Corporate sponsor Brumos Porsche First Grand-Am race 2000 Distance 249.2 Miles | First race 1967 Last race 2009 | |
Venue Daytona International Speedway | ||
The Brumos Porsche 250, also known as the Paul Revere 250, was a 250-mile sports car support race held on the road course at Daytona International Speedway on or around Independence Day, the same weekend of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Coke Zero 400. It has been held off-and-on over the history of that event, either the same night, or a couple days before. The traditional date meant the race was usually held late at night, and finishes in the early morning hours of the next day. The theme of the race is based on the famous "Midnight Ride" of Revolutionary War patriot Paul Revere.
Contents
From 1967-1968, the race was sanctioned by the SCCA. From 1969-1972, it was held as part of the NASCAR Grand American tour. Starting in 1973, it became part of the IMSA circuit, and continued through 1983. In 1984, it switched to an SCCA Trans-Am event for one season. For 1985-1986, it was a motorcycle race, then it was discontinued.
In 2000, the event was revived by the Grand Am series. The tradition of starting late at night, however, was muted somewhat. The event was scheduled as a Thursday or Friday night event, held immediately following NASCAR pole qualifying and/or final practice. The start time would be roughly 10 p.m. eastern. Attendance for the weeknight races was very sparse. NASCAR's typical weeknight qualifying crowd is normally small, and most of those that were in attendance left as soon as qualifying was over. In 2009, the race was moved to Saturday afternoon as part of a Grand Am/Sprint Cup day-night doubleheader.
The race was removed from the schedule after 2009, and is currently on hiatus. Despite the Brumos Porsche sponsorship, Porsche has not seen a win at the event since before Brumos bought the naming rights.
Double Duty
In the earlier years of the event, a number of NASCAR drivers who participated in the Firecracker 400 also drove in the Paul Revere 250 in the same day or same weekend. In recent years, some drivers have also dabbled in the "double duty." In 2009, Scott Speed and Kyle Busch raced in both events in the same day, teaming up at Chip Ganassi Racing for the '250.'