Ganassi tops record Rolex 24 with third win in a row (cont'd)

For Fogarty and Gurney, the race was the first step in their Daytona Prototype title defense. Even as a NASCAR champion, Johnson felt the pressure of joining the Rolex Series champions for the Rolex 24.

"In some ways, coming to the Rolex Series in the past, it's really been a release of sorts and something to have fun with," Johnson said. "But coming in, having the honor for these guys to invite me to the team and come drive for them, I'm thinking championship. That pressure was on my mind just like it would be for a Sprint Cup Series race. I would hate to be the one that kept them from winning a championship this year."

Unlike the early favorites who ran into trouble at the end, the No. 9 Penske-Taylor team's troubles started early. The advantage of an early fumble was the ability to recover.

"I had a cut right front tire early in the race, and I just managed to bring it in without much damage," Castroneves said. "Unfortunately, that put us a lap down. This type of race is all about not having trouble. As you can see, the winner had no trouble. To put this project together in four to six weeks with Wayne Taylor, it was an incredible result, and we are extremely happy to finish third."

Busch, a former Cup champion, also had an idea of what to expect having competed in a prior Rolex 24.

"It was an incredible effort," Busch said. "I don't know what the expectation was coming in, but when you're teamed up with the Captain, Roger Penske, you're only shooting for the best. To be able to have a podium finish is incredible. It was a great effort by Tim Cindric [Penske Racing President]; he's a leader on top of the pit box. That allowed us to do our job."

The decision of Krohn Racing to put the development of the Lola chassis on hold to run the tried-and-true Riley chassis from past seasons paid off as Nic Jonsson, Ricardo Zonta and Darren Turner finished fourth overall in the No. 76 Krohn Racing Pontiac Riley.

Wayne Taylor teamed with 18-year-old son Ricky and No. 10 Pontiac Riley full-season drivers Max Angelelli and Michael Valiante for a scrappy fifth-place finish, eight laps behind the champions.

Rolex 24 at Daytona GT class polesitter Sylvain Tremblay finished what he started Sunday by taking the checkered flag with his co-drivers Nick Ham, David Haskell and Raphael Matos in the No. 70 Mazda RX-8. The quartet also finished ninth overall in the race.

Tremblay set a record qualifying time Friday with a time of 1:50.758 (115.712 mph). The victory was the fourth for the operation in Rolex Series GT, which is in its second full season of GT racing with the Mazda. The team also won the two-hour, 45-minute sprint at Daytona in July 2007.

"It was pretty special," Tremblay said of winning the Rolex 24. "I've dreamt of this since I've started racing. To win at Daytona has been a dream of mine for a long, long time. When I first talked of getting a Mazda running against the Porsches, it seemed like a joke back then. There was so much that had to happen, so many pieces we had to build. Then we had to convince other people to believe in our dream, and pull on from there."

The victory by the Mazda -- combined with a Lexus-powered Daytona Prototype taking the overall win -- broke a 14-year streak of Porsches in the Rolex 24 Victory Lane.

Craftsman Truck Series rookie Andy Lally finished the 24-hour race in the No. 66 Porsche GT3, just seconds ahead of No. 67 Porsche GT3 teammate Emmanuel Collard. The two cars, which each finished two laps behind the GT winners' pace, swapped the lead during the middle and late stages of the race and consistently ran among the top five.

"It was a long day," Lally said. "It was one of these deals where there were 41 cars in the class and we came home second. It's my third second-place finish in the Rolex 24 and we won it once. Second stings a little bit, to tell you the truth, but it's a great way to start a season for the points.

"Ted [Ballou] and Bryce [Miller] are now P2 in the points and have a real good start to their year for the championship. We're on the podium in Daytona, and there is no better place to be on the podium. This is pretty cool."

Lally shared the No. 66 with Bryce Miller, Ted Ballou and Richard Westbrook, while Emmanuel Collard, Romain Dumas, Spencer Pumpelly, Tim George Jr. and Bryan Sellers piloted the No. 67.

The Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series will continue racing March 28-29 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the GAINSCO Grand Prix of Miami.