That was the icing on the cake, and Porsche withdrew factory support, leaving only customer teams. The FIA also raised the minimum weight for the class, which further handicapped the lightweight 908.
Porsche, however, withdrew from the series, since it only had the 908, with a 3.0-liter flat-six engine that was outdated. Mario Andretti Looks Back on His 1969 Indy 500 WinĪlfa Romeo also had a 3.0-liter car, powered by a V8.10 Best Mario Andretti TV Commercials of All-Time.How Dreamer Childress Discovered Daytona in 1965.Whether this is true or not has never been proven. Whether it was fortuitous insight, or simply good luck, there was talk behind the scenes that Ferrari had been lobbying the FIA for the shorter endurance races. In 1971, Ferrari had been fielding their 312P, a car that featured-you guessed it-a 3.0-liter V12. While reliability concerns were the public reason for shorter races, there was some controversy. The other road course in Florida-Sebring-fought back and was able to keep its 12-hour race.ĭaytona didn’t put up a fight, so the 1972 race was only six hours long. According to reports, due to reliability concerns with the smaller engines, the FIA limited endurance races to six hours-except for Le Mans. The FIA, the worldwide governing body of sports car racing, had changed the rules prior to the 1972 racing season, limiting engines to 3.0 liters, down from 5.0. Six years later, in 1972, preseason drama interceded and instead of a full 24 hours, the race was scheduled for only six.
It would take until 1966 before the first 24-hour race was held there. But that first race, the Daytona Continental, was just three hours long. That first endurance race at Daytona, sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America, was held on the Daytona Speedway road course in 1962. He also dreamed of crowds rivaling that of Le Mans for his race. That year, he traveled to Europe and witnessed his first 24 Hours of Le Mans.įrance wanted a 24-hour endurance race for his track. And this week, Andretti returns to that track 50 years after what would be his only Daytona 24-hour race win, though the race in 1972 was actually only six hours long.īill France, founder of NASCAR and the Daytona Speedway, had been enamored with endurance racing since 1961. One of the oddest race wins of his storied career, however, came in 1972 on the road course at Daytona International Speedway. To say Mario Andretti has done it all in motorsports is one of the bigger understatements of the past century.Īfter all, the 81-year-old Andretti won races and titles in Ind圜ar, including the Indianapolis 500 was a Formula 1 world champion triumphed in the International Race of Champions and also rattled off wins in NASCAR's Daytona 500, at Pikes Peak, and even in a non-championship drag race in 1967.
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