After a dominant VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Saturday, Oscar Tunjo won again Sunday. But it was a little more eventful.
For the second consecutive afternoon, Oscar Tunjo pulled into Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway. The route there proved just a little more complicated this time.
After winning the first of the weekend’s two VP Racing SportsCar Challenge races on Saturday, Jan. 17, he battled rain and a long caution to polish off the sweep Sunday. He finished 5.09 seconds in front of Brian Thienes and the No. 77 Ligier.
“That was a pretty tricky race. I have to say one of the hardest of my career,” Tunjo told reporters afterward. “When I went out, it didn't look like it was that wet, but also for me, it was a bit tricky because I was the leading car, so I didn't have a sense of where to brake and how to make everything.”
The 30-year-old Colombian again started from the pole in his No. 1 Duqueine D08 of Gerbhardt Motorsport USA. But unlike Saturday where he led the whole way, he lost the lead after eight laps, 20 minutes into the 45-minute sprint.
Danny Soufi snatched the lead for a short period before being overtaken by Brady Golan.
On Lap 18, Golan slid off the track and into a tire barrier, bringing out a lengthy yellow flag for debris.
The green returned for a one-lap shootout. Tunjo pulled away.
For the second consecutive day, Westin Workman also claimed the GSX win. He placed eighth overall in his No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota Supra.
His outing was a roller coaster, too, requiring him to pit before the official start of the race to fix an air jack and begin in dead last. But by Lap 8, he worked all the way to the top of his class. Justin Di Benedetto followed him to the stripe.
“Even with all the issues, I regained confidence that we could still win the race,” Workman said. “The car is really good in the wet. Once I got to the lead, I pulled out a little gap. Then at the end, there was a one-lap shootout, which was very fun.”
Now that the Roar Before the Rolex 24 is complete, all eyes turn to the 24 Hours of Daytona set for Jan. 24-25.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Rolex 24: Oscar Tunjo sweeps VP Racing SportsCar Challenge at Daytona
Category: General Sports
