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August 5, 2024
Savage, Minnesota
The JDC-Miller MotorSports team had a very rewarding weekend at Road America. Surrounded by friends, family, and fans, we achieved strong on-track results and also had a great deal of off-track activity with our wide range of supporters.
The weekend got off to a good start on Saturday when Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor’s No. 17 Audi RS3 LMS clawed their way through the Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR class field to a fourth-place finish. Importantly, this increased their championship points lead by 70 points to a 220-point advantage.
In the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series, the No. 85 Porsche GTP team improved steadily over the course of the hot and humid weekend. Starting from the 8th position, drivers Richard Westbrook and Tijmen van der Helm had good pace and stayed in contention throughout the 2 hour and 40 minute race. The crew provided fast and error-free pit-stops. The race featured five full course yellows which challenged the drivers with cold-tire restarts. Van der Helm was quick in the final stint to take the checker for a 6th place finish.
For the Road America round, the team entered the No. 79 Oreca 07 LMP2 for Gerry Kraut and Scott Andrews for what will be their only appearance in 2024. Kraut ran a quick and error-free first stint before turning the car over to Andrews to take it home. Andrews worked his way through the field, culminating in a finish on the second step of the podium.
The highlight of the weekend, however, was the visit by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® patient Colton, his sister Malea, and mom Colleen. They came to the track to help JDC-Miller MotorSports kick off a two-month-long fundraising effort for our partner, St. Jude. Colton’s big day kicked off with a visit from IMSA President John Doonan, welcoming him to Road America and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series. Then, driver, Richard Westbrook, took Colton for a tour of the No. 85 Porsche. Thanks to IMSA and Porsche, Colleen, took a “Hot Lap” in a Porsche 911 GTS around the 4 miles of Road America. Colton was introduced to the massive crowd during the Fan Walk pit-stop demonstration and then stood with the team on the pit lane for the National Anthem and fly-over. Additionally, we took our guests around to the best vantage points to watch the race. To culminate this incredible experience, Colton and his family were able to visit Victory Circle when the No. 79 came home in 2nd place. Watch for more information shortly on this effort or you can donate here.
Quotes:
John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“It’s gratifying that we are competitive and very close to the kind of finishes we strive for. The competitive bar in GTP goes up every weekend. We have worked hard on our overall pace and are right there with our GTP competitors. From the front to the back of the GTP field, it is very tight, so now we need to focus on the many little things that gain you positions in the race results. We finished in P6 today but are only a couple of tenths here and there from the podium.
Overall, it was a great weekend for all three of JDC-Miller MotorSports teams. Good results but also it is so gratifying to see the level of fan support we have. A very fun weekend.”
Tijmen van der Helm, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“I am happy with the P6 finish. Made a couple of minor mistakes, but we were competitive. There are some things to work on for the next couple of races. We know what we need to improve to fight for the podium every time.”
Richard Westbrook, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“6th is a decent result. We have struggled to get results this year. Not for lack of pace, we just haven’t been able to capture the result we are looking for. We had a good car. It was a bit tricky on restarts to get the tires up to temperature, which is something we can work on.
We had so much support this weekend from all the guests, supporters, and sponsors. You do feel that in the car. It’s our home race, and it’s great to see this kind of support. I’m looking forward to the next two races. We have a good car and are confident in how we engineer it. I’m really proud of everyone at JDC-Miller MotorSports.”
April 22, 2024
Savage, MN
JDC-Miller MotorSports returned to the streets of Long Beach, this time with their Porsche 963 GTP. The team’s last visit in 2022 resulted in a podium for driver Richard Westbrook.
The JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 GTP showed good pace all weekend. Tijmen
van der Helm was very strong in qualifying, only .6 off the pole, but 7th on the grid in the
very tight IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP field.
In the race, the car dropped two places at the start. Then van der Helm ran fast,
consistent laps as the team worked on a strategy to move the car up. At the first yellow,
Westbrook got in for the run to the finish. He worked his way up to 7th before getting
spun by another competitor. Later, he was involved in a typical Long Beach turn 11
traffic jam but fortunately didn’t lose position. Westbrook fought on to bring the car home
in 7th.
Quotes:
John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“We were very happy with our qualifying time, but it did put us back in the field due to
how incredibly tight the competition is in the GTP class. We got behind early in the
race, and with a short race like this, you just can’t make up the time. From a strategy
standpoint, there is only one pit stop and almost one-third of the race was run under
caution, so there just isn’t a lot to work with.
The team gave the drivers a very competitive car. The drivers drove a great race. The
pit crew did an incredibly fast pit stop. There was a stretch in the race where, for a
number of laps, Richard was the quickest car on the track. Some days things don’t work
the way you would like.”
Richard Westbrook, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“A little bit battered and bruised from a typical Long Beach Street fight. It’s very difficult
to plan for these races. They seem to just always turn into chaos. We worked really
hard on the weekend, and JDC gave us a really good car, very fast.
We didn’t quite get the run to the green flag at the start we would have liked. Then we
were a bit on the back foot, track position-wise, and it’s always challenging to make that
up in a hundred-minute race with several cautions. Another competitor tagged me from
behind, putting us back. Then we closed back up to the pack and showed that we had a
nice race car.
It’s just a shame that we couldn’t show it with the kind of result that we all deserved.
We worked really hard this weekend, and I have to thank the team for giving us another
great car to work with.
We need to turn that into results now, which will come. Hopefully, starting at Laguna
Seca.”
Tijmen van der Helm, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963
“Difficult race; we ended up in P7, where we also started. The good news is I think there
was more pace in the car. The way the race unfolded we didn’t get to use it.
There are some points to work on for the next race. I am looking forward to Laguna
Seca. We are getting all the pieces in place and should see results soon.”
In Preparation for Laguna Seca…
On Sunday after the race the team was invited to participate in the Porsche Experience
Center’s Morning Shift cars & coffee event displaying the 963. Following the Cars &
Coffee event, we were able to prep the car in the Porsche Motorsports shop for Laguna
Seca. Hundreds of Porsche fans got to see the JDC-Miller MotorSports team in action.
April 15, 2024
Savage, Minnesota
JDC-Miller MotorSports is honored to announce it will be partnering with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® for the remainder of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
The collaboration is possible thanks to a generous supporter of St. Jude and JDC-Miller MotorSports, who is dedicated to ending childhood cancer.
Watch for future announcements as we bring the power of St. Jude to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children.® It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was largely considered incurable. Since then, St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate from 20% to more than 80%, and it won’t stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes to help doctors and researchers at local hospitals and cancer centers around the world improve the quality of treatment and care for even more children. Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live.
Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Support the St. Jude mission by donating at stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel.
Quotes:
John Church, Managing Partner, JDC-Miller MotorSports
“Our relationship with St. Jude began last June when we hosted Porsche Minneapolis and Porsche St. Paul at our facility for the 75th Anniversary of Porsche celebration. St. Jude was a key part of that effort, and our relationship was born. We take a lot of pride in being a very family-oriented organization, so it’s a natural fit. St. Jude is an impressive organization, and what they do is incredible. All of us at JDC-Miller MotorSports are very proud to support this effort.”
Amanda Cahow, Territory Vice President, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®
“We continue to be amazed and humbled by the generous support of our donors at St. Jude. This new partnership with JDC-Miller MotorSports will allow for the St. Jude mission to continue to grow and showcases the hope that St. Jude families find comfort in when they hear the four most devastating words a parent can hear, “your child has cancer”. We are so grateful for the way JDC-Miller MotorSports embraced our fight against childhood cancer and look forward to what the future holds as we find cures and save children together.”
William Dunne, General Manager, Porsche Minneapolis and Porsche St. Paul
“Our Porsche dealerships have been in a partnership with St. Jude for over a decade. Two years ago, we established a relationship with JDC-Miller MotorSports after they announced that they would be racing the Porsche 963. This relationship has grown stronger over time, as they have become an integral part of our Porsche community.”
“Connecting a passionate Porsche enthusiast with St. Jude and JDC is rewarding, knowing the partnership will help cure childhood cancer worldwide. I’m excited about what we can do together.”
