2011 Roar Before

We went to the Daytona Speedway to see the 2011 Roar Before the Rolex 24 with Richard, Carol and another couple that lives down the street from us.  The "Roar Before" is the practice run before the Rolex 24 race.

It was a really windy day at the track

The actual race is a 24-hour endurance race with 4 drivers switching driving during the race.  It's the 49th anniversary of the Rolex 24, and it's the first major race of the new year in the United States.

Many of the cars running are Porches and Ferraris

Several celebrities take part in this race and were were excited to learn that Patrick Dempsey (yes, McDreamy) is one of them.  All of us girls ran around most of the time looking for him to try to snap a picture but no luck :)  But we did get a picture of the car he's racing in.

Look really close -- I'm sure I can see him

We all went to the historic Racing's North Turn restaurant on the beach for a few beers afterward.  The restaurant sits on the actual spot (the track's north turn) where the original Daytona race started in 1936 -- it was run partially on the beach and partially on the highway.  It was a cool place and we all had a great time.