The 31-year-old Brazilian lost the lead to Cadillac Racing’s Tom Blomqvist with 72 minutes remaining in the twice-around-the-clock endurance classic, but a late caution ultimately set up the race-deciding pitstop.
Both drivers short filled, but it was Nasr’s #7 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963 that emerged ahead from the pits to reclaim the lead.
The restart with 30 minutes to go set up a frantic fight to the finish, which featured Nasr defending while navigating through traffic around Daytona International Speedway’s 12-turn, 3.56-mile road course.
In the end, Nasr was able to hold steady and take the victory by 2.112 seconds over Blomqvist, who came in as a defending two-time winner of the event.
“The race really came down to the wire at the final stop,” Nasr said.
“It was pretty much all about the fuel and energy numbers we were reaching.
“I just have to say that was a great call from the team, just to give me the opportunity to lead again in that final part of the race and then it was just down to me to hit the numbers and keep the No. 31 behind.
“Man, 24 hours of racing to go that way, it gives you a lot of emotions at the end. I just knew it wasn’t over, so I kept my focus until the finish line. I had traffic and the No. 31 was keeping up the pressure.
“But I’m glad it went our way after all the hard work and the difficult times we had in 2023, especially here. This the best gift we could give to ourselves.”
Source: Autosport