10
SunTrust Racing
Dallara-Ford
Max Angelelli, Monte Carlo, Monaco
Pedro Lamy, Lisbon, Portugal
Ricky Taylor, Apopka, Fla.
Wayne Taylor, Apopka, Fla.

Under the care and development of Wayne Taylor’s SunTrust Racing, the Dallara chassis came into its own in 2009, taking 4th at the Rolex 24 and two victories throughout the season. The numbers are still in Riley’s favor this weekend, but of the three other marques competing, WTR’s Dallara looks most ready to break through.

Progress of the privately-built Porsche Cayenne V8 engine will evident in the Action Express Racing Riley. With a motivated group of drivers, we suspect the team will feature in the race. (LAT)

Taylor drafted in his talented son, Ricky, to replace Brian Frisselle for the full season, and at the Rolex 24, father and son will be joined by team regulars Max ‘The Axe’ Angelelli and Pedro Lamy. Angelelli’s reputation as the hardest racer in the series was cemented long ago, and as we saw in 2009 with Frisselle, he’ll be a perfect mentor for the junior Taylor.

Lamy is no stranger to the Rolex 24 or endurance racing in general, serving as one of Peugeot’s factory Le Mans drivers. One of the telling aspects of the Rolex 24 will be how Ricky Taylor performs amongst three titans of endurance racing, and whether he proves himself ready to race with Angelelli as an equal for the rest of the year, or if he needs one more season playing the role of understudy.

2010 marks the 5th anniversary since Taylor, Angelelli, and SunTrust won the Rolex 24. The chassis, engine, team ownership and livery have since changed, but the core that earned the 2005 victory are still under Wayne Taylor’s tent.

Ironically, Taylor’s win in 2005 marked the first Rolex 24 victory for the Riley DP, which has since gone on to beat all comers at the last five editions of the race. If Taylor and Co. can break the Riley Rolex 24 winning streak they started, expect Dallara’s phone to be ringing off the hook on Monday morning.

55
Level 5 Motorsports
Riley-BMW
Christophe Bouchut, Paris, France
Scott Tucker, Leawood, Kan.
Sascha Maassen, Raeren, Belgium
Emmanuel Collard, Paris, France
Sebastien Bourdais, Le Mans, France.

Level 5 team owner Scott Tucker has assembled and impressive line-up for his two-car Rolex 24 assault, surrounding himself and Christophe Bouchut with some of the finest sportscar and open-wheel talent on the planet.

Tucker and Bouchut are entered in both the #55 and #95, with Porsche factory veterans Maassen and Collard listed alongside them in the 55. He’s also drafted in quadruple ChampCar titlist Sebastien Bourdais, and knowing how hefty Seb’s retainer can be, Tucker clearly isn’t afraid to spend money to stock his team with heavy hitters.

Tucker is still early in his DP career, and compared to the decades of combined experience his teammates have, no one expects him to match lap times with his peers.

At times, Bouchut’s forceful ways can make Max ‘The Axe’ Angelelli look like Max ‘The Butter Knife,’ and that isn’t a good thing when you are facing 24 hard hours of racing. Provided Tucker can keep Christophe on a short leash, the Frenchman will be an asset and the other pilots will keep the Riley-BMW singing.

The 55 set a scorching pace at in testing, but if Bouchut doesn’t heed Tucker’s wishes, his co-drivers might be catching early flights home.

59
Brumos Racing
Riley-Porsche (Flat-6)
David Donohue, Malvern, Pa.
Hurley Haywood, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Darren Law, Phoenix, Ariz.
Butch Leitzinger, Rebersburg, Pa.
Raphael Matos, Miami, Fla.

Reigning Rolex 24 champions Brumos Racing return with a mostly different driving roster from 2009, as only Donohue and Law, the full-time drivers of the 59, are back.

Their new co-drivers, however, could be the top pick amongst any team in the paddock, as Rolex 24 legend Hurley Haywood, the winningest driver in the race’s long history, multiple Rolex 24 race winner Butch Leitzinger, and Rafa Matos, 2008 Rolex 24 GT class winner and 2009 IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year, saddle up to go for two in row.

The team’s Porsche was about .4 off of the fastest lap set at the ‘Roar’ test, but what they lack in ultimate pace, they make up for with reliability. If the team can get the gap down to .2 for the race, the famed Floridian team has what it takes to fight for the win.
Since Haywood announced this will be his last race, expect the entire team to leave everything they have on the track to send Hurley out in style.

60
Michael Shank Racing
Riley-Ford
Burt Frisselle, Aspen, Colo.
Ozz Negri, Miami, Fla.
John Pew, North Palm Beach, Fla.
Mark Wilkins, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Michael Shank’s internecine battle between the #6 and #60 is a complex one. While the 6 has an entry filled with lead drivers, the 60 has just one, Ozz Negri, helming a car filled with young guns that want nothing more than to reach Negri’s level.

Pew and Wilkins join MSR for the Rolex 24 on loan from the ace AIM Autosport team, who are skipping the event to stretch their budget. Joining them will be Burt Frisselle, whose brother Brian will race the sister Riley-Ford.

Stranger things have happened, but it would be a tall order for the 60 to match the pace of the 6 from start to finish. Like all those to have raced with Negri, the most lasting result the three young DP drivers will receive by partnering with Ozz is a lifetime of increased speed and overall performance.

75
Krohn Racing
Lola-Ford
Colin Braun, Ovalo, Texas
Nic Jonsson, Buford, Ga.
Tracy Krohn, Houston, Texas
Ricardo Zonta, Curitiba, Brazil

Down to one entry from two, Krohn Racing’s participation in 2010 comes after an off season of rumors and doubts about their future. With a fiercely competitive team owner like Tracy Krohn, look for the impossibly green Lola-Ford to fly with the pro drivers at the control – especially so for ex-F1 driver Zonta.

If something other than a Riley chassis will win, the SunTrust Dallara is the favorite to do so. (LAT)

A double winner in 2009, the Lola showed its strengths on the twistier tracks. At a circuit like Daytona, where so much time is spent powering down straights, the extra downforce can be a liability. With a best lap some 1.3 seconds adrift of the fast lap from the ‘Roar’ test, the team will be praying for rain this weekend where that extra downforce could tip the scales in their favor.

#77
Doran Racing
Dallara-Ford
Memo Gidley, Novato, Calif.
Fabrizio Gollin, Castelfranco Veneto, Italy
Brad Jaeger, Cincinnati, Ohio
Derek Johnston, London, England

The ever-faithful Doran Racing team returns with a mostly familiar lineup, featuring one special driver making his Rolex 24 debut. Gidley, Golin and Jaeger are staples of the Kevin Doran-led Dallara team, but as a team working with sponsorship levels that most Rolex GT teams would scoff at, simply making the race is an achievement for Doran’s outfit.

Series newcomer Derek Johnston, winner of the Sunoco promotion in England that awarded a ride in the Rolex 24 to the winner of a special competition for British GT and touring car drivers, will earn his stripes with the veteran crew.

A lack of testing will limit Doran’s speed, but that doesn’t diminish how hard his crew has worked or what they would be capable of with a bigger budget. If you are looking for a team to cheer for, these underdogs would appreciate every ounce of support you can provide.

90
Spirit of Daytona Racing
Coyote-Porsche (Cayenne V8)
Antonio Garcia, Madrid, Spain
Paul Menard, Mooresville, N.C.
Buddy Rice, Phoenix, Ariz.
Darren Manning, Indianapolis, Ind.

SDR could follow the popular route and buy a proven winner, but this ambitious group would prefer to get to the winner’s circle on the heels of their own R&D efforts. Their Rolex 24 race will be another in a string of races where developing the unique Coyote-Porsche Cayenne V8 takes center stage, but the Flis family outfit won’t be satisfied with merely taking part in the race.

Don't let the Kermit the Frog colors fool you. If the skies open up, Krohn Racing's Lola-Ford could be just the car to make the most of the low grip surface. (LAT)

A busy off season has moved the car and engine forward in its quest for the front of the field, and while they still have a way to go, they can see their rivals getting closer.

2009 Rolex 24 winners Buddy Rice and Antonio Garcia return to SDR after working with the team for the remainder of the ’09 season, and they are joined by IndyCar and Rolex 24 veteran Darren Manning, whose driving skill and technical feedback compliment Rice and Garcia quite nicely.

Sprint Cup driver Paul Menard joins the team for the race, and brought the family’s distinctive Dayglo yellow paint with him. While SDR is still in the R&D phase with the car, the more laps they can log, the better. Coming out of Daytona with a top-10 would be a great start to the season for the talented team.

95
Level 5 Motorsports
Riley-BMW
Christophe Bouchut, Paris, France
Scott Tucker, Leawood, Kan.
Ryan Hunter-Reay, Boca Raton, Fla.
Richard Westbook, London, England
Lucas Luhr, Monte Carlo, Monaco
‘Equal’ could be a good way to describe the 95’s driver line-up. With the strengths and weaknesses of Bouchut and Tucker having already been noted alongside the 55 Riley-BMW, an equally impressive squadron of talent will steer the 95 as IndyCar and Rolex 24 veteran Ryan Hunter-Reay is joined by Porsche tin-top ace Richard Westbrook and one of the fastest prototype drivers on the planet, Lucas Luhr.

RHR, Westbrook and Luhr are every bit as capable of matching the 55 car for pace, with only Westbrook’s relative lack of top-line prototype experience serving as the only point that could be conceded between the two sets of drivers. For those who’ve seen Westbrook in action, many believe his opportunity in the 95 this weekend will erase any doubts about his future driving DPs or other prototype machinery.

99
GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing
Riley-Chevrolet
Jon Fogarty, Bend, Ore.
Alex Gurney, Irvine, Calif.
Jimmie Johnson, Mooresville, N.C.
Jimmy Vasser, Las Vegas, Nev.

They’ve won everything else there is to win in GRAND-AM competition except for the Rolex 24. Could 2010 be the year when GAINSCO/BSR add the final jewel to their crown?

While the ultimate result at the race hasn’t come their way, Stallings and Co. haven’t panicked. Some might have made wholesale changes to the team in a quest to claim the Rolex 24, but a smart businessman like Bob Stallings knows he already has the winning ingredients in hand.

SDR's Coyote-Porsche V8 package has come a long way in a short amount of time. With two of the four 2009 Rolex 24 race winner on board, the team should be faster than ever. (LAT)

2007 and 2009 series championships came by virtue of keeping the same chassis, engine, crew and drivers, and that approach continues in 2010. Pontiac’s withdrawal from the series has resulted in a change of badging, but the newly named Chevy engine is little different from 2009.

The Pontiac struggled for much of the season with a power deficit – something that was most noticeable at the Rolex 24 where they were down 3-4mph on most straights. That problem improved towards the end of the year, and although the team isn’t ready to proclaim their Chevy is on par with the other engines, they do head into the race on Saturday having posted the fastest lap in testing.

BSR’s drivers have nothing left to prove, but a Rolex 24 win, especially for Fogarty and Gurney, would allow them to join an elite club of select pilots. Vasser already has a class victory in the race, and Johnson has come close, but the IndyCar and Sprint Cup champions would love to add an overall win at Rolex to their resumes.

If they can maintain their testing pace, and with the reliability of the Chev-iac engine and Riley chassis in mind, there’s little in the way to stop the ‘Red Dragon’ from going all the way on Sunday.

Part two of our comprehensive Rolex 24 preview featuring the GT class will follow tomorrow.

• Tune into SPEED’s live coverage of the race (All Times Eastern):

Saturday, January 30: 3:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., (Live)

Sunday, January 31: 7 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., (Live)

• Join SPEEDtv.com from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. for a live online chat from trackside with drivers, TV hosts, and a cast of characters as they stream into our compound. Bob Varsha and David Hobbs will be the first guests through the gates shortly after 8 p.m.

• Follow the weather forecast HERE.

• Keep up with all of our Rolex 24 coverage published so far this week:

ROLEX 24: Elford's Porsche Leads Heritage Expo
Vic Elford will be the Grand Marshal at next weekend's Rolex 24 At Daytona. Fittingly, the Porsche 907 he drove to victory at Daytona in 1968 will also be featured.
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/rolex-24-elfords-porsche-leads-heritage-expo/

It was the source of a lot of fun and insight last year once the broadcast ended at 10 p.m., and we expect to have the same lively group of participants this year.