The opening race of the 2005 season, this race is one of the most prestegious on the circuit. Two classes were featured, the Daytona Prototype (DP)class, and GT. The DP class only had 6 entries three years ago, and many wondered if this design would prove itself during the ardeuous process of sports-car racing. This year saw 29 entries in the DP class, in addition to 34 cars in the GT class.
The most grueling of all races, the 24 hour race is a test in endurance, stamina, and sleep deprivation. Most teams opted to rely on 4 or 5 driver teams while the top teams proved that 3 drivers were the way to go.
The #10 Pontiac DP driven by Wayne Taylor, Max Angelelli and Emmanuel Collard held of a hard charging #20 Pontiac DP driven by NASCAR great Tony Stewart, along with Jan Lammers and Andy Wallace. This challenging matchup continued to swap the lead until the #20 went to the pits with transmission issues 2 hrs before the finish. This unfortunate turn of events left the #10 wide open to lead both the DP class and race overall to take the checkered flag with the #20 team garnering a podium finish in 3rd. 2nd place was taken by the #4 DP team of NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson, Butch Leitzinger, and Elliott Forebes-Robinson.
The first nine finishers of the Daytona 24 were from the DP class followed by the winner of the GT class the #71 Porsche GT3 driven by Henzler, Fambacher, Price, and Ehret. This team held a 3 lap advantage over the 2nd place #37 of Fitzgerald, Matos, Assentato, and Longhi, and 5 laps over the 3rd place #73 of Baldwin, Tafel, Stanton, Liddell, and Davis.
