year. They completed 85 laps, winning three of the four rounds.
They just edged the second-place Hudson Historics 2014 C6 # 33 Corvette Daytona Prototype piloted by John Reisman in all 4 stints through day and night.
The race was disappointing for Will Hubbell and Eric Curran. Will’s 2009 C6 # 230 Coyote DP dropped out on lap 41 and was scored a distant third in class. (2019 Photo).
Zach Arnold won class F3 in his 2005 C6 # 55 Rolex Grand Am tube frame sportscar completing 80 laps piloting all 4 stints. (2019 Photo).
With air travel all but shut down, fewer fans and virtually no entries from abroad, “The “Show Must Go On”. 2020 is a tribute to racers like France, Barbosa, Curran and Arnold who raced both this year and back in the day.
The weekend opened with a classic battle between big-bore American iron and precision German engineering and handling. Ray Evernham won by a whisker over Todd Treffert’s 1974 IROC 911 # 14 Porsche in the Sasco Sports International/American Challenge.
Brad Hoyt won his class in his 1969 C3 # 6 big block Corvette. (2019 Photo).
Bobby Kennedy was a DNF in a 1969 C3 # 11 conceived by Rob Logsdon and powered by a hot 5.4-liter engine.
The HSR Classic 24 is a truly unique top destination race. Hopefully it all comes back together in 2021.
