Daytona's 24-hour endurance race continues to attract the biggest stars to fight it out for a Rolex watch, writes Nick Hall, in Florida
The world's leading racing drivers can buy anything they desire with the change from the back of their sofa, so the fact that so many turned out for the Daytona 24 Hours race last weekend just for the chance to win a stainless steel watch doesn't necessarily sit right.
Of course, it's no ordinary watch, this is a special edition Rolex Daytona Oyster Perpetual awarded to the winners of America's most prestigious sportscar race and while a gold one can be yours for the small matter of €15,000, the closest stainless steel option comes with a 10-year waiting list. So you just can't buy the one that was awarded to Dario Franchitti, the legendary Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas on Sunday.
They took the honours in the Target Team Ganassi-run Riley-Lexus ahead of such luminaries as Indy 500 and IRL Champion Daniel Wheldon, former F1 star Helio Castroneves and more.
Irish property developer Paddy Shovlin and veteran racer Michael Cullen also joined in the fun as they appeared in the lesser GT class in a Ferrari 430.
It's a star-studded line-up that, Race of Champions aside, European racing can only dream of - and these stars weren't there for the money.
"The drivers don't get a dime for this race," explains Chip Ganassi, the Team Ganassi boss whose Riley-Lexus took the honours for the third consecutive year. "It's all about the victory and that watch."
Wheldon points out that, as the first major race of the American season, it's also a chance for drivers to get the rust out of their systems before the real competition begins. And for the Nascar drivers, including Montoya, who has switched to stock cars following a hugely successful single seater career, it is an opportunity to drive at least part of the oval course before the Daytona 500 stock car race just two weeks later.
Daytona has run since the early 1950s, before there was even a track in place. When the land speed record attempts left its shores and moved to the Bonneville Salt Flats, Bill France went looking for an alternative and turned a section of the I-91 highway - and even part of the white sandy beach that is now lined with retirement homes, strip clubs and giant food portions - into a simple circular race track.
In those days, thanks to the easy access, it was so easy to avoid paying for access that the ingenious France posted rattlesnake warning signs on the beach to ensure the crowds paid their dues.
Nascar drivers, who were also the best moonshine runners in the country thanks to their boosted machines and driving skills, were the early stars. The drivers grew with the track and the cars, and the France family now oversees a dynasty and America's biggest endurance race.
The cars have taken a quantum leap forward, too, with the dominant Riley chassis much closer to the extravagant Le Mans machinery than the old American stock cars.
But while the 500bhp prototypes come with carbon fibre aplenty, they're seriously restricted to keep the costs down and come equipped with steel brakes, a basic spaceframe chassis and controlled aerodynamics that all combine to keep the costs under control for the 24 hours and the remainder of the Grand Am Series.
The idea is simple: any team can buy a chassis and engine off the peg, and driver talent makes the difference, unlike Le Mans where manufacturer entries reign supreme, and the final bill could send a blue chip firm into receivership.
"Anybody can come and race at Daytona and, for some, this is the one race a year they participate in," said five-time winner and Brumos Porsche team leader Hurley Haywood, who as a former Le Mans winner is uniquely qualified to compare both races.
"That makes for an interesting race, as cutting through traffic becomes more complicated, the cars are more equal here, there's 12 hours of real darkness as opposed to five in France and the track is an incredible challenge. Winning this race is a real achievement, I'd say it's a tougher race to win than Le Mans."
The track has come a long way since its early days, and Daytona has grown up to become the home of American sportscar racing, as well as one of the year's biggest Nascar races in the Daytona 500.
The Rolex runs on the banked oval and an infield section that tests the machines to the full. The sight of 65 racing cars approaching 190mph (306 km/hr) down the "straightaway", as the locals say, was worth the trip on its own.
As was the finish, which satisfied the American desire for close racing with Pruett fending off the advances of the 99 car of Alex Gurney. Many lead changes during the night also meant that the race made sense only when it finished.
"That was an amazing race," explained Pruett's team-mate Franchitti. "We were under strict orders not to even put a scratch on the car in the early stages, so we took good care and just worked our way through to the front. So, now I get my watch, which is just fantastic."
And with Rolex signing up for a further 10 years, there'll be plenty more on offer, which will bring the leading names in the racing world to Daytona to fight it out over 24 hours for a stainless steel watch and the spirit of real competition in America's most prestigious sportscar race.
Europe could learn a thing or two from these guys . . .