Toon Rolex 24 2016 - Prerace

Auto racing's offseason is nearly over, it's time for Speedweeks at Daytona and it all starts with the first major race worldwide of the New Year - the ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA! At the end of 24 hours, only 4 teams will pick up that Rolex Daytona cosmograph! What teams will it be? Here's how they'll line up [Starting Driver in brackets]:


Prototype:

1. Phineas Flynn/Fletcher/Martella/[Stoner]/Marsh (70)
2. Dupain-Cheng/[Agreste]/Syrus Truesdale/Zane Truesdale (37)
3. [Candace Flynn]/Johnson/Hirano/Murphy (07)
4. Turner/Test/Uno/[Maya Santos]/Miguel Santos (01)
5. [Butterfly]/Diaz/Zero/Botsford (1)
6. [Pickles]/Cunningham/Possible/Weinerman (10)
7. [Otto Rocket]/Reggie Rocket/Ketchum/Tabootie/Minazuki (02)
8. Puppy/[Kuso]/Kamalani/Quinlan (2)
9. [Taylor]/Moto/Atticus Rhodes (5)
10. Blossom/[Bubbles]/Buttercup (57)
11. Wheeler/Yuki/[Ishtar]/Alexis Rhodes (31)
12. Rivera/Foutley/Squarepants/[Chester McBadbat]/Bucky McBadbat (60)
13. [Dipper Pines]/Mabel Pines/Tommy Gilligan/Hoagie Gilligan/Corduroy (0)
14. Ish Taylor/[Reynolds]/Cervantes (29)
15. Cree Lincoln/Abigail Lincoln/[Dickson] (77)
16. [Fenton]/Manson/Foley/Baxter (99)
17. [Stark]/Banner/Barton/Parker/Rogers (50)
18. Long/Leonardo/Donatello/Michelangelo/Raphael (90)

Prototype Challenge:

19. [Rockwaller]/Flagg/Mankey (85)
20. Ed/Edd/Eddy/[Funnie]/Valentine (8)
21. [Carver]/Moss/Aerrow (54)
22. [Bloom]/Stella/Techna/Musa (38)
23. Buttowski/Gibble/[Perkins] (11)
24. McCutchen/Rey/[Sharp]/Fassler (16)
25. Ben Tennyson/Gwen Tennyson/[Levin] (52)
26. Storm Shadow/[Snake Eyes] (88)
27. [Gumball Waterson]/Darwin Waterson (61)

GT Le Mans:

28. Todd Daring/Riley Daring/[Hitswell] (911)
29. [Fudo]/Atlas/Hogan (912)
30. [Chan]/Hawkins/Foley (3)
31. Cook/Korra/[Vandom] (24)
32. [Stan Marsh]/Cartman/Broflovski (17)
33. Thornberry/[Doofenshmirtz]/Turnbull (25)
34. [Belepois]/Stones/Della Robbia/Stern/Ishiyama (4)
35. Eli Shane/Will Shane/[Trixie Sting] (51)
36. Shark Kastle/[Rio Kastle]/Hart Tenjo/Kite Tenjo (27)
37. Robin/Cyborg/Beast Boy/Raven/[Starfire] (98)
38. [Vicky]/Tootie (67)
39. Cosmo/Wanda/Poof/[Star]/Buxaplenty (66)
40. Steele/[Sakaki]/Boyle (72)
41. Tad/[Chad] (49)

GT Daytona: 

42. Yogi/Boo Boo/[Smith] (007)
43. Cress/Chili/[Cilan] (009)
44. [Benson]/Sanchez (18)
45. Flinstone/[Rubble] (28) 
46. [Woody]/Potato Head/Rex (19)
47. [Raptor]/Underwood (23)
48. Crocker/[Waxelplax] (22)
49. Armbruster/[Lasalle]/Detweiler/Griswald (56)
50. [Dexter]/Dee Dee/Mandark (45)
51. [Lyon]/Spidermonkey (44)
52. Lee Kanker/[Marie Kanker]/May Kanker (30)
53. Fairywinkle/[Magnifico] (33)
54. [Bart Simpson]/Homer Simpson (48)
55. Daria Morgendorffer/Quin Morgendorffer/[Lane] (63)
56. Aang/Katara/Sokka (73)
57. Guy Hamdon/[Kelly Hamdon] (81)
58. Stan Smith/Francine Smith/[Hayley Smith] (58)
59. [Tohomiko]/Pedrosa/Kamiya (64)
60. [Shortman]/Pataki/Johannsen (78)
61. Peter Griffin/Lois Griffin/[Meg Griffin] (74)
62. [Tsukumo]/Meadows (80)
63. Garcia/[Wong]/Masterson (93)
64. [Adams]/Forester/Archer/Bernstein (35)
65. Lolliberry/[Saturday] (87)
66. [Bridger]/Kalrissian (6)
67. [Wakeman]/Carbunkle/Lee (540)
68. Alvin Seville/[Simon Seville]/Theodore Seville/Brittany Miller/Jeannette Miller (97)
69. [Syndulla]/Tano (9)
70. Hank Hill/Bobby Hill/[Cheeks]/Vortex (82)
71. Zembrosky/Moko/[Highborn] (14)
72. [Bowman]/Reynolds/Shope/Roachmont (76)


Race Conditions:

Air Temp.: 81 degrees
Track Temp.: 102 degrees
Weather: Clear, no chance of rain.
Green Flag Time: 2:30 PM
Sunset: 5:42 PM
Sunrise (Sunday): 7:04 AM


As always, the FOX Sports family of networks will cover the race.


Brian Till (voiceover): For Bill France Sr., the sands of Daytona became the bedrock on which he built a racing dynasty. Fans and competitors have flocked to Daytona for the past 53 years to celebrate the dawn of a new racing season. For today's competitors, with risk will come reward. But who will be willing to risk the most and claim the title of champion of the ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA?

(dramatic music)

Patrick Dempsey (voiceover): Competition is the engine the drives innovation. It fuels the journey, ignites the spirit, challenges the soul and pushes individuals to the limit of what is possible. Over the next 24 hours, an epic motorsports competition will unfold. It begins with the pounding excitement of the start - crackling with energy and optimism. Later come the torturous lows, when the sheer will to continue is all that keeps drivers and teams moving forward. Finally, comes the finish - when champions are enshrined and the spoils of victory are shared. The arena is the World Center of Racing, Daytona International Speedway. The race is the ROLEX 24, crown jewel of the Tudor United Sports Car Championship, a twice around the clock odyssey where merely finishing is in itself, a victory. It is also a race in which the most famous manufacturers bring drivers from across the sport in slick Prototypes and thundering Grand Touring cars to see who can produce the right combination of speed and stamina. Will every competitor who has taken up the challenge of the Rolex 24 see the checkered flag? NOT A CHANCE! Will a select few claim victory in one of motorsports' most prestigious events? ABSOLUTELY! But who will fall into which category? 


Alyson Stoner: Follow me.

Randy: Follow me.

Kendall: Follow me.

Otto: Follow me.

Nikki: Follow me.


Patrick Dempsey (voiceover): Our story begins here, at the 54th running of the ROLEX 24....on FOX SPORTS!


(America's Pregame theme)


Brian Till: FOX Sports welcomes you to live coverage of one of the most daunting motorsports challenges! Up next, the 54th running of the ROLEX 24! The countdown to green is on and we're just a half hour away from what promises to be a 24 hour duel all the way to the checkered flag! You're looking live at pit lane, where the field of 72 cars and over 200 drivers are set for one of the world's great motorsports classics and to usher in a new era at Daytona International Speedway. Hi again, everyone. Welcome to Daytona, I'm Brian Till and I'm fortunate enough to partner up with an array of world class motorsports broadcasters. Together, we'll bring you all the stories from the World Center of Speed and the Rolex 24 at Daytona. One of those stories is that this race will be the first major event here at Daytona since the completion of a 3 year, $4 billion renovation, known as Daytona Rising. The project was completed last month, just before the calendar turned to 2016 and it gives Daytona a truly arena-like atmosphere like you've never seen before. We also have a record field with 72 cars, over 200 drivers and about a tenth of the driver field is experiencing their first Rolex 24. One of those drivers is on the pole for today, Andrew Marriott is with that driver.

Andrew Marriott: Thank you, Brian. I'm here with 3 of those drivers, actually - Alyson Stoner, Vincent Martella and Jeff 'Swampy' Marsh. Alyson, you had a great 2015 - 2 new movies, a new album coming out soon....but this all came about as a tribute to the Emmy award-winning cartoon you were all on together.

Alyson Stoner: It did, Andrew. One of Swampy's friends is Patrick Dempsey, a huge race fan himself. After he heard the news that we had wrapped 'Phineas and Ferb', he called the 3 of us in Glendale and asked us if we wanted to take the challenge of the Rolex 24. Of course, we jumped at the chance to compete here in Daytona to usher in Daytona Rising.

Vincent Martella: Alyson overlooked one thing.....only Swampy's been in a race car before. Alyson and I haven't been in one of these cars until the Roar testing. Why Alyson decided to go first for the race, I don't even want to know. It was a complete shock that we won the pole because we didn't have the speed in testing and we weren't where we wanted to be in practice.

Andrew Marriott: Swampy, you've been in multiple disciplines of motorsports before. What makes this race different than what you've been in?

Jeff 'Swampy' Marsh: Simply the length, the 24 hours. People say it's crazy that someone would even dare to go racing for that long.....but try telling that to the guys who've won this race in the past - guys like Scott Pruett, Hurley Haywood, Dan Gurney, Kyle Larson....they were crazy enough to go 24 hours and ended up winning this race.

Andrew Marriott: Jeff 'Swampy' Marsh and his SpeedSource team confident that they'll claim a set of Rolex watches tomorrow afternoon. They'll begin their quest from the pole. Chris Neville?

Chris Neville: I'm here with one of the overall defending champions of this race, Star Butterfly and the Tequila Patron ExtremeSpeed Motorsports team. Star, you and your crew started middle of the pack last year, wound up winning the whole thing. You're starting 5th today, any plan for what to do to get back to Victory Lane after 24 hours?

Star: Just do what we did last year. We had our low points, but we were never outside the top 15 last year. We kept fighting, never lost our focus and ended up on top at the end of 24 hours. That's what we need to do in a race like this. You make a mistake early, you have plenty of time to recover. We have to be able to minimize those mistakes if we want to repeat as champions.

Chris Neville: Star Butterfly and her ESM team will start 5th in that 1 car. Of course, to win, they have to get past a team that's always so dominant here. Jamie Howe?

Jamie Howe: That would be the Chip Ganassi team, Chris. I'm here with Otto Rocket. Otto, you came within a gnat's lash of completing the three-peat last year only to have it snatched away from you by Marco Diaz and that Tequila Patron team. What did you learn from last year that you can use here?

Otto: Don't get too complacent. We had a big lead in the final 3 hours here last year and we blew it, allowed Marco to get close and sneak past us for the win. That was devastating, not only because we couldn't score 3 in a row, but because Scott Pruett, one of the greatest sports car drivers ever, was there! He's got 5 overall victories here and we wanted to score another one for him. Word is he's here again, as my sister knew he would be....so let's get him another Rolex Daytona.

Jamie Howe: Otto Rocket will start 7th in the Ganassi superstar car. Brian?

Brian Till: Thank you, Jamie. You see the grid starting to clear of fans, we are that much closer to going green here at the 54th Rolex 24 at Daytona! Now we throw it up to the 3 men who will have the honor of calling this endurance classic - Bob Varsha, Calvin Fish and Dorsey Schroeder.


Bob Varsha: Thank you, Brian. Great to be back to  kick off another racing season here at Daytona. We are shattering all records this year. Record number of entries with 72, over 200 drivers here, that's a record. We are also expecting a record pace with a record number of laps run. Once again, very tough to pick a winner.

Dorsey Schroeder: Very tough as always, Bob. We have 72 cars, 4 classes, the best of the best from all disciplines of motorsports here in Daytona. You simply can't talk about this race without mentioning the Ganassi crew. They're stacked with talent once again. They're looking for their 3rd Rolex win in 4 years after narrowly missing the three-peat last year. We know that they'll be strong. Wayne Taylor Racing's quartet is back, still on the hunt for that first Rolex triumph. SpeedSource has 2 cars in the Prototype field and they've added some rookie punch with 'Phineas and Ferb' co-stars Vincent Martella and Alyson Stoner, along with show co-creator Jeff 'Swampy' Marsh, all of whom are competing in their first Rolex. Todd Daring will lead the GT Le Mans field to green, driving a Porsche factory machine alongside sister Riley Daring and Johnny Hitswell.

Calvin Fish: In the Prototype Challenge class, Bonnie Rockwaller leads the PC field as she co-drives the 85 JDC Motorsports Prototype with Josh Mankey and Brick Flagg. Last year's PC winners, RSR Motorsports, return with the same driver lineup, Kendall Perkins will start the race, driving alongside Kick Buttowski and Gordon Gibble. In GT Daytona, last year's winners, Michael Waltrip Racing, return to defend their title. Ashley Armbruster will co-drive the 56 alongside her Sprint Cup teammate Vince Lasalle with TJ Detwieler and Gus Griswald joining the effort. Also highlighting the GT Daytona field are rookies Erza Bridger and Lando Kalrissian in the #6 Stevenson Motorsport GT. IndyCar's Ashoka Tano and Hera Syndulla will co-drive the other Stevenson GT, the #9.

Bob Varsha: That's just a small sample of what we'll be bringing to you over the next 24 hours. The grid is clear and over 200 drivers are awaiting the command to fire engines! Let's head down trackside.

Track Announcer: Race fans, please rise and remove your hats as the Daytona Beach Police Department colorguard presents our nation's colors. Please remain standing and welcome HARRY CONNICK JR. as he performs our National Anthem.


(Harry Connick Jr. performs the National Anthem as a set of B-52 fighter jets from Patrick Air Force Base fly over the track)


(America's Pregame theme)


Brian Till: The classic pianist, Harry Connick Jr., getting us fired up here at Daytona. Coming up after the break.....the start of the 54th ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA!


The clock is set and the twice around the clock battle that is the Rolex 24.....IS NEXT! STAY TUNED!