The 2025 VSCA SportsCar Championship began in spectacular fashion with the 24 Hours of Daytona, the series' crown jewel. Held at the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway, known as "The World Center of Racing," this endurance classic tested teams over 24 grueling hours. A field packed with talent saw Keystone Simsport’s #89 Dallara P217 emerge victorious, led by drivers Erik Terry-Haag, Taylor Parsons, Lukas Santos, and Phillip Forrester.
This win marked a dream start to the season for Keystone Simsport, who also leads both the championship and the Endurance Cup standings. The #89 team navigated the challenging 12-turn course and an eventful race that included eight full-course yellows and 73 lead changes.
Early Drama and Cautions
Pole-sitter #11 Vision 1 Motorsports, driven by Mario Cappellucci, started strong, but a series of incidents later in the race saw them drop to an eighth-place finish. Keystone Simsport quickly established their pace, recovering from a lap 99 incident to take control during the night stints.
By the 14th hour, contenders like the #677 Valkyrie Exype were struck by misfortune, a crash in the International Horseshoe setting them back to a ninth-place finish. Despite such setbacks across the field, the competition remained fierce, with just two cars—Keystone's #89 and Twin Turn Simracing's #23—finishing on the lead lap.
Keystone comes through, leads most laps
Keystone Simsport’s #89 Dallara P217 led an impressive 283 laps, the most of any team, and finished 84.904 seconds ahead of the #23 Twin Turn Simracing entry. Twin Turn’s drivers—William Alcala, Dominik Isenberg, Viktor Sönnergren, Ryan Suralik, and René Thalassinos—showcased remarkable skill, gaining seven positions from their starting spot, and placing two series newcomer teams atop the LMP2 class podium in this race.
The final podium spot went to Tri-State Racing's #3 Dallara P217. Their consistent and measured approach secured third, keeping them within striking distance in the championship standings.
Heartbreak for Some Teams
While some teams celebrated, others faced heartbreak. Vision Motorsports' pole-sitting #11 Dallara P217 faced a major impact into the concrete wall after an incident on the exit of the bus stop chicane on cold tires. The team finished ten laps down in eighth. Valkyrie Exype’s #677 suffered a tough night, with a crash and subsequent incidents leaving them twenty laps adrift in ninth.
Grow Racing Team’s #14 and Pandemonium eSports' #531 completed the top five, delivering solid performances to kick off their campaigns.
Post-Race Quotes
Erik Terry-Haag, #89 Keystone Dallara P217: "In my 11 years on this service this has to be the biggest win in my sim racing career, I'm not going to lie, I was tearing up a bit during that last lap, when I realized we had done it."
"It means so much and to break through like we did this year, that feels like such a weight is lifted off my shoulders, finally having this happen. As a team owner, it makes me so proud to be able to do it under the Keystone name after reviving it as a new entity just more than a year ago and I really couldn't have done it with a better group of drivers in Taylor Parsons, Phillip Forrester and Lucas Santos."
"One big moment that could have changed our race was the lap 99 wreck . We really got lucky with how little damage we sustained and were able to keep from falling too many laps down. The overnight stints Phillip and Lucas put in and got the car to the lead was massive for us in recovering from it, they really did an outstanding job."
"The last hour of the race was nerve racking for me personally, being in the car and having to follow all the hard work that everyone put into the last 23 hours and try and bring the thing home and get the win. We were praying that a caution would not come out and bunch up the field because we were not sure if we would hold off some of the other teams that had really good pace just were too far back that late to get to us."
"We started off the season exactly the way we wanted to, winning is always a plus but even from race one we have our eyes on big picture racing. Every point matters for us, the LMP2 class is going to be very competitive and wins are gonna be hard to come by. I think we got a shot, we just need to make smart decisions on the racetrack throughout the year and limit mistakes."
Taylor Parsons, #89 Keystone Dallara P217: "It's an amazing feeling to win Daytona. It's always a daunting task against a really competitive field, but our incredible team put in the work both with the setup and on-track performance."
"It's awesome to win this race two years in a row. But this year feels different since I’m in a different class with a new program, but it’s no less of an accomplishment. I’m very proud to win this race again, especially alongside close friends and with our new team. Big thanks to Erik for bringing us in and trusting us to do the work."
"You can never say you expect to win the season opener, but we came in with goals and lessons learned from previous years competing in VSCA. We knew how to get ourselves in the ballpark. Now, the goal is to stay competitive and bring the fight all season long."
"Our plan is to stay consistent and have a great fight for the title. It’s a very tight and competitive field, but we’re ready for the challenge."
Lukas Santos, #89 Keystone Dallara P217: "Daytona 24 Hours man! We did it, haha!! It feels so amazing - the team, the car, the track, something about this place. It’s always always a great time here! We, as a team, couldn’t be any happier; it was a surreal race. Everyone played their part, did the best stints they could ever do, and we all had fun - the most important part for us."
"I composed myself this year!! No waterfall of tears, as I saw Erik drive the car across the line to take the checkered, ha... That being said, while getting a second one in a row, becoming back to back champions of the VSCA Daytona 24 Hours, last year’s win was by far the best as it was a first of many wins, and a victory I always wanted to get after getting my first taste of endurance racing when I got my C-Class license - that was almost 5 years ago!!"
"The overall goal, as a team, for this season, is to prioritize having fun. We would love to keep showing ourselves towards the front of the field, and a win will always feel amazing, but this one directly at the start of the season doesn’t warrant any comfort. We are still very brand new to this class, but we’re not new to the level of competition that the VSCA offers here. While we can scale each other to different drivers based on historical information, see what teams are doing during practice sessions, scaling us as a team to the rest of the field, as a whole, will take continuous testing hours, patience, and dedication."
Keystone Simsport take championship lead
Not much of a surprise, 24 Hours of Daytona winners #89 Keystone Simsport also take the lead in the 2025 SportsCar Championship LMP2 class standings.
What may surprise some however is the narrow margin. The #3 Tri-State Racing Dallara P217 trails by only 16 points, by account of having scored extra bonus points for keeping the car clean in the 24-hour race.
First-time championship contenders #23 Twin Turn Simracing with twin brothers Dominik and Sebastian Isenberg are off to a promising start to the season, placing their team in third, 41 points back.
In the Endurance Cup, likewise it is the #89 Keystone Simsport Dallara leading the way, scoring an impressive 16 points at Daytona. Vision 1 Motorsports did not get the result they were hoping for, but despite their late misfortune scored a total of 13 Endurance Cup points, placing them in early contention for the Endurance Cup championship this season.
The #23 Twin Turn Simracing Dallara is third, at 12 points total, four points behind.
Looking Ahead
The 24 Hours of Daytona sets the tone for an exciting season in the VSCA SportsCar Championship. While the LMP2 class takes a brief hiatus, the series heads to Long Beach for GTP and GT PRO action. LMP2 teams return to action on March 1 for the 12 Hours of Sebring, the second-longest race of the year.
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