IMSA strips Wayne Taylor Racing of 3rd place in Rolex 24

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Wayne Taylor Racing has been stripped of its third-place finish in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

IMSA issued a statement Friday saying Jordan Taylor violated the drive-time rule late in the endurance race that ended Sunday. Officials examined Taylor's time in the No. 10 Prototype and found he was behind the wheel more than four hours during a six-hour period.

''IMSA conducted a thorough review of drive times post-race, which revealed that Jordan Taylor exceeded four hours over a six-hour period late in the race,'' IMSA race director Beaux Barfield said. ''Drive-time maximums are in place to ensure that drivers do not get fatigued and create safety concerns, as well as to prevent any one driver from making too large a contribution to its team's result.''

The No. 10 team was dropped from third to last in the 16-car class, meaning it loses 15 points in the championship standings and $30,000 in prize money.

''Obviously, we are disappointed that inadvertently having Jordan drive a few more minutes than permitted has resulted in the issuance of these penalties,'' Wayne Taylor said in a statement. ''We fully understand IMSA's stance on this and will not challenge the penalties levied against us. We will move forward and continue to do our very best to succeed in our goal of winning this championship, which is one of the most difficult championships in all of motor racing.''

The team will try to bounce back at Sebring in March.

With drivers Max Angelelli, Jordan Taylor and Ricky Taylor sharing seat time, the team had a shot at winning the twice-around-the-clock race until it made the major miscalculation regarding drive time.

Team officials ordered Jordan out of the car with 11 minutes remaining, replacing him with older brother Ricky. That unscheduled swap came while pit road was closed, prompting a pass-through penalty that cost Wayne Taylor Racing any shot at beating Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon in the closing laps.

After coming in second the previous two years, Wayne Taylor Racing settled for a third consecutive podium finish. Now, it will officially be a last-place showing.

''It was just a small miscalculation, an unfortunate one because we were right where we kind of wanted to be, second place on the restart,'' Jordan said after the race. ''I think we had a stronger car on restarts, so it was a perfect opportunity to make something happen. ... Having that last restart opportunity was like a golden ticket.''