Penske leads Porsche 1-2-3 in early morning at Daytona

As the sun begins to rise over Daytona International Speedway, Porsche-powered Rileys hold control for the 47th Rolex 24. However, six Daytona Prototypes remain on the lead lap and anything can still happen with nine hours remaining.

#16 Penske Racing Porsche Riley: Timo Bernhard, Ryan Briscoe, Romain Dumas.

Photo by Eric Gilbert.

Timo Bernhard in the No. 16 Penske Racing entry leads the way, holding a narrow margin over Antonio Garcia, who has moved his No. 59 Brumos Racing machine back up to second following an overnight accident. The sister Brumos Porsche Riley of Joao Barbosa runs in third, ahead of the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley of Scott Pruett in a solid fourth.

Catching up on some of the overnight action: Chapman Ducote slammed the wall in the 10th hour, spreading debris all around the banking and bringing out a full-course caution. The lengthy yellow played into the hands of the No. 10 SunTrust Racing Ford Riley, which took over the lead and held it until pitting for service in hour 11.

As the race neared the halfway mark, trouble continued over at the Ford camp, as the No. 61 AIM Autosport Ford Riley was forced to retire with another engine sensor failure. Two hours later, the remaining No. 75 Krohn Racing Ford Riley also called it quits after engine woes.

Problems continued for the GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Pontiac Riley during the early morning hours, as the crew replaced the entire rear-end assembly. Jon Fogarty returned to the track, some 23 laps behind the leaders.

Other DPs that had delays during the overnight hours include the No. 77 Doran Racing Ford Dallara, which is now eight laps behind in seventh, and the No. 55 Level 5 Motorsports BMW Riley, which has battled transmission problems.

The No. 86 Farnbacher Loles Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car has enjoyed a trouble-free run so far, and that's what put Dominik Farnbacher on top of the GT rankings. The German is locked in a fierce battle with Emmanuel Collard's No. 66 Porsche from the TRG stables. But Kelly Collins in the No. 07 Banner Racing Pontiac GXP.R is slowly reeling in the two Porsches, now only three laps down in third.