Monterey, Calif. (8 Sept. 2018) – Action Express Racing qualified ninth and 11th for Sunday’s America’s Tire 150 (5 p.m. ET live FS1 broadcast) at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
The team has consistently delivered results during the 2018 IMSA season, with three team victories including a powerful 1-2 finish in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona. With just two races remaining in the championship season, the squad will look to make the most of the visit to the picturesque circuit on the Monterey Peninsula.
2016 IMSA WeatherTech Champion driver Eric Curran timed in ninth fastest with the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R, with a lap of 1:17.415-seconds on the famed 11-turn, 2.238-mile circuit.
Curran and co-driver Felipe Nasr enter the event with a seven point advantage in the standings over Filipe Albuquerque, pilot of the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac co-driven by Joao Barbosa.
“We’ve been working a lot to find the best set up and keep making adjustments this weekend, but it didn’t pay off the way we were hoping it would for that qualifying session,” said Curran. “At this track, there is a small window where the Continentals are the grippiest, and we just didn’t get everything we could in those laps. We aren’t where we want to be for tomorrow but we have strong engineering and the Cadillac is always strong in the race, we just need to find a little but more speed and make sure it’s good on the long run.”
Barbosa was 11th quickest in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R., with a best lap of 1:17.525.
“This is probably what we should expect as far as the conditions tomorrow, so it was good to get these laps in this afternoon so we can keep working on the car for the race,” said Barbosa. “This is not the best track for passing, so it is not an ideal starting place, but we can definitely fight from here. It is a long race and anything can happen. Action Express has great pit stops and great strategy, so we will analyze everything and work to move forward in the race tomorrow.”
Sunday’s schedule begins with a 20-minute warm-up at 9:20 a.m. PT. The race takes the green flag at 2:05 p.m. PT, with live FS1 coverage starting at 5 p.m. ET, with IMSA Radio also calling the race live.
Keep updated via twitter.com/axracing.
Media Contact:
Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management
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