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GRAND-AM
GRAND-AM: 50 Years Of Rolex 24, 1987
When Al Holbert penciled his name on the entry form for the 1987 Rolex 24 At Daytona, he did it strictly as a precaution...
Al Holbert's Lowenbrau Special Porsche 962. (Photo: LAT)
When Al Holbert penciled his name on the entry form for the 1987 Rolex 24 At Daytona (then the SunBank 24), he did it strictly as a precaution.
Coming off a victory in the 1986 Rolex 24, Holbert returned to Daytona as team manager for his No. 14 Lowenbrau Special Porsche 962 team. He was content to let Derek Bell, Chip Robinson and Al Unser Jr. handle the driving.
"I love to drive, but four drivers is too many," Holbert said on the eve of the race. "I don't want to jump in at seven or eight in the morning after the other guys worked so hard to be there."
For the third straight year, the race shaped up as a battle between the 962s of Holbert and A.J. Foyt. The four-time Indianapolis 500 winner won round one in 1985, with Foyt joined by Al Unser, Bob Wollek and Thierry Boutsen. Holbert rebounded the following year, winning with Bell and Unser Jr.
Foyt had a brand-new car for 1987, sponsored by Columbia Crest wines and Brumos Porsche. Bob Snodgrass of Brumos worked as his team manager for a trio of Indy 500 winners – Foyt, Unser and Danny Sullivan.
Of course, there were plenty of other contenders. In addition to a phalanx of Porsche 962s, Hurley Haywood drove the Group 44 Jaguar XJR-7 for Bob Tullius, while Scott Pruett was in the Applicon Ford Mustang as Jack Roush tested the GTP waters. Davy Jones and John Andretti shared the Watkins Glen-winning BMW GTP.
As attrition thinned the ranks, the Foyt and Holbert Porsches battled up front for the third straight year. While the Lowenbrau Special was running perfectly, the car lost its driver's side window. As a result, hot air blew into the car, and the drivers were exhausted by the heat.
"I started missing corners and not thinking clearly," Unser Jr. said. "My dad once told me these cars were fun to drive when everything is working well. But when it's not, Hercules couldn't drive one of these cars."
When crew chief Kevin Doran saw that his three drivers were having problems, his team manager went for his helmet. Unser was struggling, while Bell and Robinson were still recovering from their last driving shifts. Holbert was ready to take step in.
"Al wasn't supposed to drive in that race," Doran recalled. "It was just going to be three guys. But when they all overheated, Al did some relief driving and we won by eight laps."
With Foyt's team closing on the Lowenbrau Special, Holbert went out and preserved the lead. Bell, still recovering from severe cramps, came out to do the final dash to the checkered flag.
"Despite all that cramping, I suddenly realized it came down to me," Bell recalled. "That shows what the adrenaline did. I got in the car and we continued to win the race."
While the Holbert team took the checkered flag, a third consecutive 1-2 Holbert-Foyt finish failed to materialize when the Texan's car fell out in the final 20 minutes when engine trouble traced to a blown head gasket. Instead of his third victory in five years, Foyt's fourth-place finish was his worst showing over that span.
Seeing his father's failure to win reminded Unser Jr. of his 1985 loss, when he left the track in tears and vowed never to return. "To come this far and lose is the biggest disappointment there is," he said.
Coming off a victory in the 1986 Rolex 24, Holbert returned to Daytona as team manager for his No. 14 Lowenbrau Special Porsche 962 team. He was content to let Derek Bell, Chip Robinson and Al Unser Jr. handle the driving.
"I love to drive, but four drivers is too many," Holbert said on the eve of the race. "I don't want to jump in at seven or eight in the morning after the other guys worked so hard to be there."
For the third straight year, the race shaped up as a battle between the 962s of Holbert and A.J. Foyt. The four-time Indianapolis 500 winner won round one in 1985, with Foyt joined by Al Unser, Bob Wollek and Thierry Boutsen. Holbert rebounded the following year, winning with Bell and Unser Jr.
Foyt had a brand-new car for 1987, sponsored by Columbia Crest wines and Brumos Porsche. Bob Snodgrass of Brumos worked as his team manager for a trio of Indy 500 winners – Foyt, Unser and Danny Sullivan.
Of course, there were plenty of other contenders. In addition to a phalanx of Porsche 962s, Hurley Haywood drove the Group 44 Jaguar XJR-7 for Bob Tullius, while Scott Pruett was in the Applicon Ford Mustang as Jack Roush tested the GTP waters. Davy Jones and John Andretti shared the Watkins Glen-winning BMW GTP.
As attrition thinned the ranks, the Foyt and Holbert Porsches battled up front for the third straight year. While the Lowenbrau Special was running perfectly, the car lost its driver's side window. As a result, hot air blew into the car, and the drivers were exhausted by the heat.
"I started missing corners and not thinking clearly," Unser Jr. said. "My dad once told me these cars were fun to drive when everything is working well. But when it's not, Hercules couldn't drive one of these cars."
When crew chief Kevin Doran saw that his three drivers were having problems, his team manager went for his helmet. Unser was struggling, while Bell and Robinson were still recovering from their last driving shifts. Holbert was ready to take step in.
"Al wasn't supposed to drive in that race," Doran recalled. "It was just going to be three guys. But when they all overheated, Al did some relief driving and we won by eight laps."
With Foyt's team closing on the Lowenbrau Special, Holbert went out and preserved the lead. Bell, still recovering from severe cramps, came out to do the final dash to the checkered flag.
"Despite all that cramping, I suddenly realized it came down to me," Bell recalled. "That shows what the adrenaline did. I got in the car and we continued to win the race."
While the Holbert team took the checkered flag, a third consecutive 1-2 Holbert-Foyt finish failed to materialize when the Texan's car fell out in the final 20 minutes when engine trouble traced to a blown head gasket. Instead of his third victory in five years, Foyt's fourth-place finish was his worst showing over that span.
Seeing his father's failure to win reminded Unser Jr. of his 1985 loss, when he left the track in tears and vowed never to return. "To come this far and lose is the biggest disappointment there is," he said.
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