WeatherTech 240

The WeatherTech 240, also previously known as the Paul Revere 250, is a 250-mile sports car support race held on the road course at Daytona International Speedway on or around Independence Day, the same weekend of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Coke Zero 400. It has been held off-and-on over the history of that event, either the same night, or a couple days before. The traditional date meant the race was usually held late at night, and finishes in the early morning hours of the next day. The theme of the race is based on the famous "Midnight Ride" of Revolutionary War patriot Paul Revere.

WeatherTech 240
Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
VenueDaytona International Speedway
Corporate sponsorWeatherTech
First race1967
First Grand-Am race2000
Last race2020
Distance249.2 Miles
Laps70
Previous namesBrumos Porsche 250 (2005-2010)
Paul Revere 250 (1967-2004)

From 1967 to 1968, the race was sanctioned by the SCCA. From 1969 to 1972, it was held as part of the NASCAR Grand American tour. Starting in 1973, it became part of the IMSA circuit, and continued through 1983. In 1984, it switched to an SCCA Trans-Am event for one season. For 1985–1986, it was a motorcycle race, then it was discontinued.

In 2000, the event was revived by the Grand Am series. The tradition of starting late at night, however, was muted somewhat. The event was scheduled as a Thursday or Friday night event, held immediately following NASCAR pole qualifying and/or final practice. The start time would be roughly 10 p.m. eastern. Attendance for the weeknight races was very sparse. NASCAR's typical weeknight qualifying crowd is normally small, and most of those that were in attendance left as soon as qualifying was over. In 2009, the race was moved to Saturday afternoon as part of a Grand Am/Sprint Cup day-night doubleheader.

The race was removed from the schedule after 2010, and went on hiatus for a decade. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IMSA reorganized their schedule. They announced they would be resuming their season at Daytona with an evening race on July 4, marking the return of summer sportscar racing at Daytona. The race was named the WeatherTech 240, with a duration of 2 hours and 40 minutes, and was to be held in front of a limited number of spectators.

Past winners

DateOverall Winner(s)EntrantCarDistance/DurationReport
SCCA Trans-Am
July 4, 1967 Parnelli JonesBud MooreMercury Cougar250 mi (400 km)report
NASCAR Grand Touring/Grand American
July 4, 1968 Lloyd RubyBud MooreMercury Cougar250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1969 Pete HamiltonChevrolet Camaro250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1970 Jim PaschalAMC Javelin250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1971 Buck BakerPontiac Firebird250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1972 Vince GimondoChevrolet Camaro250 mi (400 km)report
IMSA GT Championship
July 4, 1973 Gene FeltonGene FeltonChevrolet Camaro250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1974 Hurley HaywoodApplejack RacingPorsche Carrera RSR250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1975 Hans-Joachim StuckBMW MotorsportBMW 3.0 CSL250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1976 Al HolbertHolbert RacingChevrolet Monza250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1977 George DyerGeorge DyerPorsche 934250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1978 Peter GreggBrumos PorschePorsche 935250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1979 Charles Mendez
Hurley Haywood
Porsche 935250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1980 John FitzpatrickDick Barbour RacingPorsche 935 K3250 mi (400 km)report
July 5, 1981 Mauricio de Narvaez
Hurley Haywood
Dick Barbour RacingPorsche 935J250 mi (400 km)report
July 3, 1982 Ted Field
Danny Ongais
Interscope RacingLola T600-Chevrolet250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1983 A. J. Foyt
Hurley Haywood
Preston HennPorsche 935250 mi (400 km)report
SCCA Trans-Am
July 3, 1984 Willy T. RibbsJack RoushMercury Capri157 mi (253 km)Areport
AMA Championship Cup Series
July 3, 1985 Larry Shorts
Gregg Smrz
Dr. John's Team Moto GuzziMoto Guzzi Le Mans250 mi (400 km)[1]report
October 19, 1986B Merrill Moen
Otis Lance
Team LockhartSuzuki GSX-R1100250 mi (400 km)[2]report
Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
June 29, 2000 James Weaver
Andy Wallace
Dyson RacingRiley & Scott Mk III-Ford250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 2002 James Weaver
Chris Dyson
Dyson RacingRiley & Scott Mk III-Ford250 mi (400 km)report
July 3, 2003 Forest Barber
Terry Borcheller
Bell MotorsportsDoran JE4-Chevrolet250 mi (400 km)report
July 1, 2004 Wayne Taylor
Max Angelelli
SunTrust RacingRiley Mk XI-Pontiac250 mi (400 km)report
June 30, 2005 Butch Leitzinger
Elliott Forbes-Robinson
Howard Boss MotorsportsCrawford DP03-Pontiac250 mi (400 km)report
June 29, 2006 Colin Braun
Jörg Bergmeister
Krohn RacingRiley Mk XI-Ford250 mi (400 km)report
July 5, 2007 Alex Gurney
Jon Fogarty
GAINSCO/Bob Stallings RacingRiley Mk XI-Pontiac250 mi (400 km)report
July 3, 2008 Memo Rojas
Scott Pruett
Chip Ganassi RacingRiley Mk XX-Lexus250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 2009 Max Angelelli
Brian Frisselle
SunTrust RacingDallara DP01-Ford250 mi (400 km)report
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
July 4, 2020 Jonathan Bomarito
Harry Tincknell
Mazda Motorsports Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0 L Turbo I4 2 hours, 40 minutes report
  • ^A Run in twin 22-lap heats.
  • ^B 1986 motorcycle event was scheduled for July 3, but was rained out and rescheduled for October.[3]

Double Duty

In the earlier years of the event, a number of NASCAR drivers who participated in the Firecracker 400 also drove in the Paul Revere 250 in the same day or same weekend. In recent years, some drivers have also dabbled in the "double duty." In 2009, Scott Speed and Kyle Busch raced in both events in the same day, teaming up at Chip Ganassi Racing for the '250.'

References

  1. Assoc, American Motorcyclist (September 1985). "Paul Revere's fastest ride". American Motorcyclist. 39 (9). Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  2. Wood, Bill (January 1987). "First to last". American Motorcyclist. 41 (1). Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  3. Assoc, American Motorcyclist (September 1986). "Parade Lap: Revere rained out". American Motorcyclist. 40 (8). Retrieved April 3, 2010.
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