With 30 minutes until green, the Action Express Racing crew expressed confidence that the No. 31 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R would make the race after Alexander Sims’ crash in warmup.
“It just snapped,” was Sims explanation of the accident.
With only two hours between warmup and race start, the Action Express Racing crew worked feverishly to repair the Cadillac. The championship-leading car was set to start on pole for today’s race, but will have to start from pit lane and serve a drive-through penalty after missing the recon lap.
The car sustained damage to the rear suspension and gearbox. The crew replaced the gearbox and rear suspension as a unit. The hybrid components also had to be replaced due to the crash exceeding the g-load rating. Driver Pipo Derani, who had set the quickest time in qualifying, lent a hand where he could, delivering parts and tools. The Chip Ganassi Racing squad offered help of parts or manpower as well, although AXR had the situation under control
By 8:55, the crew had the new hybrid unit and rear and was bleeding the brakes. At 9:30, bodywork and the undertray were going back onto the car, while mechanics were still tightening bolts at the rear and otherwise checking and buttoning up. The car was still in the air as of 9:40am.