In 24 Hours, Action Express Racing a quick winner
January 31, 2010
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (AP)—Joao Barbosa powered Action Express Racing to the24 Hours of Daytona title Sunday, finishing an improbable victory in theorganization’s first appearance in the sports car endurance race.
The newly formed team avoided major mechanical problems and benefited from alate blunder by star-studded Chip Ganassi Racing to win by 50 seconds. No othercar was within four laps of the winner.
Ganassi’s Justin Wilson was leading before he made an ill-advised stop intothe garage late, believing something was wrong with the No. 01 BMW Riley. Thecrew didn’t find anything, and the difference was too much for teammate ScottPruett to make up in the final two hours.
The group that has dominated the race recently could only watch as it lostto a team with few sponsors that, weeks ago, didn’t exist.
“What can I say? I’m out of words,” Barbosa said. “The teammates, thecrew, they did a great job. Action Express rocks and it’s going to keep goingthrough the year.”
The group was formed in the offseason after Brumos Racing cut back to aone-car team. That prompted longtime Brumos affiliate Bob Johnson to assembleAction Express Racing, bringing some crew and drivers over.
“This is amazing,” Johnson said minutes before the finish. “I can’t evenbegin to describe it.”
The move paid off quicker than anyone expected.
Barbosa, Ryan Dalziel, Terry Borcheller and Mike Rockenfeller deftly guidedthe No. 9 Porsche Riley through a rain-soaked start Saturday that causedcautions and spin outs for much of the field. They avoided accidents and poorpit stops that pushed so many others behind, and they didn’t succumb to thepressure in the final hours.
“I think as a new team to come here, I think it’s a huge accomplishment toour crew,” Dalziel said. “A lot of these guys only came together at the startof January.”
Ganassi had three straight wins in the prestigious endurance race untilfinishing second the last two years. The biggest blow it took in this one wasself-inflicted.
Wilson pulled the car into the garage with about three hours remaining afterhe said he heard a popping noise. Crew members scurried to find a problem,losing the lead and falling behind by a lap.
“I heard a loud clank and the car kind of whacked,” Wilson said. “Ithought I’d blown a front tire or something like that, and being so close to thegarage, I figured I’d pull it in.”
That was the second disappointment of the race for the favored Ganassi team.
Ganassi’s No. 02 car retired in the early morning hours because of enginefailure. Drivers Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and JamieMcMurray had led a combined 139 of the opening 247 laps.
Then suddenly, stunningly, they were out.
“I did well at times and I struggled at times,” said McMurray, who lostsome ground before Montoya took the wheel back and the engine failed. “I didn’twant to be the guy who runs the car off and messes it up for everybody else.”
Holding off Ganassi’s made the victory even sweeter for Action ExpressRacing.
To beat the best so fast in a race that’s so long, there was no room formistakes. From weaving through the 3.56-mile road course that encompasses aboutthree-fourths of Daytona International Speedway’s NASCAR track, to fast pitstops and accelerating on the straightaways, Action Express did it better forlonger than anybody.
Playing spoilers was fun, too.
As Dalziel deadpanned moments after passing off the driver’s seat for thefinal time, “Nobody wants to see Ganassi win again. Somebody different needs towin.”
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