12 Hours of Sunscreen

10:15pm on Saturday March 15. The fireworks explode overhead in the night sky. The first 12 hours of Sebring of a truly new American sports car era has ended. And it was a strange one. Look down the pit lane at Sebring and you’ll see the name of the winning manufacturer from each year hanging on the pit lane building. Names like Porsche, Peugeot, Ferrari, Nissan, Audi, Audi, Audi, Audi look out over the iconic track…..and now, A Ford EcoBoost Daytona Prototype hangs with them owned by famed NASCAR owner Chip Ganassi. It’s an unusual sight for sure.

But Sebring has still more or less retained it’s traditional atmosphere despite the NASCAR ownership. The cars still bounce uncontrollably around turn 1 on those enormous concrete slabs. The fans still make their incredible scaffold palaces from which to watch the race unfold as they grill hot dogs and drink copious amounts of beer. It is an experience that is unlike anything else on Earth. And as usual, it was a beautiful cloudless day with a perfect Florida breeze to soak it all in.

So I’ll step aside and let you enjoy my view of the 12 hours of Sebring. I’ve included a time stamp on each photo to let you follow the action throughout the full 12 hours. I love this race.