This 24 hour race was nothing short of thrilling. In the 24 hours there were crashes, car problems and miscalculations on hours driven that made up this race. Overall, it was a good clean race with top drivers battling it out till the checkered flag. Before, the results are announced let's first start out with the highlights. 

In the first hour on the first lap the number 23 Porsche the Alex Job Racing car pitted with car problems in the GT Daytona class. This would begin some numerous problems with the Porsche in various classes throughout the race. The 52 minute brought on the first caution of the day, Satoshi Hoshino who was driving the Audi A8 had a gearbox issue and could not move also in the GT Daytona class.  Gianmaria Bruni led the GT Le Mans Class, Scott Pruitt led the Prototype class, Colin Braun was the leader of the Prototype Challenger and finally, Daniel Serra was the leader of the GT Daytona class.

Drama started to arise in the second hour especially in the GT Le Mans category. Bill Auberlen of the BMW and Nick Tandy of the 911 Porsche exchanged words because Auberlen thought Tandy was being violent and aggressive. Bill Auberlen on Nick Tandy, "He’s never gone by me without trying to hit me,” Auberlen told IMSA Radio’s Greg Creamer, while also saying of Tandy, “You have to be a complete idiot… and that’s what he is.” Another caution occurred within the hour. Richard Westbrook was leading the Prototype class, The PC leader was Stephen Simpson, the Le Mans category leader was Pierre Kaffer and Jereon Bleekemolen the leader in the GTD division. 

The next four hours had lots of changes and featured two more full course cautions. The first one on the fourth hour, that started out when another Porsche number 19 in the GT Daytona group had spun out and lost control in the turns. That same car had spun out just before and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen had to do everything in his power to make sure no accident occurred. In the Les Mans category, Corvettes Jan Magnussen and Oliver Gavin were fighting it out for the top two spots.  In the Prototype section, Wayne Taylor Racing had an electrical issue in the fourth hour. They were able to go out there and continue racing after that. Two Porsche's the 911 in the Les Mans and the 44 driven by Andy Lally both had gear box problems an missed some laps. Joey Hand was the leader in the P category, Mark Wilkins leading in the PC group, Jan Magnussen in the GTLM and The Dodge Viper of Kuno Whittmer for the GTD category.
 
The next six hours leading up to the half way point were just as thrilling as the first half. The GTD group had nine lead changes over the 20 cars. The Aston Martin and Ferrari had a crash in the sixth hour for the GTD class that sparked another caution. No. 23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America has more problems arise both in their categories. By the tenth hour, there Porsche's saw lead changes in the GTD group. The P group had a battle between Ricky Taylor and Kyle Larson. Those two were battling it out for the top spot. The PC group saw only two cars that were still out there. The second one was a lap behind but could catch up. The Ferrari which was number 62 in the GTLM was forced to retire after leading part of the race. Also, Oliver Gavin, Ryan Briscoe and Patrick Long continue to battle for the top spots for the two Corvettes and the Porsche. 

Disaster and ridicule struck for the Porsches numbers 912 and 911 in the GT Le Mans category. Both who had a serious shot at taking home a trophy or possibly a watch saw the night came to a haunting end. The number 912 car driven by Earl Bamber struck teammate Marc Lieb. The Aston Martin had collided with the Porsche 912. Bamber was trying to get back on the track and instead slammed Marc Lieb basically ending the night for both. Earl Bamber on the accident,"    The 007 and the 911 came together over the curbs and I had nowhere to go and I moved onto the grass," Bamber told IMSA Radio. "I hit the 911 unfortunately. It's a big shame for the team but I think we can get it going again." Ricky Taylor was leading the P class.

The next four hours, which put as it about the 2/3 mark was no different. Max Angelelli continued to keep Wanye Taylor Racing as the leader behind Chip Ganassi's car with Jamie McMurray as the driver. The BMW and the 17 Porsche led by Patrick Long were flipping spots for the lead in the hours. In the PC category Colin Brain continued as the leader. The GTD group contributed to another caution as 73 Porsche led by Patrick Lindsey and Spencer Pumpelly had a problem and stopped driving. Therefore, a caution was brought upon.  

From the 17 and 18 hours more cars were being forced to have to call it a night. Porsche was out of the GTLM races completely as the number 17 had an engine problem. So Porsche wouldn't have a repeat of a winner from last season.  A new leader was atop the P class in Joao Barbosa in the number 5 Corvette was the new leader. Also, in the GTLM group Oliver Gavin hit a PC car and missed a few laps. Jon Bennett continues to control the lead in the PC group. The Alex Job Racing Porsche remained the leader in the GTD class behind Keno Whittmer and the Dodge Viper. Oddly enough, Andy Lally had ran over an opossum and didn't realize it. When he opened up the car it had seeped through the engine and when he lifted up the hood a surprise was waiting for him. However, the team did call it a race after being too many laps behind. Oliver Gavin's team hit the leading Ferrari which sparked a caution. Therefore, the Ferrari would be done for the GTLM class. Jan Magnussen would be the leader again in that group. Finally, Scott Dixon was the race leader for the P class. 

Here's a look back at the final four hours of this very long race. The first class is the Prototype which finished first. The race became down to Wayne Taylor Racing versus Chip Genassi. Wayne Taylor really wanted Jordan Taylor to finish the race out and Scott Dixon on the other side. Both teams had their strategies laid out until a caution in the PC class. What Wayne Taylor Racing didn't realize is that per IMSA rules a driver can't go more than four hours in a six hour stint. Therefore, when that caution happened with seven minutes to go they were forced to change drivers.  However, Pit Lane is closed during the cautions so a penalty happened which ultimately meant that Scott Dixon and the other drivers won the race. Wayne Taylor Racing came in third. 

In the P class it appeared that Colin Braun had the race locked up and that in order for Tom Kimber-Smith to win they needs something crazy. Well that's exactly what happened. Colin Braun's car caught fire with seven minutes to go. Tom Kimber-Smith would be victorious after Braun was out of the race. The suspension didn't work so they hit the wall setting the car on fire. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The GTLM class didn't have as quite of a crazy finish as this one. Since, the Porsche's were all out there was no one to really compete with the Corvette's. Jan Magnussen drove the team to a win over second place BMW and their place Oliver Gavin. Had the Porsche's still been in it a different result may have occurred. Finally, the battle in the GTD class was the Dodge Viper versus the Porsche. Both were the only cars left on the lead lap so both barring anything crazy would finish in the top two. Ultimately, the Viper was too fast as it beat out Alex Job Racing Porsche and they got second behind Dempsey Racing and his Porsche. 

Next race is March 18 and it's the 12 hours of Sebring.