IMSA

IMSA: Motul Petit Le Mans after 2.5 hours — 7.5 hours remain

By Michael EubanksOct 12, 2019, 2:54 PM EDT
Leave a comment

Our next update will be after 5 hours (5:10 p.m. ET).

We’re a quarter of the way through the 22nd annual Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

After two and a half hours, the leaders are:

PROTOTYPE:

  • No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing, Cadillac Dpi, Pipo Derani
  • No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing, Cadillac Dpi, Mike Conway
  • No. 6 Acura Team Penske, Acura Dpi, Juan Pablo Montoya

GTLM:

  • No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, Ford GT, Dirk Mueller
  • No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, Ford GT, Ryan Briscoe
  • No. 62 Risi Competizione, Ferrari 488 GTE, James Calado

GTD:

  • No. 96 Turner Motorsport, BMW M6 GT3, Dillon Machavern
  • No. 63 Scuderia Corsa, Ferrari 488 GT3, Toni Vilander
  • No. 29, Montoplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi R8 LMS GT3, Christopher Mies

Live coverage of the Motul Petit Le Mans moves to NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app at 3 p.m. ET. Click here to access the stream.

 

Lewis Hamilton receives Daytona 500 invitation from Bubba Wallace

Lewis Hamilton Bubba Wallace
Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
By Nate RyanSep 22, 2020, 7:30 PM EDT
Leave a comment

Lewis Hamilton is a fan of the new NASCAR Cup Series team formed by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan to field a car for Bubba Wallace.

Will the six-time Formula One champion also be a fan in person at a NASCAR race in the near future?

Wallace is hoping so.

After Hamilton tweeted his support Tuesday morning about the news of a Hamlin-Jordan-Wallace team making its debut with the 2021 season, Wallace responded with a sly invitation to the Daytona 500.

Much would need to be worked out, starting with how much garage and grandstand access would be afforded for a 2021 season opener that likely would occur during a still ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

But it would seem fitting given that Hamilton and Wallace have been two of the world’s most outspoken Black athletes about the quest for diversity and racial justice. Hamilton recently reaffirmed his commitment to activism after his donning a Breonna Taylor shirt sparked an FIA inquiry.

The idea of Hamilton attending the season opener already had legs, too. The Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 driver has expressed a desire to race the Daytona 500 after he has retired from Formula One.

He was a spectator (with racing legend Mario Andretti) at four-time champion Jeff Gordon’s final Cup race as a full-time in the 2015 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In 2011, Hamilton swapped cars with three-time champion Tony Stewart at Watkins Glen International.

Having rubbed shoulders with other racing greats so often, it only would be fitting if Hamilton — who is one victory from tying Michael Schumacher’s career record and also could tie the F1 record with a seventh championship this season — spent some time with the greatest basketball player of all time.

Jeff Gordon was flanked by Mario Andretti and Lewis Hamilton before the 2015 Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Jared C. Tilton/NASCAR via Getty Images).