1979 24 Hours of Daytona

1978 1979 1980 The 17th Annual 24 Hour Pepsi Challenge Daytona was a 24-hour GT race held on February 3–4, 1979Daytona 24 Hours 1979 https://www.racingsportscars.com/race/Daytona-1979-02-04.html Racing Sports Cars July 25, 2025 at the Daytona International Speedway road course. The race served as the opening round of the 1979 World Championship for Makes, 1979 World Challenge for Endurance Drivers and the 1979 IMSA GTX, GTO and GTU Championships. Victory overall and in the GTX class went to the No. 0 Interscope Racing run Porsche 935/79. The car was driven by team owner Ted Field and professional co-drivers Hurley Haywood and Danny Ongais. Over the 24 hours elapsed time of the race the Interscope Porsche completed 684 laps, covering 4,227 kilometres. The team dominated the race, winning by 49 laps, a distance of over 300 kilometres. Second place was the GTO class winner, the No. 65 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 enterred by Modena Sports Cars and driven by American racers, John Morton and Tony Adamowicz. Third and 57 laps behind the winner was the No. 11 GTX Class Porsche 935 raced by another all-American team, Bruce Canepa, Rick Mears and Monte Shelton. Fourth and third in GTX was the No. 94 Whittington Brothers Racing Porsche 935/79 driven by the brothers, Bill Whittington and Don Whittington and their German co-driver Jürgen Barth. They finished 62 laps behind the winning car.Daytona 24 Hours 1979 https://www.racingsportscars.com/photo/Daytona-1979-02-04.html?sort=Results Racing Sports Cars July 25, 2025https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1979-daytona-24-hours/ 1979 Daytona 24 Hours | Motorsport Database Motorsport Database – Motor Sport Magazine Second in the GTO class was the No. 54 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR driven by Americans Tony Garcia and Alberto Vadia, and Cuban driver Juan Montalvo, 97 laps behind the winning Porsche and 48 laps behind the class winning Ferrari. A further 12 laps behind was third in class Porsche 911 Carrera RSR of Americans Robert Overby, Ash Tisdelle and team owner Lance Van Every. The GTU class was won by the No. 7 Mazda Technical Center, debuting the Mazda RX-7 at Daytona. The car was driven by all-Japanese crew of Yoshimi Katayama, Yojiro Terada and Takashi Yorino. The Mazda finished fifth outright and 67 laps behind the winning Porsche. Teammates finished just two laps behind in the No. 77 Mazda RX-7 driven by Americans Walt Bohren, Amos Johnson and Roger Mandeville. Third and five laps further behind was the No. 60 Porsche 911 S of Americans Rusty Bond and Ren Tilton. Race results Class winners denoted in bold and with . Pos PositionClassNo. Car numberTeam / EntrantDriversCarLaps Laps completedEngine 1 GTX 0 USA Interscope Racing USA Ted FieldUSA Hurley HaywoodUSA Danny Ongais Porsche 935/79 684 Porsche Turbo Flat-6 2 GTO 65 USA Modena Sports Cars USA Tony AdamowiczUSA John Morton Ferrari 365 GTB/4 635 Ferrari Tipo 251 4.4 L V12 3 GTX 11 USA Bruce Canepa USA Bruce CanepaUSA Rick MearsUSA Monte Shelton Porsche 935 627 Porsche Turbo Flat-6 4 GTX 94 USA Whittington Brothers Racing FRG Jürgen BarthUSA Bill WhittingtonUSA Don Whittington Porsche 935/79 622 Porsche Turbo Flat-6 5 GTU 7 USA Mazda Technical Center JPN Yoshimi KatayamaJPN Yojiro TeradaJPN Takashi Yorino Mazda RX-7 617 Mazda 13B 1.3 L Rotary 6 GTU 77 USA Mazda Technical Center USA Walt BohrenUSA Amos JohnsonUSA Roger Mandeville Mazda RX-7 615 Mazda 13B 1.3 L Rotary 7 GTU 60 USA E. J. Pruitt & Sons USA Rusty BondUSA Ren Tilton Porsche 911 S 612 Porsche 2.7 L Flat-6 8 GTO 54 USA Montura Ranch Estates USA Tony GarciaCUB Juan MontalvoUSA Alberto Vadia Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 587 Porsche 3.0 L Flat-6 9 GTO 98 USA Van Every Racing USA Robert OverbyUSA Ash TisdelleUSA Lance Van Every Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 579 Porsche 3.0 L Flat-6 10 GTO 03 SUI Lubrifilm Racing SUI Enzo CalderariSUI Angelo PallaviciniSUI Marco Vanoli Porsche 934 577 Porsche 3.0 L Turbo Flat-6 11 GTU 75 PRI Mike Ramirez PRI Luis GordilloPRI Mike RamirezPRI Manuel Villa Porsche 911 560 Porsche Flat-6 12 GTO 37 COL Botero Racing COL Jorge CortesCOL Honorato EspinosaCOL Francisco Lopez Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 551 Porsche 3.0 L Flat-6 13 GTU 33 USA Peter Welter USA Richard AtenUSA Jack RefenningUSA Peter Welter Porsche 911 550 Porsche Flat-6 14 GTO 58 PRI Diego Febles Racing PRI Phil CurrinPRI Diego Febles Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 543 Porsche 3.0 L Flat-6 15DNF GTX 5 USA Budweiser Racing USA Charles MendezUSA Paul MillerUSA Johnny Rutherford Porsche 935 529 Porsche Turbo Flat-6 16DNF GTU 27 USA Miami Auto Racing USA Ray MummeryUSA Luis SereixUSA Tom Sheehy Porsche 911 S 522 Porsche 2.7 L Flat-6 17DNF GTU 62 USA Koll Motorsports USA Jim CookUSA Bill Koll Porsche 914/6 511 Porsche 2.0 L Flat-6 18 GTO 95 USA Stephen E. Bond USA Stephen BondUSA Philip Dann Chevrolet Monza 509 Chevrolet 5.7 V8 19 GTO 21 USA Oftedahl Racing USA Tom BagleyUSA Carl ShaferUSA John Wood Chevrolet Camaro 493 Chevrolet 5.7 V8 20 GTU 42 USA Bullwinkele Racing USA Tom AshbyUSA Bill BeanUSA Bob Beasley Porsche 911 S 493 Porsche 2.7 L Flat-6 21 GTU 08 USA Southern Racing Enterprises USA Nort NorthamUSA Richard WeissUSA Terry Wolters Porsche 911 S 488 Porsche 2.7 L Flat-6 22 GTU 34 USA Drolsom Racing USA George DrolsomUSA Mark GrebUSA John Maffucci Porsche 911 S 482 Porsche 2.7 L Flat-6 23 GTO 64 USA Lenton B. McGill USA Russ BoykinUSA C. C. CanadaUSA Tom Ciccone Chevrolet Camaro 458 Chevrolet 5.7 V8 24 GTU 61 USA Faza Squadra JPN Taku AkaikeUSA Al CosentinoUSA Dick Starita Mazda RX-3 444 Mazda 12A 1.1 L Rotary 25DNF GTU 8 USA Automobiles International Inc. USA Anatoly ArutunoffUSA José MarinaUSA Danny Sullivan Lancia Stratos HF 439 Ferrari Dino 2.4 L V6 26DNF GTX 94 USA Dick Barbour Racing USA Dick BarbourUSA Paul NewmanGBR Brian Redman Porsche 935/77A 410 Porsche Turbo Flat-6 27DNF GTO 80 USA Herb Adams USA Herb AdamsUSA Peter FreyUSA Louis Spoerl Pontiac Firebird 408 Pontiac V8 28DNF GTU 17 USA Racing Beat USA Jeff KlineUSA Jim MedererUSA Don Sherman Mazda RX-7 393 Mazda 13B 1.3 L Rotary 29DNF GTX 93 USA Whittington Brothers Racing USA Preston HennUSA Dale WhittingtonUSA R. D. Whittington Porsche 934 389 Porsche 3.0 Turbo Flat-6 30DNF GTU 34 USA Bill Scott Racing USA Pierre HoneggerUSA Mark HutchinsUSA Bill Scott Porsche 911 388 Porsche Flat-6 31DNF GTU 40 USA Performance Specialists USA William KochUSA Earl RoeUSA Steve Southard Porsche 914/6 385 Porsche 2.0 L Flat-6 32DNF GTX 1 FRG Gelo Racing Team USA Peter GreggBEL Jacky IckxFRA Bob Wollek Porsche 935/77A 342 Porsche Turbo Flat-6 33DNF GTO 69 CAN Bytzek Automotive CAN Rudy BartlingCAN Klaus BytzekCAN Ludwig Heimrath Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 335 Porsche 3.0 L Flat-6 34DNF GTO 29 USA Stratagraph Inc. USA Billy HaganUSA Hoyt OverbaghUSA Ron Reed Chevrolet Monza 331 Chevrolet 5.7 V8 35DNF GTU 89 USA Hamilton House Racing USA Herb ForrestUSA Joseph HamiltonUSA Rob Hoskins Porsche 911 S 329 Porsche 2.7 L Flat-6 36DNF GTO 51 USA Casablanca Fan Co. USA John HotchkisUSA Robert KirbyUSA Howard Meister Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 328 Porsche 3.0 L Flat-6 37DNF GTO 15 USA Bavarian Motors International USA Alf GebhardtUSA Sepp Grinbold BMW 3.5 CSL 299 BMW M49 3.5 L I6 38DNF GTO 81 VEN Performance Export VEN Oscar NotzVEN Francisco RomeroVEN Ernesto Soto Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 241 Porsche 3.0 L Flat-6 39DNF GTU 01 USA D. R. Racing USA John HamiltonUSA J. Kurt RoehrigUSA Dave White Porsche 911 S 223 Porsche 2.7 L Flat-6 40DNF GTX 13 USA Hal Shaw Racing CAN Norm RidgelyUSA Hal Shaw, Jr.USA Tom Spalding Porsche 935 222 Porsche Turbo Flat-6 41DNF GTU 36 USA Case Racing USA Ron CaseUSA Dave Panaccione Porsche 911 210 Porsche Flat-6 42DNF GTX 53 USA Guy Thomas USA Milton MoiseUSA Tom NehlUSA Guy Thomas Chevrolet Camaro 201 Chevrolet V8 43DNF GTO 06 USA Al Levenson USA Gary BakerUSA Lanny HesterUSA Al Levenson Chevrolet Corvette C2 197 Chevrolet V8 44DNF GTX 23 USA Charlie Kemp USA Carson BairdUSA Charlie KempCAN Kees Nierop Ford Mustang Cobra 168 Ford V8 45DNF GTX 3 ITA Jolly Club - Sportwagen Racing Team ITA Carlo FacettiITA Martino FinottoITA Gianpiero Moretti Porsche 935 164 Porsche Turbo Flat-6 46DNF GTX 4 FRG LM Joest Porsche FRG Reinhold JöstFRG Volkert MerlFRG Rolf Stommelen Porsche 935/77A 162 Porsche Turbo Flat-6 47DNF GTO 90 USA Bob's Speed Products USA Rick KumpUSA Bob LeeUSA Sam Miller AMC AMX 156 AMC V8 48DNF GTO 12 USA Oftedahl Racing USA Tom BagleyUSA Joe ChamberlainUSA Gerry Wellik Chevrolet Camaro 147 Chevrolet 5.7 V8 49DNF GTO 56 USA Peerless Racing USA Craig CarterCAN Murray EdwardsUSA Richard Valentine Chevrolet Camaro 144 Chevrolet 5.7 V8 50DNF GTX 2 FRG Gelo Racing Team GBR John FitzpatrickLIE Manfred SchurtiFRA Bob Wollek Porsche 935/77A 135 Porsche Turbo Flat-6 51DNF GTU 57 USA John Tremblay USA Bob LappUSA John Tremblay Datsun 240Z 118 Datsun I6 52DNF GTX 9 USA Dick Barbour Racing USA Bob AkinUSA Rob McFarlinUSA Roy Woods Porsche 935 117 Porsche Turbo Flat-6 53DNF GTX 66 FRA JMS Racing-Pozzi FRA Jean-Claude AndruetFRA Claude Ballot-LénaITA Spartaco Dini Ferrari 512 BB LM 103 Ferrari Tipo F102B 4.9 L Flat-12 54DNF GTX 67 FRA JMS Racing-Pozzi FRA Jean-Claude AndruetFRA Claude Ballot-LénaFRA Michel Leclère Ferrari 512 BB LM 101 Ferrari Tipo F102B 4.9 L Flat-12 55DNF GTX 24 USA Graham Shaw USA Graham ShawUSA Jerry ThompsonUSA Don Yenko Chevrolet Monza 86 Chevrolet 5.7 V8 56DNF GTO 38 PRI Boricua Racing PRI Bonky FernandezPRI Tato FerrerPRI Chiqui Soldevilla Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 73 Porsche 3.0 L Flat-6 57DNF GTX 68 USA North American Racing Team USA Pat BedardFRA Jean-Pierre DelaunayUSA Bob Tullius Ferrari 512 BB LM 72 Ferrari Tipo F102B 4.9 L Flat-12 58DNF GTX 43 USA Meldeau Tire Co. USA Stephen BehrUSA Bill McDill Chevrolet Camaro 59 Chevrolet V8 59DNF GTO 46 COL Mauricio De Narvaez COL Mauricio De NarvaezCOL Pedro De NarvaezUSA Albert Naon Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 46 Porsche 3.0 L Flat-6 60DNF GTO 07 USA Budweiser Racing USA Dave CowartUSA David McClainUSA Kenper Miller Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 35 Porsche 3.0 L Flat-6 61DNF GTX 00 USA Interscope Racing USA Ted FieldUSA Preston HennUSA Danny Ongais Porsche 935/77A 29 Porsche Turbo Flat-6 62DNF GTX 14 USA Bavarian Motors International USA Steve EarleUSA Steve GriswoldUSA Rick Knoop BMW 3.0 CSL 25 BMW M49 3.5 L I6 63DNF GTU 96 USA Gary Wonzer USA George Van ArsdaleUSA Robert WhitakerUSA Gary Wonzer Triumph GT6 20 Triumph I6 64DNF GTU 48 USA Frank L. Leary III USA Steve CookUSA Frank LearyUSA Casey Mollett Datsun 240Z 13 Datsun I6 65DNF GTX 18 USA JLP Racing USA Al HolbertUSA Michael KeyserUSA John Paul Porsche 935 JLP 12 Porsche Turbo Flat-6 66DNF GTU 79 USA Sports Ltd. Racing USA Bob BergstromUSA Brad Frisselle Mazda RX-7 9 Mazda 13B 1.3 L Rotary 67DNF GTX 73 USA Howey Farms USA Clark HoweyUSA Dale KochUSA Tracy Wolf Chevrolet Camaro 4 Chevrolet V8 DNS GTU 63 USA Faza Squadra USA Al CosentinoCAN Craig Fisher Mazda RX-3 Mazda 12A 1.1 L Rotary DNS GTU 78 USA Associated Speed & Performance USA Wiley DoranUSA Neil UpchurchUSA Ken Williams Datsun 240Z Datsun I6Source: References 1979 World Sportscar Championship none Drivers: 12 Hours of SebringMakes: 6 Hours of Mugello 1979 IMSA GT Championship none 12 Hours of Sebring Category:24 Hours of Daytona Category:1979 in sports in Florida 24 Hours of Daytona Daytona