MONTEREY, Calif. – With two races yet to run in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, Action Express Racing is focused on defending its IMSA driver and team championships, as well as earning a sixth Michelin Endurance Cup title.
But the team is also looking ahead to the future, and as such has confirmed that Whelen Engineering will return as the title sponsor of the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R for the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
The iconic red and white Whelen Cadillac will be driven by drivers Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani for the full IMSA campaign in 2020, which will once again launch with the Rolex 24 at Daytona on Jan. 25-26.
Whelen Engineering first partnered with the team in 2015, taking victories at Detroit and Road America to set the stage for the team’s run to the 2016 IMSA Prototype title.
The Whelen Engineering team claimed a second IMSA Prototype title, as well as its first Michelin Endurance Cup, in 2018.
Nasr and Derani enter the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca event weekend second in the IMSA Prototype championship standings, having won this year’s Sebring 12 Hour and scored podiums in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Detroit Grand Prix.
“We’ve worked really hard to have a strong team, and being able to build on what we’ve learned each year is very important so I’m pleased to have Pipo and Felipe return to race for us again next year,” said Action Express Racing Team Manager Gary Nelson. “We plan to have a lot of familiar faces in our pit box and in the garage again next season.
“Chris Mitchum, Director of Operations; Iain Watt, Technical Director; Tim Keene, Performance Coordinator; and Bill Keuler, crew chief; along with many others, will continue in their current roles.”
Action Express Racing is working to finalize the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R driver roster for the Michelin Endurance Cup events at Daytona Int’l Speedway, Sebring Int’l Raceway, Watkins Glen Int’l, and season-ending Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
“Action Express is happy that we have been able to announce our 2020 plans for our Whelen Engineering No. 31, with Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani as full time drivers,” said team owner Bob Johnson. “We are still working on the 2020 plans for the No. 5 car but the 2020 sponsorship package is not yet complete.
“We expect to make an announcement with final details soon.”