CORVETTE DPs AT ROAD AMERICA: Wide-Open Race for Prototype Championship Leaders
Corvette Daytona Prototype teams, Chevrolet in good points positions heading to Elkhart Lake

· Action Express Racing with back-to-back, 1-2 finishes at Watkins Glen, Canada

· Curran, Cameron most recent IMSA winners, defending Road America winners

· Chevrolet holds nine-point lead in Prototype Engine Manufacturer Championship

DETROIT (Aug. 3, 2016) – With three races left in the 2016 season, Corvette Daytona Prototype teams are positioning themselves for the final push toward Prototype titles in IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The Continental Tire Road Race Showcase from Wisconsin’s Road America can go a long way toward settling three tight Prototype championships.

Fortunately for fans of the Bowtie Brand, Chevrolet-powered drivers and teams are in good positions heading to the longest track on the IMSA schedule. Horsepower and durability are must-haves around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit, and those have been hallmarks of the Corvette Daytona Prototype chassis and the Chevrolet engine since the combination debuted in 2012.

Corvette DP teams have won the last two IMSA races at Road America. Dane Cameron and Eric Curran were last year’s victors, and they are back together in Action Express Racing’s No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette Daytona Prototype. The Cameron/Curran duo is coming off a victory in the last IMSA Prototype race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park where they led a 1-2 finish for Action Express.

The result also marked the first sweep of the top four race positions for the Corvette DP program since the opening round of the 2014 season at Daytona. That result has solidified Chevrolet’s hold (nine points) on the Prototype Engine Manufacturer Championship – a title Team Chevy has won for four consecutive seasons.

Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi in Action Express Racing’s No. 5 Mustang Sample Corvette DP were second last month at Cameron and Curran in Canada, and they finished in the same order in Elkhart Lake a year ago. Race-winners at Road America in 2014 and runners-up in 2013, Barbosa and Fittipaldi lead the Prototype Driver’s Championship as they go for a third consecutive title; Cameron and Curran are four points back.

Wayne Taylor Racing’s duo of Jordan Taylor and Ricky Taylor filled out the Corvette DP podium sweep in Canada. They likewise stand third in points in their No. 10 Konica Minolta Corvette DP. They have won twice this year – Long Beach and Detroit’s Belle Isle.

Marc Goossens and Ryan Dalziel were fourth at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for Visit Florida Racing, and the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Corvette DP has shown good pace with podium finishes in the Rolex 24 to start the season and also at Laguna Seca in May.

The Corvette DP bodywork reflects the Corvette C7 production lineup. At the heart of the Corvette Daytona Prototype is a purpose-built 5.5-liter Chevrolet LS9 V-8 engine developed by ECR Engines.

The two-hour, 40-minute Continental Tire Road Race Showcase from Road America is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 7 It will air live on FOX Sports 1 starting at 4:05 p.m. ET with IMSA Radio coverage and Chevrolet on-board cameras available on IMSA.com.

JOAO BARBOSA, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP: “I am really looking forward to Road America, we are in a great position for the Championship with only three races left in the season. Our goals going into Road America are to protect our championship lead by winning races. If we are in a position that we can’t win, our goal is to finish in front of our competitors in an effort to capture as many points as we possibly can and to maintain out lead.”

RICKY TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP: “We always have a very quick car at Road America but luck just hasn’t seemed to go our way there in the past. I’m really looking forward to the weekend as an opportunity to get some points back and turn our results around at a track where we are due for a win. It’s another of those iconic American facilities. It’s near the top for me. It’s a proper, high-speed road course where the track showcases all types of corners. You have to have a car that can brake well, handle well in high- and low-speed situations, as well as have good top speed for overtaking. It is a real challenge. I expect us to be strong again. We can expect the LMP2 cars to be strong again. But we are really focused on the 5 and 31 (Action Express Corvette DPs). We need to perform well and put pressure on the others to make mistakes and get ourselves back in the championship fight.”

DANE CAMERON, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN ENGINEERING/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP: “It’s nice to go into Road American coming off a race win in Canada; we are now in second right behind our teammates. With three races to go it is nice to catch up in the points race and close the gap. Road America is my favorite track. Having won there the last two years with Turner and then last year with Action Express in the Whelen Engineering Corvette DP was great. Our goal going in is to not only defend our title at Road America but to keep this Action Express winning streak going and win races back-to-back.”

RYAN DALZIEL, VISIT FLORIDA RACING NO. 90 VISITFLORIDA.COM CORVETTE DP: “Road America is one of the best tracks in the world. I’ve always had good results there and it’s a place I always enjoy going. I’m a big fan of the town and the fans. I like the funnel fries in the concession stands, and the bratwursts. I think I could do the whole race week on just funnel fries. And the dipped corn on the cob. It’s just pure dripping butter, it’s so good.”

JIM LUTZ, CORVETTE DAYTONA PROTOTYPE PROGRAM MANAGER: “Road America is an historic track and one that typically has been very good for our high-horsepower Corvette Daytona Prototypes. The three long straight allow us to run at full throttle more than any race except Daytona. Our four Corvette DP teams are in ideal championship positions after a sweep of the top four positions at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. We are hopeful for another strong showing like that this weekend at America’s National Park of Speed.”