Lux: “Pretty Impressive” Feat for DragonSpeed to Make Daytona

Photo: John Dagys

Eric Lux has praised the work by Elton Julian and his DragonSpeed team for making the Rolex 24 at Daytona on short notice.

The three-time Rolex 24 LMP2 class-winning squad was a late addition to the field, having been confirmed an entry just days before Christmas following the withdrawal of the No. 53 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Lux, who is sharing the No. 81 Oreca 07 Gibson with James Allen, Kyffin Simpson and Sebastian Alvarez, was a key part of the entry, which requires at least one Bronze-rated driver per lineup.

“Elton always figures it out last minute,” Lux told Sportscar365.

“I was looking at the [No. 53] MDK Porsche and was close there but we had trouble finalizing the lineup. That was an option. PR1/Inter Europol was an option and we didn’t get things done quick enough.

“Elton met with James [Allen] and Amber [O’Keeffe] and the car they were planning to run here had an incident and wasn’t going to be able to be repaired in time.

“We basically adopted their lineup. Elton texted me at 3 a.m. and said, ‘We need you at Daytona!’ and I said, ‘Absolutely!’

“It was a last minute decision and the last few weeks have been pretty busy for the team to get everything built up.”

The final piece of the puzzle came with the chassis, which Lux owned after being part of the 2022 Daytona class-winning squad.

“After we won [Daytona] two years ago, I bought the car from Elton with the plans to either run it in IMSA or in vintage some day,” he explained.

“Luckily we had the car sitting in Atlanta in pretty condition, the way it finished Petit a year-and-a-half ago.

“We sent the guys over there, got it built up, and trailered it down here yesterday.

“It’s a pretty impressive feat for the mechanics and everything they had to do.

“We had a few crates that were delayed coming from Barcelona (DragonSpeed’s European shop). So Elton sent the guys up to North Carolina yesterday to go buy a bunch of the spares and pit equipment and pit suits from Rick Ware Racing.

“It was nice of them to sell Elton those. It was one of the best options with everything else being delayed weeks.

“We should have everything we need now. The lineup is strong, so I’m excited.”

Lux believes that the team will have no issues getting up to speed in this weekend’s Roar Before the Rolex 24, despite not having taken part in last year’s race.

DragonSpeed will be seeking its fourth LMP2 class win in the last six years in the Florida endurance classic.

“Elton and the team he brings here knows this track and knows this race better than most,” Lux said. “And the results speak for themselves.

“Any time I get a chance to race with DragonSpeed, I’m going to say yes, especially at this track.

“The only thing that’s changed for them really is last year would have been the first year with the lower torque. So we have a little bit of fact-finding to do in the early [Roar] sessions.

“But we have the notes from last year when I ran with Rick Ware that can carry over and hopefully get us there a little quicker.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John