Photo by John ThawleyIn the offseason, Clint Field always said his Intersport Racing crew wasn't going to back down from Penske Racing and its factory Porsche effort in the American Le Mans Series' LMP2 class.

Then, as if to prove a point, the Ohio-based privateer team not only beat both Penske Porsches at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring but also posted a runner-up finish in the 54th running of America's oldest sports car race.

It was the highest finish ever for a P2 car at Sebring with only Audi's new diesel-powered R10 TDI LMP1 completing more laps. Sports car racing's version of David and Goliath turned out to be one of the biggest early season stories of the Series.

"It was pretty huge. I don't think it has sunk in yet," said Liz Halliday, who drove with Clint and Jon Field in the No. 37 Lola B05/40-AER at Sebring. "What the team has accomplished is enormous. I don't think anyone expected us to finish that high. It will probably take up until Houston for me to realize what exactly happened."

Perfect pit stops and reliability turned out to be the difference. While the two Porsches spent significant time in the pits, the Intersport team performed flawlessly and the Lola had only a couple of minor issues. It was exactly the kind of effort the team knew it needed.

"We have the best crew in the paddock," Halliday said. "We were all completely switched on. Our pit stops were perfect, and that's what wins races. Even though we don't have 87 people per car like they do, we don't need it."