Barbosa Caps Dream Season With Major Award In Home Country

Subtitle:Action Express Driver Gets Sports Personality of the Year Award In Portugal

Joao Barbosa has received many honors in 2014 – including the Prototype title in the inaugural TUDOR United SportsCar Championship – but his latest accolade really hit close to home.

The Action Express Racing driver and native of Porto, Portugal recently was awarded the Sports Merit – Personality of the Year Award by the Sports Confederation of Portugal, recognizing top performers from all forms of sports. The presentation took place last Wednesday at Estoril Casino near Lisbon.

He was nominated for the honor by the Portuguese Automobile Federation for his outstanding performance in claiming every championship possible in the TUDOR Championship – including Prototype driver and team honors in addition to winning the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup.“Usually motorsports does not get a lot of attention in Portugal, apart from the specialized media,” Barbosa said. “It was really great to be part of a ceremony of that caliber, and it was a great honor to be part of those awards. It’s gratifying to know that people back home are following what I am doing in the United States.”Barbosa’s dream season began with his third victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona co-driving the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP with Christian Fittipaldi and Sebastien Bourdais. Barbosa and Fittipaldi also won the Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the event at Road America, winning the title by 19 points over brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor.Now, Barbosa is looking to enjoying Thanksgiving with his family, in addition to spending some time outside Florida learning more about different areas of his new country. But it will be a short vacation.“January is just around the corner, and the team is already preparing to start the new season as we finished this past season. There’s a lot going on behind the doors.”