Schedule Conflict for Johnson Opens Door for WEC Champion’s Return to Team
By Mark Robinson
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jose Maria Lopez is returning for a second race in the No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R, filling in for Jimmie Johnson in the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) entry at next month’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts.
Johnson is unavailable for Sebring due to his commitment to race in the IndyCar Series event the same weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, so Action Express Racing enlisted Lopez to rejoin Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Rockenfeller in the No. 48 Cadillac for the iconic 12-hour race.
“I was really looking forward to going back and racing the Ally Cadillac at Sebring,” Johnson said. “We had a great run there last season and were in contention for the win for most of the race. Jose Maria is an excellent driver and he will do great. I know the team’s experienced and they can get the Ally Cadillac up on the podium – hopefully, the top step.”
Lopez, Kobayashi and Mike Conway, who serves as the endurance race driver for the Action Express No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, are teammates in the FIA World Endurance Championship and won last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans on their way to the season title in the Hypercar class. The trio will pull double duty at Sebring, racing together in the WEC’s 1,000 Miles of Sebring on March 18, a day before the Twelve Hours of Sebring.
With Lopez, Kobayashi, Rockenfeller and Johnson at the wheel, the No. 48 Cadillac ran strong early in January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona – leading 80 laps – before finishing fifth in class.
“It was great to be a part of the Ally Cadillac team at Daytona 24,” Lopez said. “I was very proud of the team effort and how Jimmie, Mike and Kamui drove in the race. Things just didn’t go our way. We had good pace. It was my first experience at Daytona and racing (a prototype) in America. It was much better than what I expected. I was happy with my performance in the car.
“I am really thankful for the opportunity to drive again with Action Express Racing,” Lopez added, “and hopefully me, Mike and Kamui can deliver a good result.”
The No. 48 is racing only in the four IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup events again in 2022. The car crossed the finish line third last year at Sebring but was dropped to last in class after the race because Simon Pagenaud exceeded the driver time limit of four hours within a six-hour span.
Gary Nelson, team director at Action Express, said the team anticipated bringing back Lopez as soon as the conflict in WeatherTech Championship and IndyCar Series schedules became evident.
“It was really an easy decision to bring in Jose Maria,” Nelson said. “He ran with us at Daytona, did all the testing leading up to the Rolex, so slotting him in was a no-brainer. He and Kamui are running the WEC race as well, but they are fit and I think the extra laps at Sebring can only help us come race day for our Ally Cadillac effort in the 12-hour race. We will miss Jimmie and wish him all the best in Texas.”
Sebring race week runs March 16-19, with WeatherTech Championship practice on Thursday, March 17, qualifying on Friday, March 18 and the race starting at 10:10 a.m. ET Saturday, March 19. Live race coverage starts at 10 a.m. on Peacock before moving to USA Network at 3 p.m. through the finish. IMSA Radio also has flag-to-flag coverage. Tickets for the weekend are available at sebringraceway.com.