Today I'm working on my 1985 12 Hours of Sebring photos and it strikes me that this was an era American sports car racing when some of the coolest race cars ever to speed around American race tracks were streaking past our cameras.

Once the green flag flew, the race settled into its familiar rhythm—a mix of sprint-race intensity and long-distance patience. The story of the day belonged to the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus-Riley, a car carrying a lineup packed with star power: Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Dario Franchitti, and Juan Pablo Montoya.