,
Lepper was staying out of trouble, keeping the car together, and trying to make both the tires and brake pads last for the remainder of the race. At the next stop one front tire was changed, and at the next the other front. The rears were looking great, and didn’t need to be touched. At the five hour mark, the team was leading the class in the six-hour, and was fourth overall in E1, having moved the car up to 25th from 32nd. Gardner managed what would be more than a triple shift, running the car for three and a half hours straight and nearly 300 race miles. At that point, the team executed a flawless driver change as they dumped the routine 10 gallons in the car.
The Nitto’s were still looking great, and Lepper took off as soon as he was belted in. Around the five and a half hour mark, Lepper got on the radio and said there were basically no more brakes. The team asked if he thought he could make it, or limp it in, as a pad change would prove very costly. Lepper confirmed that he would try. Indeed, as the car took the checkered, the backing plates of the pads were on the rotors and the pistons had popped out of the calipers, but the car made it back to the pits for another great win clinching the championship.
