WeatherTech 240

The WeatherTech 240, also previously known as the Paul Revere 250, was a sports car race held on the road course at Daytona International Speedway on or around Independence Day, the same weekend of the NASCAR Cup Series' Firecracker 400. It has been held off-and-on over the history of that event, either the same night, or a couple days before. Traditionally, the race was held late at night, and finished in the early morning hours of the next day. The theme of the race was 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 some years, NASCAR drivers that raced in the Firecracker 400 in the morning, also took part in Paul Revere 250 that same night. 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/NASCAR 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 United States Parnelli JonesBud MooreMercury Cougar250 mi (400 km)report
NASCAR Grand Touring/Grand American
July 4, 1968 United States Lloyd RubyBud MooreMercury Cougar250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1969 United States Pete HamiltonChevrolet Camaro250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1970 United States Jim PaschalAMC Javelin250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1971 United States Buck BakerPontiac Firebird250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1972 United States Vince GimondoChevrolet Camaro250 mi (400 km)report
IMSA GT Championship
July 4, 1973 United States Gene FeltonGene FeltonChevrolet Camaro250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1974 United States Hurley HaywoodApplejack RacingPorsche Carrera RSR250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1975 Germany Hans-Joachim StuckBMW MotorsportBMW 3.0 CSL250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1976 United States Al HolbertHolbert RacingChevrolet Monza250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1977 United States George DyerGeorge DyerPorsche 934250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1978 United States Peter GreggBrumos PorschePorsche 935250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1979 United States Charles Mendez
United States Hurley Haywood
Porsche 935250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1980 United Kingdom John FitzpatrickDick Barbour RacingPorsche 935 K3250 mi (400 km)report
July 5, 1981 Colombia Mauricio de Narvaez
United States Hurley Haywood
Dick Barbour RacingPorsche 935J250 mi (400 km)report
July 3, 1982 United States Ted Field
United States Danny Ongais
Interscope RacingLola T600-Chevrolet250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 1983 United States A. J. Foyt
United States Hurley Haywood
Preston HennPorsche 935250 mi (400 km)report
SCCA Trans-Am
July 3, 1984 United States Willy T. RibbsJack RoushMercury Capri157 mi (253 km)Areport
AMA Championship Cup Series
July 3, 1985 United States Larry Shorts
United States Gregg Smrz
Dr. John's Team Moto GuzziMoto Guzzi Le Mans250 mi (400 km)[1]report
October 19, 1986B United States Merrill Moen
United States Otis Lance
Team LockhartSuzuki GSX-R1100250 mi (400 km)[2]report
Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
June 29, 2000 United Kingdom James Weaver
United Kingdom Andy Wallace
Dyson RacingRiley & Scott Mk III-Ford250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 2002 United Kingdom James Weaver
United States Chris Dyson
Dyson RacingRiley & Scott Mk III-Ford250 mi (400 km)report
July 3, 2003 United States Forest Barber
United States Terry Borcheller
Bell MotorsportsDoran JE4-Chevrolet250 mi (400 km)report
July 1, 2004 South Africa Wayne Taylor
Italy Max Angelelli
SunTrust RacingRiley Mk XI-Pontiac250 mi (400 km)report
June 30, 2005 United States Butch Leitzinger
United States Elliott Forbes-Robinson
Howard Boss MotorsportsCrawford DP03-Pontiac250 mi (400 km)report
June 29, 2006 United States Colin Braun
Germany Jörg Bergmeister
Krohn RacingRiley Mk XI-Ford250 mi (400 km)report
July 5, 2007 United States Alex Gurney
United States Jon Fogarty
GAINSCO/Bob Stallings RacingRiley Mk XI-Pontiac250 mi (400 km)report
July 3, 2008 Mexico Memo Rojas
United States Scott Pruett
Chip Ganassi RacingRiley Mk XX-Lexus250 mi (400 km)report
July 4, 2009 Italy Max Angelelli
United States Brian Frisselle
SunTrust RacingDallara DP01-Ford250 mi (400 km)report
July 3, 2010 Mexico Memo Rojas
United States Scott Pruett
Chip Ganassi RacingRiley Mk XX-BMW250 mi (400 km)report
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
July 4, 2020 United States Jonathan Bomarito
United Kingdom 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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