Wilson, Allmendinger, Negri and Pew score Daytona win with Michael Shank Racing
Consider the comeback complete for IZOD IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson.
Wilson fractured a vertebra in a practice crash last August at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and was forced to miss the rest of the 2011 IndyCar campaign, but today, the Sheffield, England native was on top of the podium alongside NASCAR’s A.J. Allmendinger, Ozz Negri and John Pew as champions of the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.
Allmendinger brought home the No. 60 Michael Shank Racing machine to a 5.198-second victory over the No. 8 Starworks Motorsports entry, driven at the end by Ryan Dalziel. MSR, which will run an IndyCar program this season, also produced a third-place effort out of its No. 6 machine, which featured a pair of Firestone Indy Lights drivers — Jorge Goncalvez and Gustavo Yacaman — on its driver roster.
With 22 hours complete, it appeared the race would be decided via a three-way battle between the Shank No. 60, the Starworks No. 8 and the Target Chip Ganassi Racing No. 01. But late in the 23rd hour, the Ganassi No. 01, driven by Scott Pruett at the time, was stricken by gearbox problems as Pruett came out of a pit stop. The No. 01 was then tagged by a drive-through penalty, effectively ending its chances.
That made it Shank vs. Starworks for the final hour, with Dalziel replacing Luhr for the final stint in the No. 8. But Allmendinger and the No. 60 had too much at the end and pulled away for the triumph.
The Ganassi No. 02, which featured IndyCar’s Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, picked up a fourth-place finish, while the No. 01 (Pruett/Joey Hand/Memo Rojas/IndyCar’s Graham Rahal) faded to sixth.
