Watch Two Corvettes Race To The Closest Finish In Daytona 24 History

Twenty-four hours is a long-ass time to race. And it’s literally 24 hours, too, with no breaks other than to change tires, refuel and switch one weary driver for another weary driver. So you’d think the margin of victory would be equally as long.

But it wasn’t.

In this weekend’s 54th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona—perhaps the most prestigious endurance race outside of Le Mans—a pair of Corvettes finished a staggering 0.034 seconds apart after racing 722 laps, 2,570.32 miles, and twice around the clock. The finish was so thrilling, in fact, people are calling it some of the finest closing laps to a race in decades.

It all began when British driver Oliver Gavin in the #4 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R nudged the class-leading Porsche 911 RSR of Earl Bamber coming into a sharp right hand bend. He had to make the move. His teammate, Antonio Garcia in the #3 Corvette, was fast approaching—with newer tires.

This all took place in the GTLM class—a division where works teams, including the new Ford GT, Ferrari 488s, BMW M6s, and more battle it out together. With the Ford GT’s arrival, this was perhaps the most hotly-anticipated class of 2016.

And it didn’t disappoint. Check out the video above to watch full highlights of the final 36 minutes. In a rare turn of events, both Corvette drivers were gifted the ability to race hard to the finish—not follow the leader and preserve a Chevy 1-2. Ever the professionals, both drivers kept it clean, but boy did it get close.

After all, the victor and their teammates would land themselves a place in racing folklore, whereas the loser would be forever known as the one that couldn’t quite get it done. Both drivers fought tooth and nail not to be the latter.

To see some of the newest metal on display at Daytona, be sure to click the image below and take a look at our gallery. Sports car racing today has 99 problems (a ludicrous driver ratings system, for example), but close racing definitely ain’t one.