Mike Conway will rejoin Action Express Racing for the fourth consecutive year when he co-drives the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R in the Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 25-26, 2020.
Conway will be a leading contender in the 58th edition of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opening classic, co-driving with Felipe Nasr, Pipo Derani and Filipe Albuquerque. Conway drove the red-and-white No. 31 Cadillac in both 2017 and 2018, finishing second in the latter race with Nasr, Eric Curran and Stuart Middleton in a 1-2 finish for Action Express Racing.
A year ago, Conway was scheduled to pilot the team’s No. 5 Cadillac, but was forced to sit out the event after experiencing visa issues while traveling from his home in London.
“I’m excited to be back with Action Express Racing, and it’s been fun so far driving with them since 2017,” said Conway. “We’ve had some good results, but obviously, winning at Daytona has eluded us.”
Conway finished sixth at Watkins Glen and seventh at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in 2019, co-driving the No. 5 Cadillac Prototype with Albuquerque and Joao Barbosa.
“I raced with Albuquerque last year, and I’ll be teaming up again with Nasr – whom I drove with my last time at Daytona,” Conway said. “So I know both of them pretty well as teammates. I feel we have one of the strongest lineups for this year’s race, and I think we can have a good result.”
In 2018, Conway helped Whelen Engineering drivers Nasr and Curran to both the Prototype title and the Michelin Endurance Cup (MEC) – a unique competition now captured by Action Express Racing teams for six consecutive years. He followed up the runner-up finish in the Rolex 24 with a third-place finish in the 12 Hours of Sebring. After placing sixth with the team in the 2017 Rolex 24, Conway finished third in the 12 Hours of Sebring and second at the Motul Petit Le Mans.
“Action Express always gives us a car to deliver,” Conway said. “I’m really looking forward to the race, especially after missing it last year due to visa issues. Now, I can’t wait for the Roar (Jan. 3-5) and then the race. It will be nice to take a couple of weeks off for Christmas, but I’m already fired up to get back to Daytona!”
Conway’s return to the team follows the announcement that Eric Curran has stepped away from his role as a DPi racer following four years with Action Express Racing that featured two IMSA WeatherTech Championships (2016, 2018) as well as two MEC (2018, 2019) titles.
“Since Action Express and Whelen Engineering teamed up in 2016, we have enjoyed tremendous success,” said Action Express team owner Bob Johnson. “Eric Curran was a very big part of that success from the beginning. Everyone at Action Express will always consider Eric to be part of our racing family. We are confident Eric will be able to continue his driving career with a team that can offer him a driving position in more races than we are able to offer him at this time and we wish him great success as he continues his many years of service as a representative of Whelen Engineering. We are very excited to welcome Mike Conway back to the Whelen number 31 car to join Felipe, Pipo and Filipe in Daytona for the 2020 Rolex 24 hour event.”
A six-time competitor at Le Mans, Conway finished second overall three times in the past four years for Toyota Gazoo Racing. He is currently second in the LMP1 standings of the 2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship with five races remaining. He finished second in the 2018-19 championship, with three victories and nine podium finishes over the past two seasons. Prior to turning his attention to sports cars, Conway competed in the NTT IndyCar Series from 2009 through 2014, winning four races.
Source. Sunday Group
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