Fogarty Lands Action Express Ride for Sebring

Action Express Racing announced Tuesday that Jon Fogarty has been signed to co-drive the No. 9 Corvette DP with Burt and Brian Frisselle in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida.

Fogarty holds the record for pole positions in Daytona Prototype qualifying (25) and has amassed 16 IMSA victories. He also won the 2007 and 2009 Driver Championships.

He became available after his GAINSCO Racing squad elected to focus on the 2015 season following an accident during the Rolex 24 At Daytona involving his co-driver Memo Gidley.

“I’m super excited about this opportunity with Action Express Racing,” said Fogarty. “It’s an unfortunate situation we found ourselves in after Daytona, but the opportunity to go and participate at Sebring with Action Express Racing in such a big and historic event is great.

“I was bummed about the possibility of missing the event but then this opportunity came along with a great team. Action Express has proven its ability to win longer events and shorter events and their track record in the endurance races is quite good so it’s a great opportunity.

“I’m very happy that it came about. The Frisselles have been in the series for a long time and I’ve competed against them for years. They are strong competitors on the track and have even stronger character off the track. Being able to team up with them is great – I know we’ll have a great team relationship.

“Their result of third at Daytona was strong and they are in a great position heading into Sebring so it is great to join that duo.”

Fogarty, who has won at every level he’s driven, has a strong record of success in the 12 Hours of Sebring with five top-five finishes in five starts – including one start in the prototype ranks (2012) in which he finished second.

“We are very happy that Jon will be joining Burt and Brian in the No. 9 car for Sebring,” said Action Express Racing Team Manager Gary Nelson. “We were very sorry to hear our friend, Bob Stallings, will not bring his GAINSCO Racing team to Sebring.

“Getting a driver with the Daytona Prototype credentials that Jon has is a great thing for Action Express, we just wish it happened under different circumstances.

“We believe our strong performance in the Rolex 24 At Daytona was a direct result of how hard the Action Express drivers and crew worked in the off-season.

“I see the same level of intensity now as we work to keep our Daytona momentum going into Sebring. Having Jon on board adds even more strength to our program.”

Burt and Brian Frisselle finished third in the Rolex 24 At Daytona with co-drivers Fabien Giroix and John Martin and they now look forward to targeting a run to victory lane with Fogarty in the 2014 Sebring event.

The move further strengthens the Action Express Racing effort as the 2014 Rolex 24-winning squad of Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi, and Sebastien Bourdais return to the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype for Round 2 of the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.