The 2008 Rolex 24 at Daytona was the first round of the 2008 Rolex Sports Car Series season and the 46th running of the 24 Hours of Daytona. It took place at Daytona International Speedway between January 26–27, 2008.
In the Daytona Prototype class, pole position was taken by Oswaldo Negri Jr. in the #60 Michael Shank Racing Ford powered Riley Mk. XI with a laptime of 1:40.793. Teammate A. J. Allmendinger locked out the front row for Michael Shank Racing. In the Grand Touring class, the #70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 GT with Sylvain Tremblay was fastest with a laptime of 1:50.788. The #56 Mastercar Ferrari F430 Challenge qualified 2nd in the team's debut at Daytona.[1]
The #01 Telmex Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Lexus-powered Riley of Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Dario Franchitti, and Juan Pablo Montoya led 252 laps and gave Chip Ganassi racing their 3rd successive win at the Daytona 24 Hours. The #01 team took the overall victory by a margin of 2 laps over the #99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac-powered Riley entry. At the start, many cars (including the eventual race winner) had to start from pit lane after changing their tires from wets to slicks.[2] The #70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 GT of Sylvain Tremblay, Nick Ham, David Haskell, and Raphael Matos were the winners in GT, completing 664 laps and finishing 9th overall. The overall pace of the race was slowed due to wet weather during the night.[3]
A total of 22 safety car periods neutralized the race for 112 laps.
Class winners in bold.
| Pos | Class | No | Team | Drivers | Chassis | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | ||||||
| 1 | DP | 01 |  Telmex Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates | Scott Pruett Memo Rojas Dario Franchitti Juan Pablo Montoya | Riley Mk. XI | 695 |
| Lexus 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 2 | DP | 99 | GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing | Jon Fogarty Alex Gurney Jimmy Vasser Jimmie Johnson | Riley Mk. XI | 693 |
| Pontiac 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 3 | DP | 9 | Penske-Taylor Racing |  Ryan Briscoe Hélio Castroneves Kurt Busch | Riley Mk. XI | 689 |
| Pontiac 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 4 | DP | 76 | Krohn Racing | Darren Turner Niclas Jönsson Ricardo Zonta | Proto-Auto Lola B08/70 | 688 |
| Pontiac 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 5 | DP | 10 | SunTrust Racing | Wayne Taylor Ricky Taylor Michael Valiante Max Angelelli | Riley Mk. XI | 687 |
| Pontiac 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 6 | DP | 60 | Michael Shank Racing | Mark Patterson Graham Rahal Oswaldo Negri Jr. Justin Wilson | Riley Mk. XI | 680 |
| Ford 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 7 | DP | 75 | Krohn Racing | Tracy Krohn Eric van de Poele Oliver Gavin | Proto-Auto Lola B08/70 | 678 |
| Pontiac 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 8 | DP | 91 | Jim Matthews Johnny O'Connell Ryan Hunter-Reay Marc Goossens | Riley Mk. XI | 676 | |
| Pontiac 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 9 | GT | 70 | SpeedSource | David Haskell Nick Ham Sylvain Tremblay Raphael Matos | Mazda RX-8 GT | 664 |
| Mazda 2.0L 3-Rotor | ||||||
| 10 | GT | 66 | The Racer's Group | Bryce Miller Ted Ballou Andy Lally Richard Westbrook | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 657 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 11 | GT | 67 | The Racer's Group | Tim George Jr. Spencer Pumpelly Bryan Sellers Romain Dumas Emmanuel Collard | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 657 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 12 | GT | 64 | The Racer's Group | Jim Lowe Jim Pace Johannes van Overbeek R. J. Valentine Tim Sudgen | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 656 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 13 | GT | 69 | SpeedSource | Emil Assentato Jeff Segal Nick Longhi Lonnie Pechnik | Mazda RX-8 GT | 653 |
| Mazda 2.0L 3-Rotor | ||||||
| 14 | DP | 6 | Michael Shank Racing | John Pew A. J. Allmendinger Burt Frisselle Ian James | Riley Mk. XI | 652 |
| Ford 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 15 | DP | 09 | Spirit of Daytona Racing | Guy Cosmo Michael McDowell Marc-Antoine Camirand | Fabcar FDSC/03 | 652 |
| Porsche 3.99L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 16 | GT | 80 | Synergy Racing | Mark Greenberg Damien Faulkner Jan Heylen Lance David Arnold | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 651 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 17 | GT | 07 | Banner Racing | Paul Edwards Kelly Collins Jan Magnussen | Pontiac GXP.R | 647 |
| Pontiac 6.0L V8 | ||||||
| 18 | GT | 87 | Team Seattle/Farnbacher Loles Racing | Dominik Farnbacher Pierre Ehret Timo Bernhard Dirk Werner | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 646 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 19 | GT | 57 | Stevenson Motorsports | Andrew Davis Randy Pobst Gunnar Jeannette Robin Liddell | Pontiac GXP.R | 644 |
| Pontiac 6.0L V8 | ||||||
| 20 | GT | 30 | Racer's Edge Motorsports | Ken Dobson Robert Thorne Drew Staveley Craig Stone | Mazda RX-8 GT | 642 |
| Mazda 2.0L 3-Rotor | ||||||
| 21 | GT | 74 | Autometrics Motorsports | Bransen Patch Jim Hamblin Joe Safina David Murry Derek Skea | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 638 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 22 | GT | 88 | Team Seattle/Farnbacher Loles Racing | Pierre Kaffer Frank Stippler Dave Lacey Greg Wilkins Eric Curran | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 637 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 23 | DP | 59 | Brumos Racing | Hurley Haywood J. C. France Terry Borcheller João Barbosa | Riley Mk. XI | 622 |
| Porsche 3.99L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 24 DNF | GT | 84 | Team Seattle/Farnbacher Loles Racing | Chris Bingham Don Pickering Bill Cotter Chris Pennington | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 637 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 25 DNF | DP | 03 | Vision Racing | Ed Carpenter A. J. Foyt IV John Andretti Vítor Meira Tony George | Crawford DP08 | 615 |
| Porsche 3.99L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 26 | GT | 44 | Bullet Racing | Zach Arnold Dyrk van Zanten Jr. Steve Paquette Glenn Nixon | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 615 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 27 | DP | 58 | Brumos Racing | Darren Law David Donohue Buddy Rice | Riley Mk. XI | 611 |
| Porsche 3.99L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 28 | DP | 7 | Sigalsport | Matt Plumb Quentin Wahl Stéphan Grégoire Michael Cullen Paddy Shovlin | Riley Mk. XI | 601 |
| BMW 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 29 | GT | 17 | Terra Firma Motorsports | Ronald Zitza Gary Jensen Mark Jensen Jordan Taylor | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 599 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 30 | GT | 72 | Autohaus Motorsports | Max Papis Tim Lewis Jr. Craig Stanton Lawson Aschenbach | Pontiac GXP.R | 590 |
| Pontiac 6.0L V8 | ||||||
| 31 | GT | 34 | Orbit Racing | Lance Willsey Mike Fitzgerald Tom Papadopoulos Johnny Mowlem | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 589 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 32 | GT | 65 | The Racer's Group | Russ Oasis Tom Atherton Jim Stout Jason Daskalos Tommy Archer | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 585 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 33 | GT | 86 | Team Seattle/Farnbacher Loles Racing | Eric Lux Leh Keen Sascha Maassen Wolf Henzler Jörg Bergmeister | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 580 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 34 | GT | 52 | Mastercar | Joe Castellano Fred Machado Ma Chi Min Roberto Ragazzi Constantino Bertuzzi | Ferrari F430 Challenge | 578 |
| Ferrari 4.3L V8 | ||||||
| 35 | GT | 85 | Team Seattle/Farnbacher Loles Racing | Don Kitch Jr. Steve Miller Chris Pallis Ross Bentley | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 572 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 36 DNF | DP | 23 | Alex Job Racing | Bill Auberlen Joey Hand Patrick Long Andy Wallace | Crawford DP08 | 569 |
| Porsche 3.99L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 37 | GT | 06 | Banner Racing | Leighton Reese Robert Nearn Marc Bunting Andy Pilgrim | Pontiac GXP.R | 564 |
| Pontiac 6.0L V8 | ||||||
| 38 | GT | 81 | Synergy Racing | Steve Johnson Patrick Huisman Robert Doornbos  Richard Lietz | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 558 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 39 | GT | 40 | Dempsey Racing | Joe Foster Patrick Dempsey Charles Espenlaub Romeo Kapudija Scott Maxwell | Mazda RX-8 GT | 552 |
| Mazda 2.0L 3-Rotor | ||||||
| 40 | GT | 68 | The Racer's Group | Michael Gomez Michael Auriemma John Mayes Scott Schroeder Brent Milner | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 550 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 41 | DP | 77 | Doran Racing | Memo Gidley Fabrizio Gollin Gabriele Gardel Brad Jaeger | Doran JE4 | 546 |
| Ford 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 42 DNF | DP | 3 | Southard Motorsports | Shane Lewis Bill Lester Ted Christopher Alex Barron | Riley Mk. XI | 527 |
| Lexus 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 43 DNF | GT | 14 | Autometrics Motorsports | Cory Friedman Mac McGehee Anthony Lazzaro Ralf Kelleners | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 524 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 44 DNF | DP | 02 | Target Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates | Riley Mk. XI | 515 | |
| Lexus 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 45 | GT | 21 | Matt Connolly Motorsports | Pontiac GTO.R | 513 | |
| Pontiac 6.0L V8 | ||||||
| 46 DNF | GT | 62 | The Racer's Group | Claudio Burtin Jack Baldwin Scott Tucker Ed Zabinski Martin Ragginger | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 511 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 47 DNF | GT | 27 | O'Connell Racing | Kevin O'Connell Kevin Roush Kris Wilson Hugh Plumb | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 473 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 48 DNF | DP | 61 | AIM Autosport | Colin Braun Brian Frisselle Mark Wilkins Andrew Ranger | Riley Mk. XI | 448 |
| Ford 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 49 DNF | GT | 29 | Alegra Motorsport | Jake Rosenzweig Bob Woodman Louis-Philippe Dumoulin Scooter Gabel Chris Gleason | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 418 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 50 DNF | GT | 43 | Team Sahlen | Will Nonnamaker Wayne Nonnamaker Joe Nonnamaker Joe Sahlen | Mazda RX-8 GT | 401 |
| Mazda 2.0L 3-Rotor | ||||||
| 51 DNF | GT | 83 | Team Seattle/Farnbacher Loles Racing | C. R. Crews Russell Walker Peter Ludwig Ben McCrackin Tim Bergmeister | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 397 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 52 DNF | GT | 26 | Gotham Competition | Jerome Jacalone Joe Jacalone Jim Michaelian Bob Michaelian Scooter Gabel | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 364 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 53 DNF | GT | 89 | Team Seattle/Farnbacher Loles Racing | Luca Drudi Raffaele Giammaria Gabrio Rosa Giacomo Petrobelli Jörg Hardt | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 284 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 54 DNF | GT | 50 | Blackforest Motorsports | John Farano Carl Jensen John Cloud Boris Said James Bradley | Ford Mustang | 255 |
| Ford 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 55 DNF | DP | 2 | SAMAX Motorsport | Henri Zogaib Mike Rockenfeller Lucas Luhr Allan McNish | Riley Mk. XI | 233 |
| Pontiac 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 56 DNF | DP | 31 | Matt Connolly Motorsports | Seth Ingram Mirco Schultis Bob Frost Miroslav Konopka Ettore Contini | Chase CCE | 231 |
| Pontiac 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 57 DNF | GT | 15 | Blackforest Motorsports | Ford Mustang | 177 | |
| Ford 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 58 DNF | DP | 16 | Cheever Racing | Matteo Bobbi Antonio García Stéphane Ortelli Fabio Babini | Coyote CC/08 | 170 |
| Pontiac 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 59 DNF | GT | 90 | Automatic Racing | Jep Thornton Tom Long Joe Varde David Russell | BMW M6 | 163 |
| BMW 5.0L V10 | ||||||
| 60 DNF | GT | 22 | Alegra Motorsports | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 149 | |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 | ||||||
| 61 DNF | DP | 11 | SAMAX Motorsport | Tomáš Enge Milka DunoHarold Primat Ryan Dalziel | Riley Mk. XI | 97 |
| Pontiac 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 62 DNF | GT | 08 | Goldin Motorsports | Steve Goldin Keith Goldin Jim Meassick Squeak Kennedy | Mazda RX-8 GT | 83 |
| Mazda 2.0L 3-Rotor | ||||||
| 63 DNF | DP | 12 | RVO Motorsports | Derek Bell Justin Bell Tõnis Kasemets Paul Dallenbach Roger Schramm | Riley Mk. XI | 65 |
| Pontiac 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 64 DNF | GT | 56 | Mastercar | Matthew Marsh Christian Montanari Thomas BiagiFabio Venier Luis Monzon | Ferrari F430 Challenge | 55 |
| Ferrari 4.3L V8 | ||||||
| 65 DNF | DP | 51 | Cheever Racing | Tom Kimber-Smith Mike Newton Thomas Erdos Scott Mayer Brent Sherman | Coyote CC/08 | 45 |
| Pontiac 5.0L V8 | ||||||
| 66 DNF | GT | 63 | The Racer's Group | Pierre Bourque Hima Maher Duncan Ende Ron Yarab Jr. | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 31 |
| Porsche 3.6L Flat-6 |