The year the legendary Daytona 24 Hours ran to six hours

The Daytona 24 Hours is easily one of the highlights of the sportscar racing calendar, and its twice-round-the-clock format is a huge part of the charm. Modelled after the Le Mans 24 Hours, it was originally conceived as a three-hour race, before switching to the same format as the French endurance classic in 1966.

Since then, every single Daytona endurance event was scheduled for 24 hours. Except one.

The year was 1972. This was the time that the Daytona ‘24 Hours’ was part of the FIA World Championship of Makes, the precursor to the present-day World Endurance Championship.

Heading into the year, the FIA had s