Coyote win in Rolex 24 at Daytona

The race-winning No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP of Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi and Sebastien Bourdais utilized the Coyote Cars chassis as the group logged 695 laps on the way to a 1.5-second victory over the No. 10 Corvette DP of Wayne Taylor Racing.

The next chapter of sportscar history was written this weekend at Daytona International Speedway, and Coyote Cars made an immediate impact as the company won the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

The victory marks the first non-Riley victory in the 24 hour race since 2004 when Christian Fittipaldi was part of the winning GM-engined Doran entry.

The debut event for the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship was a banner day for Coyote customer teams, as all Coyote Cars finished among the top-10 in the historic event. In addition to the race-winning Coyote of the Action Express Racing No. 5 Corvette, the team’s No. 9 Corvette DP driven by Burt and Brian Frisselle as well as Fabien Giroix and John Martin finished third. Both cars ran among the top-five throughout the entire race.

#5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP Chevrolet: Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi, Sébastien Bourdais takes the checkered flag to win the race

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Not far behind was the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Coyote entry of Richard Westbrook, Michael Valiante, and Mike Rockenfeller. The team battled back from a motor issue early in the race to take fourth at the finish.

The No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette DP finished 10th in the team’s debut with the Coyote chassis. Boris Said, Eric Curran, Bradley Smith, and Max Papis piloted the Marsh Racing machine.

“Everyone at Coyote has been working very hard over the past several years,” said Gary Nelson of Coyote Cars. “We must also give credit to the folks at Pratt & Miller for designing such a competitive chassis. Coyote has taken the Pratt & Miller engineered design and is now reproducing it in our North Carolina headquarters. We are proud that the overall race winning Daytona Prototype in the 2014 Rolex 24 At Daytona was one fabricated 100% in Coyote's Denver, North Carolina shop. Moving forward, Coyote is also in the final stages of completing its own DP bodywork. When the new bodywork is done, Coyote will be in a position to offer racers a competitive "Turn key" race car, no matter what engine they choose. We will also continue with the current Coyote Corvette for our great Chevrolet customers. Coyote has become well known in the industry for having the lowest prices, best customer service and track-side support at each event. Everyone at Coyote is thrilled to see such a bright future through results like we had in Daytona.”