Action Express Racing (AXR) is a

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing i ...

team that currently competes in the IMSA

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...

. The team is owned by

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

CEO Jim France and run by Bob Johnson and former

champion crew chief Gary Nelson. Based in

Denver, North Carolina Denver, formerly known as Dry Pond, is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Lincoln County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 2,309. Known as “Dry Pond” until 1873, it was rena ...

, the team currently fields the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R for

Felipe Nasr Luiz Felipe de Oliveira Nasr (born 21 August 1992) is a Brazilian racing driver. He is the 2018 IMSA Sportscar champion and won the 2019 12 Hours of Sebring. After a year as the official test driver for Williams in 2014, he joined Sauber a ...

and

Pipo Derani Pipo is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Pipo (actor) (1933-1998), Mexican actor * Pipo Nguyen-duy (born 1962), Vietnamese photographer * Pipo of Ozora (1369–1426), Italian soldier * Pipo (footballer, born 1992), ...

and the No. 48 Ally Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R for

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...

Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top clas ...

and

Kamui Kobayashi is a Japanese professional racing driver who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) and in the Super Formula Championship for KCMG . He previously competed in Formula One, Formula E, the GP2 Series, and ...

History

Rolex Sports Car Series

Action Express Racing was founded in 2010 and ran in the former

Rolex Sports Car Series The Rolex Sports Car Series was the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It was a North American-based sports car series founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed ...

. The team started out of the gate strong, by winning the

2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona The 2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona was the 48th running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona and was the first round of the 2010 Rolex Sports Car Series season. It took place between January 30–31, 2010. Rule changes *With the increased field size for the 24 ...

. Their lineup in the No. 5 Riley Mk. XI featured João Barbosa, Terry Borcheller,

Ryan Dalziel Ryan Dalziel ( ; born 12 April 1982), is a Scottish professional racing driver. Dalziel has seen the most success in his career in the United States, racing in the American Le Mans Series GT1 class and the Champ Car World Series, and winning ...

, and

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The o ...

LMP1 driver

Mike Rockenfeller Mike Rockenfeller (born 31 October 1983), nicknamed "Rocky", is a German professional racing driver and was an Audi factory driver competing in the DTM and the FIA World Endurance Championship. He won his first DTM title in 2013, driving for ...

. The team's win was notable as their engine, a Porsche 5.0L V8 engine, was not sanctioned by Porsche itself, and was built by a third party based on the

Porsche Cayenne The Porsche Cayenne is a series of mid-size luxury crossover sport utility vehicles manufactured by the German automaker Porsche since 2002 (Type 9PA or E1), with North American sales beginning in 2003. It is the first V8-engined vehicle built ...

. Full season drivers Barbosa and Borcheller were joined by J. C. France for a few rounds, but did not find the podium again, finishing 13th in points. Barbosa, Borcheller, and France reunited the following season, taking a podium at the 2011 Rolex 24 and winning at

Virginia International Raceway Virginia International Raceway (commonly known as "VIR") is a race track located in Alton, Virginia, near Danville. It is less than a half-mile from the North Carolina/Virginia border just outside Milton, North Carolina, on the banks of the ...

, enough for Barbosa and France to finish 5th in points. The team also expanded to the No. 9 Riley-Porsche, driven by Darren Law, IndyCar driver

Buddy Rice Buddy Rice (born January 31, 1976) is an American former race car driver. He is best known for winning the 2004 Indianapolis 500 while driving for Rahal Letterman Racing, and the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona for Brumos Racing. Career Early years B ...

David Donohue David Donohue (born January 5, 1967 in Morristown, New Jersey) is an American race car driver formerly active in the Grand-Am's Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype class for Action Express Racing and participant in the Pikes Peak races. Ca ...

, and Burt Frissele. After reuniting Barbosa and France, the team opted to replace the latter with Law, scoring wins at Belle Isle and the

6 Hours of Watkins Glen The Six Hours of Watkins Glen (currently sponsored as the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. The race dates from 1948, and has been a part of the ...

. For 2013, AXR fielded both the Nos. 5 and 9, this time as Corvette Daytona Prototypes. They were driven by

Christian Fittipaldi Christian Fittipaldi (born 18 January 1971) is a Brazilian former racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car, and NASCAR. He was a highly rated young racing driver in the early 1990s, and par ...

, Brian Frissele, Barbosa and Burt Frissele, respectively. The team opted to join Barbosa and Fittipaldi together for the remained of the season after

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

, and the pair scored two wins at Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glen. While the Frissele brothers were teamed up, they only scored a single podium at

Road America Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Ch ...

IMSA SportsCar Championship

Three straight championships (2014–2016)

For the newly formed IMSA SportsCar championship in 2014, AXR ran only the No. 5 of Barbosa and Fittipaldi for the full season, reducing the No. 9 crewed by the Frissele brothers and Jon Fogarty to only the North American Endurance Cup. AXR took three wins, including the team's second Rolex 24, en route to both the inaugural title and North American Endurance Cup for the No. 5. For 2015, AXR assumed operations of the No. 31 Whelen Racing team, hiring GTD champion

Dane Cameron Dane Cameron (born October 18, 1988) is an Americans, American racing driver from Glen Ellen, California. He won the International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship overall in 2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship ...

to pair with Eric Curran. The No. 5 took its second IMSA title as well as the NAEC on the back of two wins including the

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second ro ...

and

Petit Le Mans The Petit Le Mans (French for ''little Le Mans'') is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which ar ...

, while the No. 31 team won at Detroit and Road America to finish 3rd in points. The No. 5 and No. 31 remained unchanged in 2016. With their worst finish being 6th and two wins at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and Road America, the No. 31 Corvette team won the drivers title, with the No. 5 team taking home another North American Endurance Cup.

Cadillac DPi-V.R (2017–present)

From 2017, both Mustang Sampling Racing and Whelen Engineering Racing fielded Dallara-based

Cadillac DPi-V.R The Cadillac DPi-V.R is a sports prototype racing car which started competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in North America in 2017. It is the manufacturer variation of Dallara P217 base, and replaces the Corvette DP. It marked C ...

machines. The Rolex 24 At Daytona saw the Mustang Sampling Cadillac knocked from the lead on the penultimate lap by Wayne Taylor Racing, another Cadillac team. Following the Daytona outing near-miss, the team continued to learn the new Cadillac Prototype as the No. 10 team had a strong start to the season. Mustang Sampling Racing returned to the winner circle at Watkins Glen and began to gain momentum. Even with both cars taking wins, compared to the last three seasons, had a relatively disappointing year, the Nos. 5 and 31 only winning one race each, and watched the rival

Wayne Taylor Wayne Taylor (born 15 July 1956) is a South African sports car racing, sports car racing driver and team owner. He won the 1996 and 2005 24 Hours of Daytona, and the 2005 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype drivers' championship. ...

Cadillac win the first five races on their way to the WeatherTech Championship, however the No. 5 once again took the NAEC, their fourth in a row. 2018 brought changes to the team. Christian Fittipaldi moved to an endurance driver/manager role in the team, while

left to join

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organiza ...

's new Acura program. Their spots on the team were filled by Filipe Albuquerque and ex- F1 driver

, respectively. The team started the 2018 season with a 1-2 finish at the Rolex 24, setting an all-time distance record. The Mustang Sampling car then won at Long Beach, with the Whelen Engineering Racing squad taking a victory at Detroit, and eventually capturing both the WSCC and NAEC for 2018. For 2019, the Pipo Derani joins the team in the No. 31 from Extreme Speed Motorsports, filling a void left by Eric Curran's move to endurance driver role. Additionally, Christian Fittipaldi will leave the driver's seat as he finishes his transition to a management role following the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona. In 2021, 7-time

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

champion Jimmie Johnson joined the team in a brand new entry, the No. 48 Ally Cadillac Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R.

and Mike Rockenfeller joined Johnson in the car, which finished 2nd at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Johnson's former Hendrick teammate and defending NASCAR champion Chase Elliott joined the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R team during the Rolex 24 at Daytona as well.

Racing results

Rolex Sports Car Series

Race wins

Rolex Sports Car Series wins

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship wins

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2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, January 25–26 , Prototype , Daytona , align=center, 5 , align=left, João Barbosa / Sébastien Bourdais / Christian Fittipaldi , Coyote Corvette DP , Chevrolet 5.5L V8 , - , 2 , July 25 , Prototype , Indianapolis , align=center, 5 , align=left, João Barbosa / Christian Fittipaldi , Coyote Corvette DP , Chevrolet 5.5L V8 , - , 3 , August 10 , Prototype ,

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2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, March 21 , Prototype , Sebring , align=center, 5 , align=left, João Barbosa / Sébastien Bourdais / Christian Fittipaldi , Coyote Corvette DP , Chevrolet 5.5L V8 , - , 5 , May 30 , Prototype , Belle Isle , align=center, 31 , align=left,

/ Eric Curran , Coyote Corvette DP , Chevrolet 5.5L V8 , - , 6 , August 9 , Prototype ,

, align=center, 31 , align=left, Dane Cameron / Eric Curran , Coyote Corvette DP , Chevrolet 5.5L V8 , - , 7 , October 3 , Prototype , Road Atlanta , align=center, 5 , align=left, João Barbosa / Sébastien Bourdais / Christian Fittipaldi , Coyote Corvette DP , Chevrolet 5.5L V8 , - , 8 ! rowspan=3 align=center, 2016 , July 3 , Prototype , Watkins Glen , align=center, 5 , align=left, Filipe Albuquerque / João Barbosa / Christian Fittipaldi , Coyote Corvette DP , Chevrolet 5.5L V8 , - , 9 , July 10 , Prototype ,

Mosport Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi- track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a a ...

, align=center, 31 , align=left, Dane Cameron / Eric Curran , Coyote Corvette DP , Chevrolet 5.5L V8 , - , 10 , August 7 , Prototype ,

, align=center, 31 , align=left, Dane Cameron / Eric Curran , Coyote Corvette DP , Chevrolet 5.5L V8 , - , 11 ! rowspan=2 align=center,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, July 2 , Prototype , Watkins Glen , align=center, 5 , align=left, Filipe Albuquerque / João Barbosa / Christian Fittipaldi , Cadillac DPi-V.R , Cadillac 6.2 L V8 , - , 12 , July 9 , Prototype ,

, align=center, 31 , align=left,

/ Eric Curran , Cadillac DPi-V.R , Cadillac 6.2 L V8 , - , 13 ! rowspan=3 align=center,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, January 27–28 , Prototype , Daytona , align=center, 5 , align=left, Filipe Albuquerque / João Barbosa / Christian Fittipaldi , Cadillac DPi-V.R , Cadillac 5.5 L V8 , - , 14 , April 14 , Prototype ,

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporated ...

, align=center, 5 , align=left, Filipe Albuquerque / João Barbosa , Cadillac DPi-V.R , Cadillac 5.5 L V8 , - , 15 , June 2 , Prototype , Belle Isle , align=center, 31 , align=left, Eric Curran /

, Cadillac DPi-V.R , Cadillac 5.5 L V8 , - , 16 ! rowspan=3 align=center,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, March 16 , align=center, , Sebring , align=center, 31 , align=left, Eric Curran / Pipo Derani / Felipe Nasr , Cadillac DPi-V.R , Cadillac 5.5 L V8 , - , 17 , April 13 , align=center, ,

, align=center, 5 , align=left, Filipe Albuquerque / João Barbosa , Cadillac DPi-V.R , Cadillac 5.5 L V8 , - , 18 , October 12 , align=center, ,

, align=center, 31 , align=left, Eric Curran / Pipo Derani / Felipe Nasr , Cadillac DPi-V.R , Cadillac 5.5 L V8 , - , 19 ! rowspan=1 align=center,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

, July 18 , align=center, , Sebring , align=center, 31 , align=left, Pipo Derani / Felipe Nasr , Cadillac DPi-V.R , Cadillac 5.5 L V8 , - , align="center", - !

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, January 24 , align=center, {{tooltip, (DPi), Daytona Prototype international , Daytona (Qualifying Race) , align=center, 31 , Pipo Derani / Felipe Nasr , Cadillac DPi-V.R , Cadillac 5.5 L V8

References

External links

Action Express Racing official website
American auto racing teams WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams Auto racing teams established in 2010