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Grand Am
DALZIEL: The Longest Day Of My Life
2010 Rolex 24 winner Ryan Dalziel files his first column for SPEEDtv.com, and shares a humorous and emotional take on his victory. You might cry like 'The Notebook'...
Ryan Dalziel  |  Posted February 05, 2010   Orlando, FL

February 1st 2010 is a morning I will never forget. I woke up early to the sight of my shiny new Rolex Daytona on my bed side table.

The watch was intentionally placed there before going to bed the night before, just to remind when I woke up that it hadn’t been a dream.
For Ryan Dalziel (middle), the longest day of his life also turned out to be the best day of his career. (LAT)

I arrived at Daytona, early on Saturday morning for the start of the 24 Hours of Daytona. My team, Action Express Racing, had struggled a little throughout January testing and qualifying, but we had a crew full of confidence.

I will be totally honest: I was not totally confident and was a bit frustrated about our pace going into the race, but I never showed it. I would come home each night and leave each morning from my home in Orlando as a fairly grumpy husband, which is not like me. That’s usually my wife’s job….Ha Ha!

As the rain continued to drop on Daytona pre-race (reminding me of a summer day in Scotland), me and my three teammates couldn’t help but discuss our hopes for the race. It was obvious that we all, in our own selfish ways, needed a good result. For me it was simple…when was the last time I won something of meaning in my career? It was saddening to admit but I honestly couldn’t remember the last time.

The wet weather made things very difficult at the start of the race but one thing that was never dampened was the Action Express crews’ determination for success. Preparing to get into the car for my first stint to replace Mike Rockenfeller, I couldn’t help but stress a little. Mike, Terry and Joao had done a great job ahead of me, and we were consistently running towards the front. When I was getting in to replace Mike I gave him my normal smack on the butt as I pushed him out my way to get in.

Action Express executed a flawless stop and I was fuel of fuel and had new tires and on my way down pit lane. This was the first of many perfect stops from my guys. My stint was really good. I was really happy with it and I believe I pitted in 2nd or 3rd to hand the car back to Joao. We kept the driver rotation going with Joao, Terry, Mike and myself.

Going back to my bus after my first stint, it was around 11pm, I think. I couldn’t help but start to have a quietly confident feeling about the race. The car was running great and seemed like we had the pace to race the guys up front. I grabbed about 40 minutes of sleep before getting showered and heading back to pit lane. That 40-minute nap turned out to be the last time I got any sleep during the race.
Flawless pit stops by the Action Express team were key in the team's bid for Rolex 24 glory. (LAT)

It was hard to relax when we were doing so well. From the bedroom of my bus I could see both the television in the bedroom and the one upfront in the living area. So I was in bed trying to sleep, yet I had one TV tuned to the live timing, and the other tuned to the track feed. Plus I had a team radio on the pillow next to me, so I could hear what was going on…

To say I was a being a little overly excited would be an understatement.

The race from midnight to midday went so perfectly. My last stint was a double from approximately 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. That first stint was pretty good. I got passed by Scott Pruett early in the run as we struggled on cold tires, but our car came to life about mid-stint and we reeled him back in to under 1-second before we pitted. The 2010-spec Pirelli tire is awesome; it really separates the men from the boys and I think its been one of the best curve balls that has been thrown to the drivers and teams for some time. Throughout my whole career, especially growing up in a cold country, I have thrived on driving with cold tires and I knew I could beat them and get us back out front.

I pushed so hard on my out laps. Rocky and I actually had a little private bet going on who could be faster on their first two laps on cold tires. The team doesn’t know that and probably wouldn’t approve so we should keep that on the down low…….oops too late.

My previous stint I had a 1Min 56sec out lap and a 1Min 45sec, for my second lap. This time I pushed so hard because I knew this was my opportunity to get in front of the Ganassi car. I had a 1Min 51Sec outlap and a 1Min 44sec, on my second lap. Ganassi stayed out about 6 laps longer than us and I managed to put in 4 or 5 very good clean laps. IT WORKED!!

When I drove down the start/finish straight I could see Justin Wilson exiting the pits and I knew I had done it. I passed him entering Turn 4 and pulled 6 seconds on him in the next lap. I can honestly say for the next 50 minutes, I drove my arse off –it was easily the drive of my life.

I never made a mistake and got into a rhythm to where I was so comfortable in the car I started to shout and sing at myself. I’m not kidding. Call me weird, but its my way of concentrating. Sometimes I shout at myself and other times I shout at others! I would love to have it recorded at some point to play back later because I must sound ridiculous…

After my stint the team were pumped. I think we all believed at this point we had the goods to win this thing. I was taken to the GRAND-AM media center once I got out of the car. J.J. O’Malley from GRAND-AM talked to me about the usual topic I’ve heard over the years…”Ryan, you lead laps here back in 2007 holding off attacks from Juan Pablo Montoya and Max Angelelli. Can you tell me how finishing runner up has helped you prepare for today…”
For fans of ChampCar, Dalziel's stunning performances in 2007 with the fledgling Pacific Coast Motorsports team marked him as a future star. Like so many other drivers, open-wheel's loss has been GRAND-AM's gain. (LAT)

J.J. is a friend so I joked with him and said “J.J., I can’t wait for the time you don’t have to ask me about being runner-up, and we can talk about winning this thing.”

As we rolled into the final 45 minutes of the race I think everyone was close to tears. I would tear up at the thought of winning, and then minutes later at the thought of loosing. There was almost silence in the pits the last 15 minutes of the race. I think everyone was scared to show emotion in the fear we might falter at the end. Mike Rockenfeller wouldn’t even stand in pit lane until the white flag with the fear of jinxing us. He sat on a golf cart behind pit lane listening to his iPod, watching the lap tower…

The white flag came out and I think everyone was trying to cram onto the pit wall. I ended up standing on the fuel rig for a good view. That was the longest lap of Daytona I have ever witnessed. When we saw the #9 Action Express car come to take the checkered flag it was just instant tears. WE DID IT! I have never experienced so much emotion in a team, and so many men crying at the same time. It was like watching the movie ‘The Notebook.’

It has taken a while to sink in, and to grasp just what I have accomplished along with my teammates. I can roll every success I have had to this point in my career and it doesn’t compare to this single victory.

I think one single email received from Gil De Ferran really made it hit me hard. He wrote;

“Ryan, Many congrats...you have now joined a very elite group of drivers in our sport's history!...deservedly so!

Best.

Gil”

2010 is going to be a great year and I cant wait to get to Homestead as the Grand-Am Rolex points leader.

~Ryan

Ryan Dalziel is a sportscar and open-wheel veteran, having raced in GRAND-AM, ChampCar, the ALMS and the Atlantic Championship.

Prior to his win at the 2010 Rolex 24, Dalziel’s most notable victory came at the 2008 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca GRAND-AM round behind the wheel of the SAMAX Riley-BMW.

The native of Glasgow, Scotland, will drive for Action Express Racing and Starworks Motorsports in 2010, and lives in Orlando, Florida, with his wife.

Learn more about Ryan at http://www.ryandalziel.com, and about his efforts to aid the Haitian Earthquake Relief at http://www.race4haiti.com.

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The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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