Fittingly, seven BMW M3s crossed the finish line first in the BMW Performance 200 race at Daytona on January 24th. The win was ultimately awarded to Fall-Line Motorsports drivers Shelby Blackstock and Ashley Freiberg after the #96 Turner Motorsport entry shared by Paul Dalla Lana and Bill Auberlen failed post-race inspection and was disqualified. The BMW 200 was the first round in the 2014 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series. This professional road racing championship is comprised of twelve races at tracks across the United Stands and Canada. Most races are 2-1/2 hours, and include two drivers. Two classes compete: ST for smaller, 4- and 6-cylinder cars; GS for larger, 6- and 8-cylinder cars.

The dawn of a new season: Daytona’s main grandstand is bathed in the glow of the rising sun.

Before readers cynically groan about a BMW winning a race where same marque is the title sponsor, they must be mindful that Daytona is a high-speed track that favors horsepower and low drag, which are two features of the BMW M3. The car’s high-winding four-liter V8 and slippery shape make it one of the fastest cars on Daytona’s steep banking.

BMWs showed their speed in every practice session, with the Fall-Line BMWs leading the way in all but one—the Rum Bum Racing #03 BMW was quickest in the third practice.

Green! Green! Green! Jade Buford leads the field to the starting line in his Mustang BOSS 302R at Daytona.

However the Mustangs weren’t uncompetitive. In qualifying, Jade Buford ran the quickest time in his #15 Multimatic Motosports Mustang BOSS 302R. Buford’s 1:55.824-second lap also broke the track record, which Buford also set last year driving a Multimatic Motorsports Aston Martin. “We knew we were not as fast as the BMW or Porsche teams, so I knew it would take strategy to set up a good lap to have a shot,” said Buford, who now has seven career poles. “I gave it everything on the one lap that counted, and we made it count.”

Long-time Ford Racing partner Multimatic Motorsports has switched back to Mustangs for the 2014 season. Expect to see new S550-chassis Mustangs rolling out of Multimatic Motorsports trailers later this season.

Defending series co-champion Nick Longhi was second-quickest, and was to start the race on the outside pole position in the #13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche.

At the drop of the green flag, Longhi showed his experience and snatched the lead from Buford. Longhi held the lead in his #13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche until the first caution flag came out five laps into the race to clean up a collision on course between two ST-class cars. Paul Dalla Lana (#96 Turner Motorsport BMW) ducked into the pits for a splash of fuel and bumped into Ian James’s #158 Mustang BOSS 302R while exiting his pit stall. Dalla Lana was called back to the pits to serve a penalty for running the red light at the end of pit road.

Two laps after the restart, Trend Hindman in his #46 Fall-Line Motorsports BMW passed Longhi for the lead, only to be passed by Longhi on the next lap. Jade Buford was also sapping positions with fellow Mustang driver Kurt Rezzetano in their battle for third.

Hindman reclaimed the lead as the 45-minute mark passed, which is the minimum time drivers need to earn championship points. Rezzetano pulled his Phoenix American Racing #32 Mustang BOSS 302R off the track at turn three. Anticipating a caution, Nick Longhi and Trent Hindman both pitted. Longhi handed the reigns of the #13 Porsche to Matt Plumb, and Hindman was relieved by John Edwards. Jade Buford inherited the lead in his #15 Mustang BOSS 302R.

While limping his #32 Mustang to the pits, Kurt Rezzetano was clobbered by the #72 Honda, and neither could continue. The carnage brought out the race’s second full-course caution.

Youngsters Lucas Bize and David Levine shared the #78 Racers Edge Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R at Daytona, shown here exiting turn three.

Phoenix American Racing brought two in-house-built Mustang BOSS 302Rs to Daytona.

Most of the rest of the field took the opportunity to pit for fuel, tires, and a driver change. Ian James in the #158 Mustang BOSS 302R stayed out to take the lead. Matt Plumb, now driving the #13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche, sat fourth—the first of those who already pitted.

When the race returned to green, Ian James (#158 Mustang) was followed by Tim Bell (#14 Nissan), Mike McGovern (#2 Mustang BOSS 302R), Matt Plumb, and John Edwards (#46 BMW). However, the race was stopped again when a Camaro damaged the barrier at turn 3.

With 43 minutes remaining, the race went green again. Bill Auberlen, now driving the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M3 was moving up through the field, and slipped into second behind Plumb. Unfortunately, a fuel delivery issue momentarily stalled the #13 Porsche before Plumb rejoined the race in 14th position. The leader’s stumble promoted Bill Auberlen to the lead. Subsequent caution periods dashed any attacks others had planned for the yellow and blue Turner BMW, and the #96 crossed the line under both checkered and yellow flags. Shelby Blackstock crossed the line second, and John Edwards third.

But when the #96 was disqualified in the post-race technical inspection, Shelby Blackstock and Ashley Freiburg were handed the win. The win is the first in the series for either drivers, and the first time a woman (Freiburg) has won overall in series history!

Next, the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge heads to Sebring as a support race to the Mobile 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 14—the first time the series has visited the legendary airfield-turned-racetrack. Stay tuned!

The #32 Phoenix American Racing BOSS 302R powers down Daytona’s front straightaway next to a freshly-built Camaro Z/28.R, with a new 7-liter motor under its hood.

Jade Buford is shown here lifting the inside-front wheel of his #15 Multimatic Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R on his way to setting the quickest time in qualifying for the BMW Performance 200.

Jim Click enters turn six during qualifying. His best time yielded the 22nd spot on the starting grid. Co-driver Mick McGovern finished the race 15th.

Ian James had to start the race from the back of the field in his #158 Mustang BOSS 302R.

Mustang vs. Camaro: The #15 Multimatic Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R and #00 CKS Autosport Camaro drag race out of turn three during the warm-up session before Friday afternoon’s race.

Andrew Aquilante visits with fans during the popular pre-race fan walk at Daytona.

A panoramic view shows the 68-car field for the 2014 BMW Performance 200 at Daytona.

The field files into turn one at Daytona…thankfully, incident free.

Jade Buford brings his #15 Multimatic Motorsports Mustang BOSS 302R into the pits for fresh tires, fuel, and hand over the reigns to veteran Scott Maxwell.