DAYTONA BEACH, Florida -- Wayne Taylor Racing and Acura continued to set the pace in the Roar before the Rolex 24 practice sessions Saturday as Ricky Taylor topped a two-hour night session at Daytona International Speedway.
The circuit of 1 minute, 34.592 seconds was the quickest of 35 laps by the No. 10 Acura around the 12-turn, 3.56-mile road course. Six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon ranked second (1:34.611) in the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac, followed by Mike Conway (1:34.717 in the No. 31 Action Express Cadillac).
The No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura (Helio Castroneves, 1:34.799) and No. 48 Ally Cadillac (Jose Maria Lopez, 1:34.897) rounded out the top five.
SATURDAY NIGHT PRACTICE: Speeds l Speeds by class l Speeds by driver l Fastest lap sequence l Combined results
HOW AND WHEN TO WATCH THE ROLEX 24: Schedule, TV info, start times, entry lists, more
The No. 10 turned the fastest lap despite sustaining damage from contact with a GT car, according to an Acura representative. Taylor set the fastest time on the car’s 31st lap of the session.
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Filipe Albuquerque, Taylor’s WTR teammate, already had led Saturday morning’s first practice.
In the first two sessions Friday to prepare for the 60th Rolex 24 at Daytona, Ricky Taylor led the opening practice, and Tom Blomqvist took the Meyer Shank Racing to the top of the speed chart in the afternoon.
WTR suffered a setback Saturday after qualifying as Albuquerque’s second-fastest lap was disallowed because IMSA officials failed its rear wing in postqualifying inspection.
Cadillac will have the top four starters in Sunday’s sprint race with the No. 5 of Tristan Vautier leading the field. There will be a 20-minute warmup Sunday morning at Daytona before the 100-minute race at 2:05 p.m. to set the field for the Rolex 24.
The Rolex 24 at Daytona qualifier will be streamed on Peacock at 2 p.m.
