Pruett Confirmed at Action Express for Daytona, Sebring

Scott Pruett

Scott Pruett will compete in the 54th annual Rolex 24 at Daytona in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype fielded by Action Express Racing. He will join the No. 31 Whelen/Team Fox Chevrolet Corvette DP in the other Action Express Racing entry for the Mobil One 12 Hours of Sebring fueled by Fresh from Florida in March.

Pruett's Daytona co-drivers are not only two-time and defending series champions, but they are both two-time winners of the legendary twice around the clock battle at Daytona.

Fittipaldi scored his first overall win in 2004, while Barbosa won his first in 2010 and the duo won the race together in 2014.

With nine Rolex Daytona Cosmographs in one entry, Pruett is optimistic about his chances at a sixth overall victory in the most prestigious endurance race in the Western Hemisphere.

"When you look at the track record of Action Express Racing since they were founded in 2010 they've really become a sportscar dynasty," said Pruett.

"What Joao and Christian have been able to accomplish has been remarkable, completing all but one lap of competition in the last two seasons, winning Sebring last year by an entire lap, two straight championship sweeps, it's certainly a great feeling to be able to compete with them at Daytona."

Pruett will serve to galvanize an already potent driver lineup for the North Carolina based team, and team manager Gary Nelson hopes it will help the team score a third overall victory in the Rolex 24. At Sebring Pruett will pair with Dane Cameron and Eric Curran, two time winners of IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship events in 2015.

"It's not everyday that you get the opportunity to have Scott Pruett drive one of your racecars," said Nelson. "We've competed against Scott for years and we know what he brings to the table as a competitor so it's a great feeling to have him driving for our team.

"A strong start at Daytona is critical in the ten-race IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and even more important in the four-race North American Endurance Cup fight.

"We've been able to win all four of those championships the last two seasons with Christian and Joao and we felt like having Scott join us for the Rolex 24 in 2016 would add to our chances of getting off to a great start for a third consecutive season."

While Pruett will be focused on getting Fittipaldi and Barbosa off to a strong start for a third consecutive season, he will also be setting his sights on becoming the winningest driver Rolex 24 history with a sixth victory. Pruett is currently tied with legendary sports car ace Hurley Haywood with five overall victories.