Photo Credit: Jake Galstad/IMSA

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 29, 2026) — Redemption is sweet, but a dominant championship-extending victory is even sweeter.

After a heartbreaking loss in the final moments of last year’s race, Action Express Racing left nothing to chance on Sunday. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, driven by the powerhouse trio of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, and Frederik Vesti, put on a masterclass at Watkins Glen International, converting a pole position into a brilliant victory at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen.

The win marks back-to-back IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victories for the Action Express squad and extends Aitken’s lead in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) standings. The triumph also marks a modern-era class record eighth consecutive GTP podium finish for the team.

Surviving the Chaos of the Esses

The 3.4-mile, 11-turn road course is notorious for its unforgiving nature, and Sunday’s race was no exception. A stop-and-start, high-attrition thriller featured nine full-course caution periods, severely disrupting any steady race rhythm.

The drama started early during the second full-course yellow. In a bizarre chain-reaction incident at the high-speed uphill Esses, the No. 81 DragonSpeed Corvette checked up, causing Colin Braun in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura to slow down. Roman de Angelis, piloting the No. 23 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie, could not stop in time, slamming into Braun and triggering a multi-car pileup under yellow conditions. While all drivers walked away safely, both the Acura and Aston Martin suffered terminal damage.

The No. 31 Cadillac survived its own major scare with roughly 90 minutes remaining. While fighting through heavy traffic in the Esses, Earl Bamber made slight contact with the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari, sending Simon Mann into the wall. Fortunately for Action Express, IMSA officials reviewed the incident and deemed no investigation was necessary.

Timely Strategy and Team Directives

While the Cadillac pace was undisputed—with the No. 31 car leading 143 of the 182 laps completed—the victory required precision pit strategy.

During the second-to-last caution window, the team executed a brilliant pit stop that allowed them to leapfrog the No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura. Following the final restart, Aitken found himself in third place behind the fading No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing (WTR) Cadillac of Filipe Albuquerque. Recognizing Aitken's superior pace, Cadillac officials instructed Albuquerque to yield the position, allowing Aitken to mount a charge against the leaders.

A final, lightning-fast green-flag pit stop vaulted the Whelen Cadillac back into the overall lead. Aitken comfortably stretched his advantage to over seven seconds before a violent last-lap crash by Christopher Mies in the No. 65 Ford Mustang GT3 brought out the final yellow flag, freezing the field and sealing the Cadillac victory under caution.

Beyond the overall win, the Action Express crew celebrated a "triple crown" weekend, also securing the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup portion of the race and the IMSA Michelin Sustainability in Racing Award.

IMSA Watkins Glen Class Winners

The relentless action wasn't just limited to the top-tier GTP class. Across the four-class field, several teams broke long-standing dry spells or secured nail-biting thrillers:

Class	Winning Car	Drivers	Key Highlight
GTP	#31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R	Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, Frederik Vesti	Led 143 laps; 8th consecutive podium finish.
LMP2	#99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07	Dane Cameron, PJ Hyett, Jonny Edgar	Cameron made a hair-raising pass on the #04 CrowdStrike car in the final 45 minutes.
GTD Pro	#14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3	Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat	Broke a grueling 836-day winless streak dating back to Sebring 2024.
GTD	#912 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R	Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz, Ryan Hardwick	Rocketed from the back of the grid to lead just eight laps en route to victory.

"It feels a bit surreal to keep this podium streak going," a jubilant Jack Aitken said after the race. "The car was fantastic today, and a great performance from the Whelen Cadillac guys kept us at the front through some incredible chaos."

With Watkins Glen in the rearview mirror, Cadillac firmly controls the momentum heading into the heart of the summer stretch, while their GTP rivals are left searching for answers to stop the No. 31 juggernaut.