WHELEN RACING TEAM ADDS DRIVERS FOR DAYTONA

DENVER, NC (Dec. 12, 2016) - The Whelen Racing Team will add a pair of drivers to its lineup for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, Jan. 28-29, 2017.

Joining championship-winning drivers Dane Cameron and Eric Curran behind the steering wheel of the No. 31 Whelen/Team Fox Cadillac DPi-V.R - in the top-level of IMSA competition in the Prototype class - will be veteran Mike Conway and youngster Seb Morris. It will mark Conway's debut in the 24 hour endurance test at Daytona International Speedway. Morris captured the 2017 Sunoco Whelen Challenge in the British GT3 series to earn the chance to compete at the 3.56-mile Daytona road course.

Conway, who's from England, competed in Indy cars from 2009 to 2014, picking up four wins in 72 career starts. He captured the checkered flag at the Long Beach, Calif. street circuit (2011 and 2014), the Belle Isle street course in Detroit (2013) and the race through the streets of Toronto (2014). During his Indy car career, he drove for team owners A.J. Foyt, Michael Andretti, Dale Coyne and Ed Carpenter

This past season, Conway finished third in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) driving for the Toyota Gazoo Racing team. During the season, he claimed one victory (Six Hours of Fuji), along with three second-place results (Silverstone, Shanghai and Le Mans). In addition to his runner-up result in the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year, he has also competed in the historic event in 2013 and 2015.

Morris, who finished third in the final British GT3 championship point standings, earned the Sunoco Whelen Challenge title and becomes the eighth annual winner to earn a spot in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. In his recently completed season, the 21-year-old racer drove a Bentley GT-3 for Team Parker Racing and registered one win, four pole positions and one fastest race lap.

"We're looking forward to having Mike and Seb drive the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Prototype at Daytona," said Gary Nelson, team manager for the Action Express Racing organization, which will field the No. 31 entry. "Although we haven't worked with Mike before, we're familiar with his background and experience, as well as all his accomplishments. Seb is a talented young driver and we're excited to have him as part of our program at Daytona."

In 2016, co-drivers Cameron and Curran earned the WeatherTech Series driver's championship in the Prototype class in the No. 31 Whelen entry.

En route to the 2016 driver's title, Cameron and Curran had a pair of wins during the season - finishing first at Wisconsin's Road America (Aug. 7) and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (July 10). Along with the two wins, the duo recorded runner-up results at Circuit of the Americas in Texas (Sept. 18), New York's Watkins Glen International (July 3) and Florida's Sebring International Raceway (March 19).

One year ago at Daytona, Cameron and Curran teamed with Simon Pagenaud and Jonny Adam to register a sixth-place finish in the 24 hour race.

Since the Action Express Racing organization was formed in 2010 the team has registered 16 wins in sports car competition, including a pair of wins in the 24 Hours of Daytona (2010 and 2014), a victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring (2015) and a first-place finish in the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta (2015). In addition, the team has collected checkered flags at a number of historic race tracks, including Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2014), Road America (2014, 2015 and 2016) and Watkins Glen International (2012, 2013 and 2016).

All four drivers from the Whelen Racing Team will be testing at Daytona International Speedway this week (Dec. 13-14).