SAVAGE, Minn. (July 28, 2025) — It’s mid-summer, and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is two-thirds of the way through its 2025 season as the teams head to one of their absolute favorite tracks, Road America. For JDC-Miller MotorSports, it’s their home race, just a five-hour drive from their Minnesota headquarters. It’s the race where most of the team’s family, friends, partners, and especially fans get to see the team in action. It’s easy to love the beauty of the place, the uniqueness of the 4.048-mile, rolling circuit itself. And there is the speed. The days start with the famous brat and egg sandwich appropriately called an Egger, and end with a Spotted Cow ale.
Most of the JDC-Miller MotorSports team has a long history of racing at Road America. For Managing Partner John Church, his Road America experience started when he was 13, helping his father with his Formula Ford. John has rarely missed a year since then. Many team members share similar extensive experience at this iconic track. While the layout of the track hasn’t changed much since it was built in 1955, the facility has seen major upgrades. Some of us at JDC-Miller MotorSports feel a bit nostalgic for the charm of the old pagoda, the Billy Mitchell bridge, and having to trudge through the bushes to reach the far parts of the track. That feeling quickly fades when you drive through the tunnel into the infield, see all the modern buildings, and use the paved trails that extend to the farthest parts of the track.
Then there is the sheer performance of the team’s GTP-class Porsche 963 at Road America. From System Engineer Ryan Perera:
Max speeds – 310 kph (193 mph) into T1 and into Canada/T12
Apex speeds – 170 kph (103 mph) in T1, 90 kph (56 mph) in T5, 190 kph (118 mph) through the carousel with zero braking (just a lift-off throttle), and a 20% lift-off throttle through the kink at ~280 kph (174 mph)
Lateral g loads – 2.5g through T1/T5, the carousel sustains a neck-stretching 2.5g throughout, peaking at 2.8g. Out of the Carousel, the driver gets to take a quick breath before the 3.3g run through the kink. A space shuttle launch reaches about 3g, so don’t let anyone tell you GTP drivers aren’t athletes!
Energy mileage is a challenge at Road America – it’s the longest track and has the highest energy usage we’ll see all season. This makes it much harder to save enough energy to run an extra lap in a stint, but it also means there’s a bigger advantage if you can do it.
Every track is a unique engineering challenge. One fun aspect of Road America is the balance between less downforce/more top speed and more downforce to stabilize the car through the kink. The JDC-Miller MotorSports engineering team works very hard to give our drivers a car that they have confidence in everywhere around the track, but special emphasis has to be placed on the kink.
Last year, JDC-Miller MotorSports hosted St. Jude patient Colton, along with his mother and sister, at the Road America race. The team, IMSA, and Porsche welcomed them warmly, and the photos went viral. This year, they are returning to the race not just as representatives of St. Jude, but as new fans of the IMSA WeatherTech Championship.
Quotes:
John Miller, Partner, JDC-Miller MotorSports:
“Road America has always been our favorite track. Incredible racing layout in a beautiful setting. And my wife, Maggie, is from Manitowoc, Wisconsin – just up the road from Elkhart Lake. So we always have a lot of family joining us for the weekend. It is a very special event for us.”
Jessica Johnk, Professional Photographer, JDC-Miller MotorSports and Porsche:
“Going to Road America feels like a family reunion and a second home. The staff is always friendly and goes out of their way to take care of everyone on site. They maintain the facility to look its best, and the upgrades they add each season keep Road America at the top of the list for the best track in America.”
