DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- It is hard to believe, but an all-American driver lineup steering an American-made car funded by an American company has never won the Rolex 24 sports car classic. Rest assured, the stars and stripes are in good hands this weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
Four Californians -- Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty, former open-wheel champ Jimmy Vasser and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson -- will try to put the red-white-and-blue stamp on this race driving a Pontiac-powered Riley chassis built in North Carolina. The car is sponsored by Gainsco Auto Insurance, of Dallas, and owned by Dallas businessman Bob Stallings.
"Being an All-American team is fun for us," said Gurney, the 2007 Rolex pole-sitter and son of racing great Dan Gurney.
"Maybe not so much for the fans, but behind the scenes we feel like we're competing against the other countries."
Johnson, who along with Vasser joined the team just for this twice-around-the-clock endure, echoed the sentiment.
"That this is a whole American effort just adds to the desire to win this," said Johnson, who is making his fifth Rolex 24 start and second with this team.
While all the drivers want to win for country, make no mistake, they'd love to pad their resume. In 16 starts between them, none has claimed a victory here.
This same lineup finished runner-up to the three-time Rolex champion Chip Ganassi Racing last year and there's no love lost between the two camps, who also compete full time in the Grand-Am Series.
During a news conference here on Thursday, the Gainsco team was asked why the Ganassi operation is so strong here. Stallings joked, "they cheat."
Everyone laughed, but the sense of rivalry was palpable.
"All you need is one mistake and it doesn't have to be yours," Gurney said. "One mistake and your race can be ruined. In our case, we're lucky, because all our drivers have won races and championships. It's really a relief for me and Jon."
"We're more prepared than ever and we understand what it's going to take."
