Action Express Racing Wins 2014 IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship

The Action Express Corvette DP

Braselton, Ga. (4 October 2014) – Action Express Racing kicked off the final race of the inaugural TUDOR Championship with another big accomplishment as the team’s No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype won the 2014 Team Championship on Saturday when it took the green flag for the 17th running of the Petit Le Mans.

Marking just its fifth year of competition for the team that won its first-ever race (2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona), the title marks a long sought-after achievement for the team. The 2014 season saw Action Express Racing demonstrate incredible preparation and execution from the crew as well as its principal drivers Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi. The hard work yielded three race victories and an impressive seven podium results in the first 10 events.

The team is the only one to have completed every race lap so far this year. In the races Action Express Racing has entered, each car has completed every lap. The No. 5 Corvette Daytona Prototype has run all 1,777 laps in its 10 races while the No. 9 Corvette Daytona Prototype has run all 1,177 laps in its three North American Endurance Cup (NAEC) events for a combined team total of 2,954 laps completed.

Action Express Racing kicked off the 2014 championship in strong fashion by winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona for the second time in five years. The squad kept that momentum rolling with podium finishes in the 12 Hours of Sebring and Long Beach as well as the Sahlen’s 6 Hours of the Glen. Back-to-back victories at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Road America, plus an additional third place podium result at Circuit of the Americas two weeks ago, put the team solidly atop the point standings heading into the final round.

"This has been such a special season with so many highlights it is difficult to express just how proud I am of our entire group of professionals," said Team Owner Bob Johnson. "To start off the inaugural season of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship with a win in the Rolex 24 At Daytona was so very special and then to add a win at the Brickyard and Road America is amazing. Now to have the 2014 TUDOR Championship title and a chance to add the Patron North American Endurance Cup Championship is an accomplishment few will be able to match. This team deserves it all as they have worked harder, longer and smarter than any other. This is a season of a lifetime and I just thank God for all of our blessings!"

With the green flag having flown on the 10-hour Petit Le Mans event, Action Express Racing still has three more ambitions on the day: to clinch the TUDOR Driver’s Championship titles for Barbosa and Fittipaldi, to win the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup championship, and to take victory in the prestigious Petit Le Mans race.

Fielding two cars in each of the four NAEC rounds, Action Express Racing is back to a two-car entry for the season-finale and will work as two cars but one team as the organization currently sits first and second in the NAEC championship.

"We are absolutely thrilled to win the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship," said Team Manager Gary Nelson. "It is a testament to how hard everyone at Action Express Racing worked this year. I could not be more proud of this team. We will now watch how things unfold in the early stages of the 10-hour Petit Le Mans event and hope that we can get in a position to race hard for our two other goals which are to win the Patron Endurance championship and get another 2014 race win."