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Could NASCAR have an engine to run a 24-hour race? ‘Of course we could’

NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards

LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 28: Doug Yates accepts the MAHLE Engine Builder of the Year Award during the NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Awards at the Wynn Las Vegas on November 28, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A 24-hour race at a NASCAR track is nothing new. The Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, one of the crown jewels of the IMSA sports car championship, has been contested at Daytona International Speedway for over a half-century.

But what about a 24-hour race at a NASCAR track ... with stock cars.

Hmmm.

When Doug Yates, the CEO of the Roush Yates company that builds engines for NASCAR and IMSA teams, stopped by the Peacock Pit Box during the ninth hour Saturday of the 2019 Rolex 24 on NBCSN, NASCAR on NBC broadcaster Dale Earnhardt Jr. was curious.

“Could NASCAR run a 24-hour race?” Earnhardt asked Yates. “What would you need to do to a NASCAR engine?”

“I’m kind of worried about getting to Atlanta with a tapered 550 package first,” Yates joked in reference to NASCAR’s new reduced horsepower rules for this season.

“But yeah, of course we could do it. That would be an interesting race, of course. Everything in our engine is made to run 501 miles. As crew chiefs and drivers, you guys know, you’re always beating on the engine guy to give you more power. We didn’t want to give you too much margin, right? The thing wasn’t built for a 24-hour race. But we could do that.”

It might require a rethink of the philosophy of NASCAR’s V8 engine, which is based on antiquated architecture with little relevance to modern-era street models.

Yates, who talked about his desire to run more modern engine technology in last year’s NASCAR on NBC Podcast, already likes the Rolex 24 because it’s different from “engines set up specifically for NASCAR events.

“This is such a good event because these are production-based engines,” Yates said. “We test them. We push them to their limit, then we turn back and give that technology back to the street cars. The things we learn goes back to Ford Motor Company and making their cars better.”

Hmmm.

Sounds like a win-win situation.

Of course, there are the niggling questions about the durability of brakes, rotors and other parts.

As well as what track might work well for holding such an event.

Martinsville? Bristol? The Roval or another road course?

Hmmm.

This might be an idea with some serious staying power.