 | |
| Founded | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Teamprincipal(s) | Jim France (Team Owner) Bob Johnson (Team Principal) Gary Nelson (Manager) |
| Current series | WeatherTech SportsCar Championship |
| Former series | Rolex Sports Car Series |
| Current drivers | 31: Full-time Earl Bamber Jack Aitken Frederik Vesti Felipe Drugovich |
| Drivers' Championships | 6 ('14, '15, '16, '18, '21 '23 IMSA) |
| Website | axracing |
Action Express Racing (AXR)dba Cadillac Whelen for the2025 season is asports car racing team that currently competes in theIMSAWeatherTech SportsCar Championship.[1] The team is owned byNASCAR CEOJim France and run by Bob Johnson and formerNASCAR champion crew chiefGary Nelson. Based inDenver, North Carolina, the team currently fields the No. 31Whelen EngineeringCadillac V-LMDh forJack Aitken,Earl Bamber andFrederik Vesti.
Action Express Racing was founded in 2010 and ran in the formerRolex Sports Car Series. The team started out of the gate strong, by winning the2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona. Their lineup in the No. 5 Riley Mk. XI featuredJoão Barbosa,Terry Borcheller,Ryan Dalziel, andAudi LMP1 driverMike Rockenfeller. The team's win was notable as their engine, aPorsche 5.0L V8 engine, was not sanctioned by Porsche itself, and was built by a third party based on thePorsche Cayenne. 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 the2011 Rolex 24 and winning atVirginia International Raceway, enough for Barbosa and France to finish 5th in points. The team also expanded to the No. 9 Riley-Porsche, driven byDarren Law, IndyCar driverBuddy Rice,David Donohue, and Burt Frissele. After reuniting Barbosa and France, the team opted to replace the latter with Law, scoring wins atBelle Isle and the6 Hours of Watkins Glen.
For 2013, AXR fielded both the Nos. 5 and 9, this time asCorvette Daytona Prototypes. They were driven byChristian Fittipaldi, Brian Frissele, Barbosa and Burt Frissele, respectively. The team opted to join Barbosa and Fittipaldi together for the remained of the season afterRoad Atlanta, and the pair scored two wins atMid-Ohio andWatkins Glen. While the Frissele brothers were teamed up, they only scored a single podium atRoad America.
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 andJon 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.[2] For 2015, AXR assumed operations of the No. 31 Whelen Racing team, hiring GTD championDane Cameron to pair withEric Curran.[3] The No. 5 took its second IMSA title as well as the NAEC on the back of two wins including the12 Hours of Sebring andPetit Le Mans, 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 atCanadian 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.[4]
From 2017, both Mustang Sampling Racing and Whelen Engineering Racing fielded Dallara-basedCadillac DPi-V.R machines.[5] 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 rivalWayne Taylor 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, whileDane Cameron left to joinTeam Penske's new Acura program. Their spots on the team were filled byFilipe Albuquerque and ex-F1 driverFelipe Nasr, respectively.[1] The team started the 2018 season with a 1-2 finish at theRolex 24, setting an all-time distance record.[6] 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 fromExtreme 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.[7]
In 2021, 7-timeNASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson joined the team in a brand new entry, the No. 48 Ally Cadillac Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R.Simon Pagenaud,Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Rockenfeller joined Johnson in the car, which finished 2nd at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Johnson's formerHendrick teammate and defending NASCAR championChase Elliott joined the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R team during the Rolex 24 at Daytona as well.
| Year | Chassis | Engine | No. | Class | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos. | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | DAY | HOM | BAR | VIR | LIM | WGI | MOH | DAY | NJMP | WGI | CGV | MMP | ||||||||
| Riley Mk. XX | Porsche 5.0LV8 | 9 | DP | João Barbosa Terry Borcheller | 1 | 15 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12th | 260 | ||
| 2011 | DAY | HOM | BAR | VIR | LIM | WGI | ROA | LAG | NJMP | WGI | CGV | MOH | ||||||||
| Riley Mk. XX | Porsche 5.0L V8 | 5 | DP | David Donohue Darren Law | 9 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 3rd | 318 | ||
| 9 | João Barbosa J.C. France | 3 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5th | 314 | |||||
| 2012 | DAY | BAR | HOM | NJMP | DET | MOH | ROA | WGI | IMS | WGI | CGV | LAG | LIM | |||||||
| Corvette DP | Chevrolet 5.5L V8 | 5 | DP | David Donohue | 5 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 4th | 348 | |
| Darren Law | 5 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 3rd | 355 | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 5 | |||||||||||
| João Barbosa | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7th | 342 | |||||
| Year | Entrant | No. | Car | Drivers | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 |  Action Express Racing | 311 | Cadillac V-Series.R | Jack AitkenPipo DeraniAlexander Sims | Hypercar | 324 | 17th | 10th |
| 2024 | WhelenCadillac Racing | 311 | Cadillac V-Series.R | Jack AitkenPipo DeraniFelipe Drugovich | Hypercar | 280 | 29th | 15th |
| 2025 | CadillacWhelen | 311 | Cadillac V-Series.R | Jack AitkenFelipe DrugovichFrederik Vesti | Hypercar | 247 | DNF | DNF |
| # | Season | Date | Class | Track / Race | No. | Winning Drivers | Chassis | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2010 | January 30–31 | DP | Daytona | 9 | João Barbosa /Terry Borcheller /Ryan Dalziel /Mike Rockenfeller | Riley Mk. XX | Porsche 5.0L V8 |
| 2 | 2011 | May 14 | DP | Virginia | 9 | João Barbosa /Terry Borcheller / J.C. France | Riley Mk. XX | Porsche 5.0L V8 |
| 3 | 2012 | June 2 | DP | Belle Isle | 9 | João Barbosa /Darren Law / J.C. France | Corvette DP | Chevrolet 5.0L V8 |
| 4 | July 1 | DP | Watkins Glen | 9 | João Barbosa /Darren Law | Corvette DP | Chevrolet 5.0L V8 |
Headquarters:Denver,North Carolina | |
| Personnel |
|
| IMSA SportsCar Championship | |
| Championships | |
| Vehicles |
|