MEDIA INFORMATION
ROUND 2
Circuit of the Americas
Austin, Texas
Two Cars, One Team as Action Express Racing
Targets Success in Texas
Denver, N.C. (27 February 2013) – Action Express Racing will travel to
Austin, Texas this weekend for Round 2 of the Rolex Sports Car Series
season as GRAND-AM continues to move into the future by staging a
debut race at an exciting new venue.
The GRAND-AM of the Americas presented by GAINSCO and Total
(SPEED, Saturday March 2, 5:30 PM ET) marks the first sprint race of
the season. Action Express Racing will look for strong results from both
team entries this weekend and build momentum towards a strong run in
the 2013 GRAND-AM championship campaign.
The Action Express Racing team effort boasts two strong entries, with
Joao Barbosa and Burt Frisselle set to share driving duties in the No. 9
Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype, while Christian Fittipaldi and
Brian Frisselle will be paired in the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP.
Action Express Racing opened the season at the prestigious Rolex 24 At Daytona last month and was a factor in the closing
segments of the race, with the No. 9 Corvette DP battling for a podium position before coming home fourth in the order. The
sister No. 5 Corvette DP battled back from an early morning incident with a big team effort to come home eighth in the overall order.
The visit to the Circuit of the Americas marks the first of three new tracks added to the Rolex Series schedule for the 2013
season, and has competitors eager to take on the challenging twists, turns, and varied elevations of the highly anticipated
circuit.
“For everyone in the Rolex Series, there is a lot of excitement about going to a new market and a new track like the Circuit of
the Americas,” offered team owner Bob Johnson. “For every person on this team, it is a new challenge. From the drivers
learning the lines, to the engineers coming up with the right set-ups, to the crew adapting to the new working environment-those are all part of the whole team effort that goes into having a successful race.”
Though Action Express Racing arrives to the new track with a nearly empty notebook of track-specific data, the entire Rolex
Series field sits in the same situation which will see each team starting from a blank slate. While the big challenge may be
learning the intricacies of the new 3.4-mile road course in just two days, the combined experience of both the Action Express
team and its four talented drivers has Action Express anticipating a positive outing in GRAND-AM’s Texas debut.
“There is a lot of new information for us to take on this weekend, but we’ve been doing our homework and hopefully that
preparation will pay off,” said Team Manager Gary Nelson. “There is a lot to learn about the track, but our focus will be on
the fundamentals and to work through the weekend so we continue to build up speed right through to the end of the race.
We were happy with our team effort in the 24, but not as satisfied with the end results so we have been looking forward to
getting the opportunity to get back to the track.”
CONTACT: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management ǀ [email protected] ǀ 317.908.2975
www.sundaymanagement.com
facebook.com/sundaygroup
@SundayGroup
MEDIA INFORMATION
ROUND 2
Circuit of the Americas
Austin, Texas
DRIVER BIOS - No. 9
Joao Barbosa, No. 9 DP: Action Express driver Joao Barbosa has been competing in the GRAND-AM series since
2001. The Portuguese native helped guide Action Express
Racing to a 2010 victory at the Rolex 24. Having competed in
over 15 countries, Barbosa has been touted by legends like
Hurley Haywood as the fastest man in the series today. Joao
was instrumental in the development of the new Corvette
Daytona Prototype and returns to the No. 9 Action Express
Racing DP machine for 2013.
Burt Frisselle, No. 9 DP: Burt Frisselle has had racing in his
blood from a very early age, beginning with his first trip to the
Long Beach Grand Prix in 1988. After several years
competing in the open-wheel ranks, Burt launched into the
GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series in 2004 when he was
just 22 years old. As the youngest full time driver in his class,
Frisselle drove for Michael Shank Racing and proved to be
competitive in what was an extremely talented and
experienced field of Daytona Prototype drivers. Burt also
raced for Doran Racing and AIM Autosport in Rolex Series
competition before joining Action Express Racing in 2012.
CONTACT: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management ǀ [email protected] ǀ 317.908.2975
www.sundaymanagement.com
facebook.com/sundaygroup
@SundayGroup
MEDIA INFORMATION
ROUND 2
Circuit of the Americas
Austin, Texas
DRIVER BIOS - No. 5
Christian Fittipaldi, No. 5 DP: The son of former Formula 1 driver Wilson
Fittipaldi and the nephew of two-time world champion and two-time
Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, Christian Fittipaldi hails from
one of racing’s most historic families. The Brazilian has lived up to the
family legacy competing in the IndyCar Series, CART Series, Formula 1,
NASCAR and GRAND-AM. Winning two Champ Car World Series races in
1995 and finishing second in the Indianapolis 500 in the same year,
Fittipaldi has enjoyed open-wheel success, but his biggest victory may
have come in endurance racing when he won the 2004 Rolex 24 At
Daytona with Bell Motorsports. He has driven for Action Express Racing in
the 2011 & 2012 Rolex 24 events and returns to the team for the full 2013
GRAND-AM season driving the No. 5 Daytona Prototype.
Brian Frisselle, No. 5 DP: Brian Frisselle had his first racing
experience behind the wheel of a go-kart at Jim Hall's Kart Racing
School, which he attended when he was 10 years old. He participated
in the Skip Barber in 2002 and spent several years climbing the CART
ladder system in the open wheel ranks. In 2005, Brian had the
opportunity to fulfill his dream of racing with his older brother, Burt, and
as the youngest full-time driver pairing in the top DP class, co-piloted
the No. 8 BMW powered Doran Daytona Prototype for Synergy Racing
in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. He also raced for AIM
Autosport, Doran Racing and Michael Shank Racing before joining
Action Express Racing in 2012.
CONTACT: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management ǀ [email protected] ǀ 317.908.2975
www.sundaymanagement.com
facebook.com/sundaygroup
@SundayGroup
MEDIA INFORMATION
ROUND 2
Circuit of the Americas
Austin, Texas
“What’s your favorite thing about Texas?”
Christian Fittipaldi, No. 5 DP: “Coming from a family which raised
cattle for many years, I guess my favorite thing about Texas would be
the food (beef) and I’m also really looking forward to running a
modern F1 track.”
Brian Frisselle, No. 5 DP: “I would say my favorite thing about
Texas is the people there. Texans tend to have big personalities and
are often a lot of fun to be around. I also love some good Texas
BBQ!”
Joao Barbosa, No. 9 DP: “I have never been to Texas and I'm really
eager to get there. I have heard Austin is a great city and I'm looking
forward to exploring it!”
Burt Frisselle, No. 9 DP: “I’ve had the opportunity to visit many
Texas cities doing various arrive and drive programs, and by far my
favorite thing about Texas is the wonderful people and the hospitality
they welcome you with! A close second is the awesome BBQ you
can find all over the state.”
CONTACT: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management ǀ [email protected] ǀ 317.908.2975
www.sundaymanagement.com
facebook.com/sundaygroup
@SundayGroup
MEDIA INFORMATION
ROUND 2
Circuit of the Americas
Austin, Texas
Notes of Interest
Action Express Racing has claimed four wins:

- 2010: Rolex 24 at Daytona, Drivers: Joao Barbosa, Terry Borcheller,
Ryan Dalziel, Mike Rockenfeller
- 2011: VIR, Drivers: Terry Borcheller, Joao Barbosa, JC France
- 2012: Detroit, Drivers: Darren Law, Joao Barbosa
- 2012: 6 Hours of the Glen, Drivers: Darren Law, Joao Barbosa

Since the team’s debut in 2010, Action Express Racing has
completed 10,899 of 11,162 race laps which is 97.6% of the
laps. Action Express cars have led 616 laps.
OVERALL STATS
YEAR
STARTS
POLES WINS PODIUMS TOP-5 TOP-10
LAPS
LED
LAPS
COMPLETED
RACE
LAPS
2012
26
0
2
6
14
26
80
3865
3950
2011
24
0
1
5
12
24
47
3769
3800
2010
12
0
1
1
2
8
324
1869
1994
TOTALS
62
0
4
12
28
58
451
9503
9744
CONTACT: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management ǀ [email protected] ǀ 317.908.2975
www.sundaymanagement.com
facebook.com/sundaygroup
@SundayGroup
MEDIA INFORMATION
ROUND 2
Circuit of the Americas
Austin, Texas
Rearview Mirror: Action Express Racing Starts 2013 GRAND-AM Campaign with
Strong Performance in Rolex 24
Daytona Beach, Fla. (27 January 2013) – With two
Corvette DP entries targeting the same goal - victory in
the Rolex 24 At Daytona - Action Express Racing
completed 1,396 laps of the 3.56-mile Daytona
International Speedway as both team entries ran in the
lead before finishing the record-setting race in the top10.
The No. 9 Corvette DP of Joao Barbosa, Burt Frisselle,
and Mike Rockenfeller finished the race in fourth after an
exciting late-race battle for the win in the last minutes,
completing 708 laps of the event, which set an all-time
high as 24 different drivers led the race. Working as ‘2
cars, 1 team’, the Action Express cars worked together throughout the first half of the race as both Corvette
DP machines ran consistently in the top-five.
The No. 9 was a factor late in the race as Barbosa looked to double his Rolex 24 victory count and score
his fifth Rolex 24 podium finish in the final hour of the race. The affable driver from Portugal looked poised
to anchor his team’s run to the podium but side-by-side contact while battling for the third position saw him
brought into the pits for a penalty, costing the effort a chance at a return to the podium.
The sister No. 5 Action Express Corvette DP of Christian Fittipaldi, Brian Frisselle, Nelson Piquet, Jr. and
Felipe Nasr completed the event in eighth after an early morning incident saw the No. 5 sustain suspension
damage after contact at the pit exit. Despite the quick and valiant efforts of both the No. 5 and No. 9 team
members to make repairs, the team lost valuable track position.
Both Corvette DP machines ran well, with Action Express Racing delivering car preparation that saw the
cars performing lap after lap. While the team had been hoping to score a stronger result with both entries,
the effort was none the less a strong demonstration of what the organization is capable of after the group
reacted well to the setbacks to bring both cars home in the top-10.
Action Express will return to race action next month, as the Rolex Sports Car Series debuts at the
remarkable Circuit of the Americas located outside of Austin, Texas.
CONTACT: Matt Cleary, Sunday Group Management ǀ [email protected] ǀ 317.908.2975
www.sundaymanagement.com
facebook.com/sundaygroup
@SundayGroup