Kyle's Corner (FYI) a Winning Surprise: Porsche SUV Engine Takes Flag at Daytona

Before the 2010 Rolex
24 hours at Daytona,
not one of the experts
picked Action Express
Racing to win the 24
hour race. However,
as the night gave way
day, the Porsche was
swapping places back
and forth with the favor-
ed car - the number 01
Ganassi entry.

The concern for the
Porsche racing brass

was how they would handle a possible win by the Action Express race car. After
all, it was powered by a 5.0-liter V8 Porsche Cayenne SUV engine. Additionally,
on the windshield of the car was a banner that read Riley-bodied Daytona Prototype
followed by 'V8 by Lbp.' Thus, for those in the know, there was no hiding about
the engine that powered the race car.

Of note is that Porsche does not make a Cayenne V8 racing engine.
Additionally, the sports car maker does not condone the use of the motor
in endurance sports car racing because the V8 was not officially designed
for such use.

Porsche's pre-race press release made no mention of the Action Express
entry. However, along pit lane, people started to wonder what the Porsche
post-race press release might say.

During the final two hours of the race, most of Porsche's Motorsport crew
were hoping for a late-race bobble by the GT class-leading Mazda RX8.
The number 67 TRG-Flying Lizard Porsche GT3 was in the hunt five laps
back and the car was running the fastest GT laps of the race in an effort
to close in on and then outrun the leader.

At the same time, the Porsche spokesperson was outside the Action Express
tent with an answer about the Cayenne V8 engined car. He exhorted, "It's
an independently-developed Porsche-powered Riley." This was to inform
that the car differed from the number 59 Porsche Riley car that was last
year's Daytona-winning entry by the Brumos Racing team. The car was
was equipped with the official Porsche factory supported flat-6 engine.

Porsche was reluctant to associate itself with race cars of which the
manufacturer did not have total control. After all, Porsche was concerned
that even if such a car would win, the driver received front page recognition
with the race car taking a back seat in being recognized. Porsche apparently
was concerned that it did not have control over things that were not entirely
of its making.

Porsche was actually reluctant to full heartedly compete in Grand-Am
racing. However, the automaker likely remained in the series because
some of its prominent customers desired to compete in the series. Key
among the automaker's customers was Brumos racing.

Regarding the Action Express race car, the team that put it together consisted
of a crew of disbanded Bumos members. And when they combined the Cayenne
engine with the Riley chassis, a chassis which had dominated the race series since
2004, the team was optimistic when others were not.

Regarding the Cayenne engine, at first, the team struggled with it as the
rules stated that the engine must use the stock heads. The rules did allow
for modification of the valves. However, the combination of the engine's
bore and stroke and heads were not working. The team asked the race
series officials to allow the team 300 additional rpm (to 7300) on the
engine and such was granted. Thus, the engine would perform more in
line with its powerband.

In the GT category, most of the race was a battle between the number 57
Stevenson Motorsport Camaro and three Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars all
under the TRG banner. However, all four of the cars experienced problems
that denied them victory. In the early evening, the number 66 TRG entry
failed first with a faulty reference sensor. Next, at daybreak, the number
57 Camaro blew its transmission. The TRG number 71 GT3 incurred a
failed gearbox with 2:40 remaining in the race. And of the number 67
TRG Flying Lizard GT3? A broken front shock absorber ended its
quest for the win.

Before the race, the Action Express team had not driven the car very
much. However, as the race was 24 hours of endurance, the second time
the drivers had their time behind the wheel, the car came alive in dry track
conditions. By the fourth hour into the race, the Action Express car asserted
itself and was in the top five. And by the eleventh hour, it was firmly competing
and battling for the lead with the number 01 BMW Riley of Ganassi Racing
and the number 59 Brumos entry. The only flat-six Porsche in the race ended
up going down with a broken axle.

This left the Action Express car with the Cayenne SUV engine to battle
one of the Ganassi cars to the finish. And with less than three hours left
in the race, the Ganassi entry needed to go to the pits because of a clunk
at the rear of the car. And the three minute stop was enough for the Action
Express car to coast to victory.

Will Porsche now focus on developing a V8 race engine? The Porsche
race president responds 'no' as the executive board says that Porsche
will only race with the traditional flat-six engine.

Concerning the victory of the V8 Cayenne SUV engine, Porsche remains
reluctant to take credit as the automaker did not officially build a race
engine. However, give credit where credit is due. Porsche knows how
to make a pretty good V8 engine for its Cayenne SUV. And the regular
driver on the street can indeed be happy about that!

Have an auto question or comment? You can email it to me at
Kbusch3@verizon.net. Kyle Busch is the author of "Drive the Best
for the Price..." www.DriveTheBestBook.com