Action Express Adjusts Driver Lineup Beginning At Belle Isle
Donohue and Law are sixth in driver points (only 11 points out of first place), so this move will now spread their points evenly among two cars, giving Action Express the best opportunity towards a championship.
"GRAND-AM racing has become so competitive, especially for the top step of the podium," said team manager Gary Nelson. "The difference between making the podium and not are so small that in the past some small details may have gone unnoticed. One of those small details may be in the driver preferences, setup-wise. While all of the Action Express drivers are very talented, we have seen that Terry and David seem to migrate in one direction while Darren and Joao many times prefer a different direction."
"This tweak in the line-up should give the drivers in both cars the best chance to win races and the championship," added team owner Bob Johnson.
Action Express has scored three top-5 finishes this season, and earned a spot on the podium at Homestead-Miami when longtime teammates Donohue and Law co-drove to a third place finish in the No. 5 Corvette DP.
"I have worked directly with Darren as my co-driver for so many years that it will seem very strange to me when I look over and see Darren driving the No. 9 car," said Donohue, who has been teammates with Law since 2004. "The Action Express drivers are truly teammates so we will continue to work together as we continue to approach each event expecting to win."
Law agrees that the driver adjustment gives the team a better chance at a championship moving forward.
"Since the Action Express team has created a one team, two car effort, this move gives both cars the chance to race for a championship," he said. "All of the drivers are very close friends so we won’t have any adjustment period. I’m looking forward to seeing both Action Express cars up front racing for wins no matter who is behind the wheel."
Barbosa has been at the wheel of both of Action Express two wins, along with Borcheller, and the two co-drove with Ryan Dalziel and Mike Rockenfeller to victory in the 2010 Rolex 24 At Daytona, the team's first win its first start. The addition of Law to the No. 9 Corvette DP has Barbosa excited for the remainder of the season.
"The new Corvette Daytona Prototype is much more sensitive to adjustments that are made for each driver than previous DP cars," he said. "The results from the first four races indicate that both cars should benefit from this change. My driving style matches up best with Darren, and David matches up best with Terry so we should see the results improve on the track in both Action Express cars. I know that the whole team is behind this adjustment and will continue to work harder than ever to win races."
"While I don’t have as many years with this program as some of the other drivers, I have seen the entire Action Express group constantly making moves for continuous improvement," added Borcheller. "I see this as another of those steps and I look forward to doing my best to help David win a championship. I can’t wait to get to Detroit."