2005 Crawford DP03

Eleven of the Crawford DP03 chassis were built for competition in the Grand Amer Series which included the 24 Hours of Daytona. Crawford was one of seven manufacturers whose chassis had been approved by GARRA for competition in the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series. The other approved chassis included the Riley MkXI, Picchio DP2, Multimatic MDP1, Fabcar FDSC/03, Doran JE4, and Chase CCE. Although each of these chassis conformed to specific GARRA regulations, including dimensions, each chassis was uniquely different in design. The engines were also standardized and regulated, and each powerplant was sourced from a major production car manufacturer, using the block from an engine used on a production car. The list of manufacturers included BMW, Ford, Infiniti, Lexus, Porsche, and Honda. Displacement was capped at 2.5 liters for diesel engines, 3.5 liters for forced included, and 5.5 liters for naturally aspirated engines. Horsepower output was limited to 500 bhp. The steering was by a power rack and pinion setup, and the fuel capacity was set at 24 U.S. gallons. Vehicles with displacement sizes above four liters were set at 2,275 pounds, while those below 4 liters were allowed to weigh 2,225 pounds.

By the 2004 season, the number of Daytona Prototypes had grown considerably, with 17 examples toeing the line at the season opener at Daytona. By 2006, this figure had nearly doubled, with thirty entrants appearing at Daytona.

The 2006 Rolex Sports Car Season was a fifteen-race championship series contested by Daytona Protytpes (DP) and Grand Touring (GT) class cars. It was the seventh season of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve and it began in late January of 2006 and ended in early September of that year. The Mount Tremblant race was dropped, leaving Hermanos Rodríguez as the only race outside the US. Long Beach Street Circuit and Infineon Raceway were added to the schedule.

Jörg Bergmeister finished first in the Drivers Championship, followed by Scott Pruett in second and Luis Diaz in third. Chip Ganassi Racing won the first, second, and fourth race of the season which included Daytona, Mexico City, and Long Beach, respectively, along with a victory at Phoenix, Watkins Glen (Krohn Racing also won at Watkins Glen earlier in the season), and Infineon. Alex Job Racing won at Homestead and Virginia. SunTrust Racing won at Laguna Seca and Krohn Racing three races in a row (Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, and Daytona).

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2022