The #22 United Autosports entry was vying for victory in the LMP2 class when officials gave the front-running squad a drive-through penalty after another car hit the team’s pit board.
Post-race, the team labelled the penalty “seemingly unjustified”.
The #22 wound up 44 seconds behind the race-winning #8 Tower Motorsports car driven by Job van Uitert, Sebastien Bourdais, Sebastian Alvarez, and John Farano.
This year marked Allen’s fifth Daytona 24. He won the race in the LMP2 division in 2023 with Proton Competition.
“Not too sure what to say about that, to be honest,” said Allen.
“A podium is always great but to get a drive-through penalty at the end of the race when it looked like we were fighting for the win is painful.
“I can’t thank everyone at United Autosports enough for the opportunity and for everything they have done for us these last two weeks, over the Roar and the Rolex.
“Thank you also to my teammates Daniel, Paul and Rasmus – they all did a fantastic job throughout the whole event. I am glad to share this podium with them.”
It was a bittersweet moment for the team that before Monday (AEDT) had never claimed a Daytona 24 podium finish.
“So close but yet so far away it seems,” said ex-Formula 1 driver Paul Di Resta.
“Second is not a result I like to have, especially after twenty-four hours. Two drive-throughs in the final few hours cost us it.
“But I think the last one [drive-through penalty] feels unfair given that somebody drove through my pit box when we were two stations away, hit our pitstop board and we got a penalty for it.
“Credit to the United Autosports USA team, it’s been an enjoyable week and a half here. I guess we’re going to have to come back and try to do it another time.”
United Autosport’s other Australian, Garnet Patterson, had a race to forget.
The #2 car was a factor for the class win until it was involved in an ugly crash during the night that damaged the Oreca beyond repair.
Driver Nick Boulle was assessed and released by the trackside medical team after the high-speed crash at Turn 2.
“Disappointing end to a great few weeks at Daytona,” said Patterson.
“I’m glad Nick is fine after having nowhere to go to avoid contact on the restart.
“We were in a great place, leading the race at times, and had great speed while looking after the car. Sometimes you get unlucky, and today was the day.
“Congratulations to the #22 car on their podium (P2) and a big thanks to the whole team for a massive two weeks. Hopefully, we’ll be back to try again next year.”
On the crash, Boulle said he was disappointed he was unable to avoid it.
“I’m really sad about what happened. I keep replaying it in my head to think if I could have done something differently. In the videos it doesn’t seem like there was a way out,” he said.
“The team gave us a great car and I really believe that between Ben, Olly, Garnet and me we were ready to fight for a win in the United Autosports #2 car. Knowing that makes it that much more painful, but we will bounce back.”
The IMSA SportsCar Championship continues with the Sebring 12 Hour on March 16 (AEDT).
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