February 2, 1992 – 24 Hours at Daytona trophy goes to Japan for first time

Endurance automobile racing began at Daytona International Raceway in Florida shortly after the course opened in April of 1959, beginning with a six hour sports car race. The green flag at the first 24 Hours of Daytona took flew in 1966. Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby won the event driving a Ford GT40 Mk. II. For decades Porsche dominated the race, with an occasional American or other European win

. Then, on this day in 1992 when Japanese racers Masahiro Hasemi, Kazuyoshi Hoshino and Toshio Suzuki took the trophy to Japan for the first time. They raced a Nissan R91CP (pictured) sponsored by Nissan Motorsports Intl. Together, the drivers covered 2,712.720 miles (4,365.7 km) during their monumental victory.