An overall victory by the No. 5 Corvette DP of Action Express Racing in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida on Saturday, March 15, would be a special achievement. Only four other cars that earned the overall victory at the Rolex 24 At Daytona have gone on to win overall the same year at Sebring International Raceway. At the same time, Rolex 24 winning drivers Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi and Sebastien Bourdais will attempt to become the 10th driver combination to win America’s two most prestigious endurance events in the same year.
The Twelve Hours of Sebring is the second round of both the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup.
The United States Road Racing Championship sanctioned the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 1998-99, followed by GRAND-AM Road Racing from 2000-13. Professional Sports Car Racing sanctioned Sebring through 1999, when the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón took over through 2013. No overall-winning car at Sebring since 1999 has also raced in the Rolex 24.
The last car to win both classics was the No. 30 MOMO Ferrari 333SP in 1998. Owner/driver Gianpiero Moretti teamed with Mauro Baldi and Didier Theys in both races, and was joined by Arie Luyendyk at Daytona. Moretti accomplished that fete despite the two races being run under different sanctioning bodies.
Current TUDOR Championship car owner Wayne Taylor and Fifty Plus Racing driver Jim Pace teamed up in an Oldsmobile-powered Riley & Scott Mk III in 1996. Current P driver Scott Sharp joined the pair at Daytona, while Eric Van de Poele co-drove at Sebring.
Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt and endurance great Bob Wollek teamed up in 1985, co-driving Preston Henn’s Swap Shop/Brumos Porsche 962. Another four-time Indy 500 winner, Al Unser, and Thierry Boutsen co-drove at Daytona.
The first combination to win both races in the same car was the father-son pairing of John Paul Sr. and Jr. in 1982, joined by Rolf Stommelen in a Porsche 935JLP at Daytona.
Five other driver combinations combined to earn overall victories in both races in the same year, although driving different cars.
Steve Millen drove a GTS class Nissan 300ZX to win both races in 1994. He drove the Clayton Cunningham Racing No. 76 to victory at Daytona with Scott Pruett, Paul Gentilozzi and Butch Leitzinger, and piloted the team’s No. 75 entry to win at Sebring with John Morton and Johnny O’Connell.
Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood won the 1973 Rolex 24 in a Brumos Porsche 911 Carrera RSR. The pair teamed up with owner/driver Dr. Dave Helmick at Sebring in a different Porsche of the same model.
Mario Andretti and Jacky Ickx drove similar but different Ferrari 312PBs in 1972, winning the six-hour race at Daytona and the traditional Twelve Hours of Sebring.
Five different drivers won the 1968 Rolex 24 in a Porsche 907, including Jo Siffert and Hans Herrmann, who won at Sebring in a different car. Vic Elford – next weekend’s Grand Marshal and Sebring Hall of Fame inductee – anchored the Daytona-winning lineup.
Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby did the double in 1966, driving different evolutions of the Ford GT40. They won the inaugural 24-hour race at Daytona in a Ford Mk II, and the Sebring classic in a Ford X-1 Roadster. Both cars were entered by Shelby American.