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Marshall Pruett (words & image)

DeltaWing Racing's DWC13 chassis was scheduled to bid farewell to IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype class once the season concluded Saturday night at Road Atlanta. Counter to its previously stated plans to limit the class to P2-homologated cars, IMSA has granted permission for the DeltaWing to enter January's Rolex 24 At Daytona after an inquiry was made by company owner Don Panoz.

"Dr. Panoz and DeltaWing Racing have requested an opportunity to make a final IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship appearance with the DeltaWing prototype in the 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona," an IMSA spokesman told RACER. "While we want to focus on the debut of our new Daytona Prototype international and LM P2 racecars, a final send-off for the revolutionary DeltaWing racecar at the 2017 Rolex 24 feels like an appropriate way to transition to our new era of Prototype competition."


Panoz, the American Le Mans Series founder who was celebrated on Wednesday night for his 20 years of contributions to the sport, saw the DWC13 run competitively at this year's race, but it was sidelined by a crash in the opening stages of the two-day contest. Given the close relationship between Panoz and IMSA's owners, who bought the ALMS to merge with Grand-Am and form the new IMSA series, the exception was made to give the DWC13 another chance to earn a proper finish at the series' biggest race.
"The car will be required to participate in the full offseason testing program at Daytona prior to the race next year," the IMSA spokesman added. "Similar to closed-cockpit LM P2 cars built between 2014 and 2016, the DeltaWing would be grandfathered to compete at 2016 performance levels."
Launched in 2012 as a Garage 56 project that debuted at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Panoz took the DeltaWing program over in 2013 where it evolved from roadster to coupe, and switched from a Nissan-badged engine to a custom Mazda-based powerplant built by Panoz's Elan Technologies firm.
In the hands of Katherine Legge, Sean Rayhall, and Andy Meyrick, the DeltaWing DWC13 will contest its final Petit Le Mans from eighth on the starting grid.