Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt piloted Ford to the win at Le Mans in 1967. The trophy, left, is back at Ford for the first time since 1970. The trophy from one of Ford Motor Co.'s greatest racing triumphs is home in time to help the company celebrate the 45th

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC Alex Gurney, seen here with his father, Dan, in 2005 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, finished 15th in the 2011 Daytona 24-hour race. If you're a fan of symmetry, of closed circles, the possibility tantalized: Alex Gurney, 37, gunning to wi

Car and racing enthusiasts just couldn't stop smiling Thursday night as they stood in the Ocean Center surrounded by 29 champion cars to celebrate 50 years of 24-hour racing in Daytona Beach. When 17 drivers who had steered cars to victory at the Rolex 2

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC Paul Newman, shown in 1977, is the most famous movie star to have driven in the Daytona 24 Hours. The tradition seems to have begun at the very first big-time sports-car race at Daytona International Speedway, the 1962 Daytona Continenta

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC Racing legend A.J.Foyt led the first lap of the first Rolex 24 at Daytona 50 years ago. A.J. Foyt is a four-time Indy 500 winner, a Daytona 500 winner, two-time Rolex 24 winner, a 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, and he's also grand marshal f

LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC Ferraris, seen sandwiching one of Ford's GT40s, owned the podium in 1967. When Daytona International Speedway opened in February 1959, discussion occurred regarding the “International” part of the name. Were all of those good ol' boys fr

The rain-interrupted 1967 race, which took two days to run, resulted in a last-minute win for A. J. Foyt, who tied with Louis Meyer, Wilbur Shaw and Mauri Rose as the only three-time winners of the "500" at that time. But all of this was completely overs