DAYTONA BEACH,Fla. (Jan. 31, 2016) - WeatherTech Racing is currently fifth after heading into the final six hours of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Rolex 24 Hour At Daytona.
Cooper MacNeil (Hindsdale, Ill.) was in the midst of his double stint just past the halfway mark and had the No. 22 WeatherTech Porsche 911 GT3R as high as third. MacNeil was happy with how the car performed, which helped keep the Porsche in the top three.
"I did almost two and a half hours in the car," Cooper MacNeil said. "It went well again - never had a wheel off. We didn't have any issues. The only thing we are fighting right now is a little bit of oversteer, power down mid corner to exit. Other than that, the car is flawless. We still have under halfway to go - lots of time left."
On lap 354, Gunnar Jeannette (Salt Lake City, Utah) took over for Copper MacNeil and started his stint 12th after a brake change and a drive through penalty. Undaunted by the setback, Jeanette drove his way into the top three before his stint ended on lap 397.
"The car actually feels better than the first time I drove it, which is great," Jeannette said. "We did a brake change. The pedal was getting a little bit long, but it got better throughout the run. We might have to do a rear brake change, but the front should be good to the end. I was cruising around, just making sure I didn't do anything dumb - watching people go off around me."
After Jeannette got out, Leh Keen (Charleston, S.C.) got in. It did not take Keen long to have the No. 22 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 GT3R leading the GTD class field. In fact, he spent most of his stint in the top spot before handing it back over to MacNeil for his second night time stint.
"It was one of those night time, all by myself, stints," Keen said. "We had nice clean laps. The guys did an awesome job. When I went out of the pits, I was in first place and basically stayed there my entire double. I'm pretty happy. The car feels really good. But, we've still got a long ways to go."
Heading into the final six hours MacNeil and Jeanette both put in stints as the sun came up over Daytona International Speedway. Jeanette currently has the WeatherTech machine fifth in the GTD class.
Race fans can watch all of the door-to-door action on FOX Sports 1 from 7 to 10:30 a.m., then FOX Sports 2 takes over the coverage. FOX Sports 1 will have the final hours of the race beginning at 1 p.m.