Two Ganassi teams duel for lead in Daytona endurance race

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A pair of Chip Ganassi Racing entries were out front and dueling for the lead 10 hours into the Rolex 24 sports car endurance race at Daytona International Speedway last night.

Young Mexican star Salvador Duran, driving with former Formula One and Indy star Juan Pablo Montoya and six-time Daytona winner Scott Pruett, was in the lead, seconds ahead of the team's other Lexus Riley, driven by former Indianapolis 500 winner and IRL champion Dan Wheldon, sharing the cockpit with former IRL champion Scott Dixon and another young Mexican racer, Memo Rojas.

Two other cars were also on the lead lap in the tight race, with a Pontiac Riley driven by Milka Duno of Venezuela, one of only two women in the 70-car field, in third, followed by a Riley BMW driven by Bill Auberlen.

Two laps down was a Porsche Riley driven by J.C. France, grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr.

Two other cars remained within three laps of the lead just 30 minutes before midnight, with Mark Wilkens driving a Lexus Riley in sixth and longtime road racing star Jan Magnussen driving a Pontiac Riley in seventh.

As tight as the racing was late into the night, it was expected to get even closer after midnight with rain in the forecast.

"I'm really looking forward to it," said reigning Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, whose Pontiac Riley team was 22d, 24 laps behind after early mechanical problems. "I drove in the rain back in '04 and I had a great experience. It took a little bit to get used to it and find the right line. [But] I think we have a great wet set-up - the team's prepared for that."

Four-time NASCAR champion Gordon, driving with Magnussen and former Daytona winners Max Angelelli and Wayne Taylor, wasn't so sure.

"I practiced in the rain earlier this week," Gordon said, "and I couldn't believe how slick it got. If it happens, that's going to be real interesting."

As expected, the prototypes were dominating the twice-around-the-clock race. Twenty-eight of the fast cars started the race, and 16 of them were at the top of the field after 10 hours.

Two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart, who has come close to winning this race twice only to run into late mechanical problems, continued to run into bad luck.

Stewart, driving a Pontiac Crawford with former Daytona winners Andy Wallace and Butch Leitzinger, was 45th, 59 laps off the pace.

There were five full-course caution periods in the first 10 hours, one of them brought out when a Porsche Fabcar driven by Gaston Mazzacane of Argentina slid off the track and hit a barrier protecting a light pole in the infield.