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Five from Fifty
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Racecar Articles

Five from Fifty

 John Zimmermann

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the race that began as the Daytona Continental in 1962 and evolved into today’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, but not all of those races were run for a full 24 hours. The first two runnings had a three-hour duration, while the next two ran to 2000 kilometers, and in 1972, responding to a global fuel crisis, the specified length was six hours. Further, because no race was run in 1974—again due to energy worries—this year’s 50th Anniversary event will also be its 50th running.

As noted, of those 50 runnings 44 have gone the full two spins around the clock, with eight of them decided by a margin of victory less than one lap, and 17 recording winning margins of 10 laps or more. The closest finish ever was registered just three years ago, when David Donohue, Darren Law, Buddy Rice and Antonio Garcia won the 2009 Rolex, edging Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas by a slim 0.167 seconds, while the largest victory margin came in 1979 when the Interscope Porsche 935 driven by Hurley Haywood, Danny Ongais and Ted Field left their closest remaining pursuers 49 laps behind.

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AnniversaryBrand (Chevrolet)Brand (Ferrari)Brand (Jaguar)Brand (Porsche)Decade (1960s)Event (Daytona Continental)Group (FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile))Group (IMSA (International Motor Sports Association))People (Brian Redman)People (Dan Gurney)People (Danny Ongais)People (David Donohue)People (David Hobbs)People (Enzo Ferrari)People (Hans Herrmann)People (Hurley Haywood)People (Jackie Oliver)People (Jacky Ickx)People (Jo Siffert)People (Juan Pablo Montoya)People (Mark Donohue)People (Richard Attwood)People (Roger Penske)People (Sam Posey)People (Scott Pruett)People (Tony Adamowicz)People (Vic Elford)Race (24 Hours)Race (Rolex 24 Hours)Racetrack (Daytona)Series (GTP)Series (NASCAR)

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John Zimmermann
Steve Natale has been playing with cars ever since he was old enough to first hold a matchbox car in his hand. A lifelong enthusiast of anything old with an engine in it or wheels on it, Steve has been active in the hobby for over 35 years. Currently he owns a successful marketing company with his wife Mary, is an automotive photographer, blogger and writer for several automotive magazines and regular contributor to various automotive websites. Steve has attended vintage car events and visited car museums and collections around the world.
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