Rolex 24 starts with an aggressive pace

Associated Press

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.

An aggressive early pace at the Rolex 24 at Daytona led to a track full of debris, a rough start for the favorites and led veteran drivers openly wondering why teams were pushing so hard in the starting stages of an endurance race.

“Absolute madness,” a bewildered Dario Franchitti said. “There’s some aggressive driving out there, huh?”

That was an understatement.

The twice-around-the-clock race began in unusually warm temperatures at Daytona International Speedway, where drivers set a furious pace from the drop of the green flag Saturday. It created numerous spins, several accidents and overshadowed the early struggles of the heavily favored Chip Ganassi Racing teams.

Among those racing was Dr. Ron Yarab of Poland who was part of a team that included Kenny Wallace, Daniel Graeff, Ryan Eversley and Richard Zahn.

Yarab is co CEO of AllPoints Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

It was Yarab’s fourth appearance at the 24-hour race. His team was raising money for the Children’s Tumor Foundation for research to cure Neurofibromatosis. Last year, Yarab’s team raised more than $400,000 during the race event. Donations may be made by logging on to www.racing4research.org.