It nearly got take away, but the Wayne Racing Konica Minolta No. 10 car was able to get the job done for the third-straight season.
Piloted to the finish line by Felipe Albuquerque, the team that included Alexander Rossi, Helio Castroneves, and Ricky Taylor got to celebrate on Sunday afternoon as Rolex 24 event champions.
For a second though, it looked like it could be all for not.
The finish to the race was coming down to the final minutes. With 16 of them to go, Renger Van der Zande had trimmed what was a four-second lead to being in a position to make the move for the lead.
The No. 01 car had been fast earlier in the race with Scott Dixon behind the wheel, but a flat right-rear tire delayed the run to the front for the squad.
Van der Zande was turning laps that were blowing away the No. 10 car’s lead lap-by-lap. It looked like he would have no issues passing for the lead late, but that’s where the racing came in.
Albuquerque held steady as the No. 01 filled his mirror, keeping his competitor at bay through the predominant road course portion of the track.
Although, once the pair got to the NASCAR turns, the No. 10 car could pull away on speed, preventing the CGR team from being in a passing position.
It worked for long enough.
Van der Zande had a tire go down himself – the same one that Dixon had blow earlier in the race – ending their run for a Rolex with just minutes remaining.
It is OVER for Renger Van Der Zande and Chip Ganassi Racing.
Less than 10 minutes and he has to hit pit road! #Rolex24 #IMSA pic.twitter.com/13Ld9lqlS3
— Motorsports on NBC (@MotorsportsNBC) January 31, 2021
Other class winners included the Era Motorsport No. 18, the Riley Motorsports No. 74 (Spencer Pigot and Oliver Askew), the Corvette Racing No. 3, and the Winward Mercedes No. 57.
IMSA and the popular sports car series will follow this up with a second crown jewel race in a row. The tour will now prepare to run its 12 hours of Sebring which will run on Saturday, March 20.