Editors Note: In a nod to our 90 years of history, each week SPEED SPORT will look back at the top stories from 15, 30 and 60 years ago as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News.

15 Years Ago 2010

News: NASCAR teams will find a little bit less at the pay window this season.

In a move to help out race tracks that have rolled back ticket prices and endured empty seats during the current economic downturn, NASCAR is cutting purses for its NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series by 10 percent.

The move will benefit the tracks, many of which are owned by NASCARs sister company, International Speedway Corp., in that the speedways are responsible for paying the purses and the sanctioning fees for each event.

Last year we launched an industry-wide effort to help the sport manage budgets in this economy, said NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston in a statement. NASCAR did the right thing to work with the tracks to reduce their costs in order to manage the economic realities.

In return, the tracks have done a great job reducing ticket prices and enhancing the fan experience. Likewise, we worked with the teams to contain costs, such as elimination of testing and other steps.

This is consistent with how virtually every sport and business has adjusted to the economy over the past year.

Team officials have been calm in reacting to the move, with most offering no comment at all.

We cannot and do not expect that purses will increase when the tracks have less revenue to work with, Roush Fenway Racing President Geoff Smith told the Charlotte Observer. Prize money is shared at RFR among the team, drivers and employees, so we will all have to tighten our belts a little more again this year and hope we can still keep our pants up.

We look forward with optimism that we will be able to share fully in the upside of the industrys revenue growth as the economy recovers.

However, the purse drop will not be as dramatic as it may have been thanks to an overall increase in television revenues for this season.

Ninety percent of television money for each race goes to the tracks, with NASCAR keeping 10 percent from that, tracks must put 25 percent back into the purses.

ISC officials reported Thursday they expect the overall TV money to increase by 2.5 percent and that will offset some of the overall 10 percent reduction in purses.

Winners: The 48th annual Rolex 24 At Daytona will go down in the books as a race won by what amounted to a mechanical version of a nobody fielded by a nobody underdog team that had been given little chance of success by the experts.

Yet the triumph posted Sunday at Daytona Intl Speedway by the Action Express Racing Porsche Riley should not have been a surprise.

While the teams name may have been new, as was its owner; former Brumos Racing affiliate Bob Johnson, both Johnson and the team have their roots firmly planted in the soil of the Brumos Porsche camp, the winners here in 2009.

Drivers Joao Barbosa, Terry Borcheller, Mike Rockenfeller and Ryan Dalziel celebrated victory in the 48th annual endurance classic with other former members of the Brumos team now working on the No. 9 Porsche Riley.

This is amazing. I cant even begin to describe it. Twenty-four hours is a long time, but the last 15 minutes couldnt be longer. We have a great team and they work through problems with expertise, said Johnson with less than a quarter-hour remaining in the 24-hour grind.

It was the first time a Porsche-powered machine won in back-to-back seasons since 1986 and 1987. Brumos Racing claimed the Daytona victory in 2009.

The Action Express Racing entry was not just any Porsche Riley, but one carrying the latest edition of the Lozano brothers-developed Porsche Cayenne V-8, mated last fall for the first time to the well-proven Riley chassis.

The conversion of the V-8 from an SUV to a race-track winner was begun several years as a private venture much to the distress of the Porsche factory, which disassociated itself from the project.

In the end, things went perfectly for the winners, the car emerging from the grind dirty and stone dinged, but otherwise unscratched. The team. With Barbosa taking the checkered flag, completed the most laps (755) during the Daytona Prototype era.

Winning overall is a great compliment to the whole crew. They did an amazing job. They never quit. We didnt have the fastest car when we arrived here. but they turned it around and it was very consistent, said Barbosa, who had previously posted a class victory at Daytona.

With 53 lead changes and a multitude of yellow flags in a race that started in a downpour. the journey for the Action Express camp was anything but easy.

30 Years Ago 1995

News: Dick Simon was not a happy camper when he read claims furnished the press by former driver Raul Boesel in the Feb. 1 issue of National Speed Sport News concerning a lawsuit against Simon for prize money Boesel claims the team owner allegedly owes him.

Simon would not comment on the specifics of the claims made by Boesel and manager Tony Pirrone, but did confirm his own suit against Boesel, Pirrone and sponsor Duracell.

Dick Simon Racing, Inc. regrets that it was necessary to bring a lawsuit against Duracell, Raul Boesel, Anthony Pirrone and AJP Marketing, Inc., a statement from Simon read. Simon Racing would have preferred a negotiated resolution of any dispute, and tried for months to reach a compromise. Dick Simon Racing has seen the press release issued by Raul Boesel about the litigation, but will make no comment on it. Dick Simon Racing believes that it is inappropriate to argue the facts and legal issues in the media, but will pursue its claims vigorously through the courts.

Simon is suing the aforementioned parties for breach of contract after Boesel and Duracell left his team in the off-season for Rabal-Hogan Racing. Calls to Duracell President Charlie Keirnan have not been returned. 

Winners: As predicted, the 1995 Rolex-backed Daytona 24-Hour IMSA Exxon season opener turned out to be a battle between the tortoises and the hares. In the end, as they did in the fairy tale, the tortoises won this countrys longest race.

Heading the field at the 3 p.m. checkered flag was the Le Mans category World Sports Car Porsche 962-based Kremer K-8 spyder of Jurgen Lassig, Giovanni Lavaggi, young Christophe Bouchut and Marco Werner.

They were the tortoises. The hares, better known as the Ferrari 333SP contingent, were for the most part, back in their garages at the finish, their high-revving engines having gone on an early vacation just after dawn Sunday.

Indeed, only one of the original four Ferraris, the Euromotorsports Racing entry of Massimo Sigala, Fabrizio Barbazza and Francois Migault was running at the finish, mired down in eighth place after numerous mechanical problems. (The trio did salvage something in that they were credited with second place in the Exxon-backed IMSA WSC division.)

Surprisingly, second place did go to one of the supposedly delicate homegrown IMSA open top prototypes, but only after a struggle with another, even more surprising entry. Claiming the runner-up spot was the Brix teams Motorola Oldsmobile-powered Spice of Jeremy Dale, Jay Cochran, Federick Ekblom and Bob Schader, which finished five laps, 2 minutes and 55.540 seconds in arrears. 

60 Years Ago 1965

News: ltalian automaker Enzo Ferrari announced last week through his competitions manager that his cars and those or his dealers would boycott the Sebring, Fla., endurance race on March 27.

Eugenio Dragoni, competitions manager for Ferrari, said in Milan that factory cars would not be entered in the race, nor would those belonging to the North American Racing Team of New York and Maranello Concessionaires of London.

Dragoni cited as their reason, the changing of the racing rules to allow sports cars in the event rather than keeping it a race for Grand Touring and Prototypes as it has been in recent years.

The bright red cars of Fenari have won the 12-hour Sebring grind seven times since the race started in 1950, more than any other make.

Fred Kingsbury, Sebring publicist, announced Friday that there would be Ferrari representation in the race, but by private owners. He cited the 330P four-liter prototype entered by Pittsburghs Bill McKelvy for Bob Grossman to drive and the 275LM proto of John Mecom, which Walt Hansgen is expected to handle.

Alec Ulmann, promoter of the Sebring race. said, when apprised of the boycott, obviously threatened by serious American participation, which now includes not only Ford but some specials using General Motors engines and possibly the powerful Chrysler hemi-head powerplant, the great Commendatore, after his seven fat years, is now reluctant to meet some of this equipment, contending that the regulations do not permit the mixing of sports-racing cars with FIA Appendix GT prototype and production cars in prototype championship events in which Sebring is the highest rated in this country with a coefficient of 1.6.

Winners: Les Scott and Bobby Grim were the big guns in the final indoor USAC midget races at the Allen County Coliseum,

Scott, veteran midget chauffeur from Livonia, Mich., took the lead of the -100-lap feature on the ninth lap and was never headed as he captured the big money over a 10-car field.

Driving the Logan Spl., Scott started alongside Ray Elliott, 1964 UARA midget Champion, in the front row and during the close battle that followed Scott staved off several threats including a last 10-lap duel with Bob Mclean in the Rahn Offy. 

Lap-after-lap Mclean tried the leader but Scott pinched his car to the inside and that ended the only chance for Mclean as passing outside wasnt the answer.

Mclean was second and EIliott, after having led with his Cooper Falcon at the start and running second until lap 90, finished a very creditable third.

Grim, who led the 27-car field in the three laps against the clocks in qualifications with a terrific 8.86-second lap, placed fourth from last starting spot in the field. Chuck Rodee placed fifth after losing a right-rear tread as did Grim who managed to pass Rodee on the 92nd lap.