[h=2]Ford's Daytona 500, Rolex 24 winners meet[/h] By Marshall Pruett / Images by Ford Performance

The Rolex 24 at Daytona class-winning Ford Chip Ganassi Racing drivers got together on Wednesday with Kurt Busch, the Blue Oval's Daytona 500 winner, to celebrate the grand achievements with employees at Ford's Product Design Center in Michigan.
The big wins, taken in the No. 66 Ford GT by FCGR's Joey Hand, Dirk Muller and Sebastien Bourdais at IMSA's season-opening endurance race on Jan. 29, and by Busch in the No. 41 Stewart/Haas Racing Ford Fusion on Feb. 26 at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series curtain raiser, gave the brand two major victories in less than a month.
Positioned between their respective Daytona-winning cars and trophies, the four drivers spent the day speaking with Ford employees, signing autographs and posing with Ford executive vice president Joe Hinrichs (pictured) as part of the festivities.
"It's great to be back," said Hand, who made the trip last year after he and the No. 66 team won their class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. "When you get to come for a big Ford celebration and it's your second time here in eight months, it's a good thing. We got a little taste of it after the Le Mans 24 win, and now with winning Daytona, to be able to come back and celebrate again is a big deal.
"For me, knowing how many people have worked on this program, from the beginning until now, to be able to be here and do this little thing, just visiting and signing autographs, just being seen by everyone who's done so much work, we get so much appreciation from this, you wouldn't believe it. People pick up an autograph card and say 'thank you for driving the car to the win.' To me, you're thinking 'thanks for all the long hours, for making a car we can win with!'
For Busch, the trip became possible after finally achieving his Daytona 500 dream after 15 previous tries in a variety of machinery.
"This is a fun day," the 2004 NASCAR Cup champion said. "It's really neat to have the support from Ford, to have such a big manufacturer throw a huge celebration for the employees. This is what it's about – going out, winning and bringing home trophies, and to have a Daytona 500 win and a Rolex 24 At Daytona win with the Ford GT in the same year is pretty special. It's so cool to have everyone's passion for racing at Ford Performance behind us, and here we are, celebrating and taking pictures.
"Edsel [B. Ford II]'s here today to greet everyone. It's really a dream come true. To be able to win in my first race back with Ford, the homecoming was exciting and now it's stamped in concrete to have this type of win. I'm just really enjoying it all. A Daytona 500 win doesn't happen all the time."