SAVAGE, Minn. (September 21, 2026). The JDC-Miller MotorSports Mustang Sampling Racing No. 5 Porsche 963 finished 9th at the Battle on the Bricks on 2.439 mile 14 turn road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Tijmen van der Helm started the Mustang Sampling Porsche from the 11th position, and the team’s day changed immediately when he arrived at a first-lap, first-turn incident. Three cars got together in front of him, and he was collected by the spinning cars and then was hit from behind by another competitor. He was able to limp to the closed pits and brought the car in for “emergency service.” The crew did a great job quickly changing both the nose and the tail, as well as a few other items, and got the 5 back on track. They then had to do a drive-through to avoid a penalty for entering a closed pit and ultimately lost a lap from the turn 1 incident. van der Helm soldiered on with a less-than-perfect car, looking for a caution to get back on the lead lap. Unfortunately, it took until lap 67 to get the needed caution and regain a lead-lap position. When the field went green after the caution, only 50 minutes remained in the 2-hour, 40-minute race. With no further cautions to help him, Nico Müller valiantly fought through a less-than-perfect handling car and brought it home in 9th.
The JDC-Miller MotorSports Mustang Sampling team is looking forward to the season finale, Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, from 6th place in the 2026 IMSA WeatherTech team championship. A strong finish could move the team up several positions in the championship and help Porsche gain the manufacturer championship. A highlight for the team this weekend was hosting 13-year-old St. Jude cancer survivor Thompson “T-Nash” and his parents, along with a group from JDC-Miller MotorSports’ partner, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This capped a months-long fundraising effort by the Nord Stern Region of the Porsche Club of America, Porsche Minneapolis + Porsche St. Paul, and JDC-Miller MotorSports, culminating with a $100,000 check presented to St. Jude for its lifesaving efforts. As an honorary driver, “T-Nash” participated in IMSA’s Resilient Racers program in his Mustang Sampling driver’s suit.
Quotes:
John Church, Managing Partner
No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Mustang Sampling Racing Porsche 963
“Always a tough day when you’re involved in a first-lap incident. You need multiple full-course yellows to get back into a competitive position, and today, they just didn’t come. I’m really proud of the team and our drivers for battling through. We got all we could with what we had to work with. Very happy to have Nico Müller back with us, though he didn’t get much of a chance to show his talents today.
Also proud to be part of the fundraising effort for our partner St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. It’s quite an accomplishment for our local Porsche Club, Nord Stern, and our dealer’s Porsche Minneapolis + Porsche St. Paul, to raise $100,000.”
Tijmen van der Helm, Driver
No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Mustang Sampling Racing Porsche 963
“Disappointed with the first turn incident. There wasn’t anything I could do when the other car was spun in front of me, and then I was hit from behind. I had a good start and thought I was in the right place going through turn 1, but it turned out not to be the case. It was a couple of pretty good hits, so we were lucky to get back to the pits and the guys did a great job in getting me back out. The car wasn’t the same and we lost some of its competitiveness. JDC-Miller MotorSports is always very good with the strategy in situations like this, and I was confident we could gain some spots, but it just didn’t work out.”
Nico Müller, Driver
No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Mustang Sampling Racing Porsche 963
“It was a difficult start for Tijmen. Obviously, there was nothing he could do to avoid the tangle of cars in front of him. The team used some good strategy to get us back on the lead lap but the car wasn’t quite consistent enough to get back into contention. I think we had some flashes of pace here and there, but just not consistent enough. There is potential and I’m confident we can find it for Petit. Very happy to be back with JDC-Miller MotorSports and looking forward to Petit Le Mans in two weeks.”
