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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- After more than 2,400 miles and 23 1/2 hours of racing, the most prestigious North American sports car race came down to eight minutes and a final five-lap sprint. The first race of the unified United SportsCar Championship -- the NASCAR-owned and IMSA-sanctioned series born from the merger between American Le Mans and Grand-AM -- ended with a NASCAR flair. A late, full-course caution swallowed Joao Barbosas 13-seccond lead and gave Max Angelelli a last-ditch chance to win the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Barbosa never gave him a chance, pulling away on the restart with 8:23 to race Sunday to give Action Express Racing its second victory in four years. It gave Barbosa his second overall win and third in class. Co-driver Sebastien Bourdais won the Rolex for the first time, while Christian Fittipaldi won for the second time. Action Express second entry finished third -- and Chevrolets new Corvette swept the podium -- in an outstanding day for the Bob Johnson-owned organization. Action won its first Rolex in 2010, and Barbosa was part of that team. "This one wasnt unexpected," Johnson said. "This one we expected to win." It wasnt easy. Barbosa was black-flagged for avoidable contact while running second Sunday morning, a penalty he called "really harsh" at the time. But the team worked its way back into contention. The caution nearly unraveled the comeback. While Angelelli thought there was enough debris to warrant the caution, Barbosa disagreed. "Max, he said he saw a lot of debris that I really didnt see," Barbosa said. "I was really surprised by that caution, but its racing, and we just had to deal with it. But were here, we won the race." Wayne Taylor Racing finished second for the second consecutive year. Co-owner Wayne Taylor came out of retirement to drive for the first time since 2010, seeking a chance to share the seat with Angelelli and sons Ricky and Jordan. The 58-year-old Taylor drove one stint Saturday and then retreated to the pit stand to strategize for what he hoped would be a third -- and most memorable -- victory. "It was a great result, and to have my family and my kids drive with me and Max, its been an emotional roller-coaster," Wayne Taylor said. Action Express second car, with drivers Brian Frisselle, Burt Frisselle, John Martin and Fabien Giroix, was third. Ford was shut out in its debut of its new EcoBoost engine. The No. 01 car of Chip Ganassi Racing team wasnt able to defend its race win because of a series of problems that plagued the car starting very early in the race. Ganassis No. 02 entry was taken out of contention when it developed a flat rear tire while Scott Dixon was running second with roughly five hours remaining. The car went to the garage with 48 minutes remaining when the floor of the Ford Riley began to unravel and Dixon could see the pavement under his feet. Michael Shank Racings entry, the 2012 race winning team, was halted by a broken gearbox. CORE autosport finished a lap ahead of 8Star Motorsport to win the Prototype Challenge class. "Ive loved motorsports all my life," CORE owner and co-driver Jon Bennett said. "Its so great for it to love me back today." Porsche North America claimed the GT Le Mans class with its No. 911 RSR entry. The crowded GT Daytona class had the most thrilling -- and controversial -- finish of the race. The victory went to Flying Lizard Motorsports when IMSA officials penalized Level 5 Motorsports for avoidable contact on the last lap. Alessandro Pier Guidi in the Level 5 Ferrari traded the lead in the final laps with FLMs Markus Winkelhock, who was driving an Audi. With the Audi mounting a challenge heading into the kink portion of the course, the two cars battled side-by-side through the tight corner. The Audi ran off course, and although replays showed no contact between the two cars, the Ferrari was penalized for avoidable contact and Flying Lizard got the victory. Level 5s drivers and team personnel charged toward Victory Lane to argue their case. "If you look on the monitors, there was no contact," driver Townsend Bell said. "Im gutted for (Pier Guidi) and the team. I think the fans want an answer for how a call comes in like that. I feel like we deserve this one." But Flying Lizard driver Spencer Pumpelly was adamant teammate Winkelhock was in the right and IMSA made the correct call. "We dont drive people off the road. We dont win races by driving people off the road," Pumpelly said. "They tried to do that, and it didnt work, and its a great result for us." 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Air Max 97 Clearance . Its like being on Broadway, everything you do matters. Id want to be good though! I couldnt play here if I wasnt very good. #83217388 / gettyimages.The Oakland As have the best record in the American League at 13-5 and are second only to Milwaukee by a half-game for best record in the Majors. This organizations success, at times, defies logic. They play in the most in-need-of-repair stadium in the Majors and traditionally draw in the bottom third, if not worse, in the Majors. Yet, here they are at 13-5 atop the American League West after starting last season at 12-5 en route to a 96-win season. There were a couple of things that caught my attention about the As 4-1 victory over Houston. First, it was the starting pitcher. Jesse Chavez was actually with the Blue Jays back in 2012 as a reliever. He didnt see much action with a team that had three starters - Brandon Morrow, Drew Hutchison and Kyle Drabek - down with injuries. Later that year, the Jays lost the then 28-year-old on a waiver claim by Oakland. Last season, he worked in the As pen as a reliever. Now the As, thanks in part to injuries, have given the 30-year-old right hander the chance to start. So far, it looks as though the As have struck gold. Chavez has made four starts and in doing so, became the first starter in franchise history to go at least six innings in his first four outings and give up one or fewer runs in each. Sunday, he picked up his first Major League victory as a starter and has solidified his spot in the Oakland rotation. The other thing I noticed is the As lineup. Of the 11 players who appeared in that 4-1 victory over Houston, only one was actually signed and developed by Oakland. That was budding Cuban star Yoenis Cespedes, who defected in 2011 and signed a four-year, $36 million contract with the As in February of 2012. All the rest were picked up in trades - many descript or on waiver claims or lower-tier free agents. Take Daric Barton, who came on late in the game to play first, but can also catch. He was picked up in a trade with St. Louis, along with infielder Kiko Calero and right hander Dan Haren, for then ace lefty Mark Mulder, who ultimately blew out his shoulder with the Redbirds, sat out a few years and ultimately had to abandon a comeback this spring. Barton is still contributing to the As and Haren is still going strong elsewhere. Josh Donaldson failed as a catcher in the Cubs organization and with the As. Then they made him into a third baseman and hes turned into a star. The As, with a limited payroll, just keep finding ways. If you roll back the clock to the year 2000 and then go over the As records over the following 14 seasons, theyve had nine winning seasons, four losing seasons and one .500 season. In fact, they had five seasons in a row between 2007 and 2011 where they only reached .500 once. But their successes have been mighty; two seasons with over 100 victories and seven more with at least 91. In 14 years, the As have finished first in the AL West six times. They have made the postseason eight times. Grant you, they have only won one division series and were defeated in the only ALCS they made it to. But I dont think I have to remind you there have been plenty of other teams that havent come closse to making the postseason over that 14 year span, teams that have a lot more money to spend and better venues to play in.dddddddddddd The other amazing thing about the As is their attendance. If you go back to when they were the Athletics in Philadelphia, where they resided for 54 years, the Athletics never broke one million in attendance once. During their 13 seasons in Kansas City, the As only surpassed one million twice, while in 46 years in Oakland, they have only bettered the two million mark, which is generally conceded to be the break-even point, 11 times. How good have they been over the last 14 years? Well collectively, they have finished 204 games above .500. The only two teams in the American League that have been head and shoulders better than them are the Yankees at 390 games over .500 with two World Series wins and two losses, and Boston at 265 games over .500 with three World Series triumphs. Billy Beane and Moneyball may have been overrated to a degree, but the As have proven to be one of the great franchises in the game against all odds. The Blue Jays have a significant homestand starting up Tuesday night. Baltimore comes to town for three followed by Boston for three. At 10-9, the Jays are one game ahead of the Orioles and Bosox. The Jays starting rotation will have to deliver more innings over these next six games. Last turn through the starting five, lefty Mark Buehrle was the only one able to get through the sixth and then beyond. The Jays have a bit of a psychological edge in both these series. The Orioles will be coming off an emotional Patriots Day game in Boston Monday morning and a draining series against the Bosox. Then Boston goes from that series to a three gamer with the Yankees. Both the Os and the Red Sox could be a little battle worn by the time they hit Toronto. Everybody talks about the Jays someday regretting trading Noah Syndergaard to the Mets. Well Henderson Alvarez is already in the Majors and looking dominant at times with the Miami Marlins. Saturday at home, he hit 96 MPH on the radar gun and pitched a complete game two-hitter, as the Marlins shut out Seattle 7-0. He faced just 28 batters, one over the minimum. It was Alvarezs first victory since he no-hit the Tigers on the final day of last season. He is 1-2 this season with a 2.66 ERA. Giants righty Tim Hudson is joining some exclusive company. He set a Giants record over the weekend by throwing 30 innings without issuing a single walk. He has also come close to a Major League mark by starting a season with four games of at least seven innings without walking a single batter. A gentleman by the name of "Tiny" Bonham also did that in 1944, according to ESPN, and Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland "Pete" Alexander had a six game run in 1923. We mentioned right hander Dan Haren a little earlier in connection with the As. Well, hes trying to reboot his career with the Dodgers. His control has been impeccable in the early going. He has 20 strikeouts and just two walks. Of all active pitchers, Dan Haren has the top strikeout-to-walk ratio at 4.09 to one. ' ' '