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JDC-Miller MotorSports Announces Dynamic Young Lineup for the 2026 Rolex 24 at Daytona

Katie Church on January 8, 2026

SAVAGE, MN (January 8, 2026) – JDC-Miller MotorSports is proud to announce its driver lineup for the 81st running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The team’s No. 85 Porsche 963 will be piloted by a high-octane trio of rising, young, but experienced stars: Tijmen van der Helm, Nico Pino, and Kaylen Frederick.

Tijmen van der Helm (Netherlands) returns to the team for his fourth straight season in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship GTP class. As a key part of the JDC-Miller program, van der Helm brings valuable experience with the Porsche 963 platform. The 21-year-old has 23 starts in the JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963. This is his fourth Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona with the team, ith best finishes of 6th in both 2024 and 2025.

“I am excited to continue my journey with JDC-Miller MotorSports,” said van der Helm. We’ve made massive strides in understanding this car over the past three years, and starting the 2026 season with such a talented team around us gives us a real chance at the podium.”

Joining van der Helm is Nico Pino, from Santiago, Chile, who joins JDC-Miller MotorSports after an impressive tenure in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Now 20 years old, Pino moved from carts to open-wheel cars at age 13. In 2021, he became the youngest driver ever to compete in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) at just 16. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023, he earned a notable third-place finish in the highly competitive LMP2 class. In 2025, he drove a Porsche 963 eleven times in both IMSA and WEC. Pino also made headlines driving the JDC-Miller MotorSports 963 during the IMSA November 2025 tests at Daytona, setting the fastest time overall in the fourth session and finishing second overall for the test. This will be his 5th Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“Joining a team with the history and passion of JDC-Miller MotorSports is a major milestone,” Pino noted. “It’s incredible to be back in the 963 for 2026, especially with a team like JDC-Miller MotorSports. I’m ready to push for a watch at Daytona.”

Completing the roster is American standout, 23-year-old Kaylen Frederick. Frederick has extensive experience in Formula 3. He dominated the 2020 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship and became the first American to win that prestigious title. Frederick will be competing in the Michelin Endurance Cup races with JDC-Miller MotorSports and is looking to expand on that program as the season progresses.

“It is a bit humbling to begin my sports car career driving for a top team like JDC-Miller MotorSports, in a car like the Porsche 963, and at one of the biggest races of the year, the Rolex 24 at Daytona. I started my national karting career at the kart track in the Daytona infield, so it seems fitting that I am now starting my endurance racing career at the same prestigious venue. I am very much up to the challenge and know the team will get me up to speed quickly. I’m looking forward to a good result.”



“We are incredibly excited about this lineup, said John Church, Managing Partner of JDC-Miller MotorSports. In Tijmen, Nico, and Kaylen, we have three of the brightest young talents in the sport. They are fast, disciplined, and hungry to succeed in a 24-hour race like the Rolex 24 at Daytona. We have finished 6th here over the past two years, and with this lineup, we are confident we can reach the podium with the goal of taking the top step.”


JDC-Miller MotorSports wraps up 2025 Season with a 12th Place Finish at Petit Le Mans

Katie Church on October 14, 2025

SAVAGE, Minn. (October 13, 2025) — JDC-Miller MotorSports concluded the 2025 season with a 12th-place finish at Road Atlanta’s Petit Le Mans. Newcomer to sports car racing and IMSA, driver Max Esterson, made an impressive debut in this form of racing. The New Jersey native started in the No. 85 from 12th and handed the car off to Neel Jani in 4th. Jani then completed the next 34 laps in 5th, and the JDC-Miller MotorSports team was very optimistic about the upcoming 5 hours of racing. Some unfortunate contact with other competitors, along with some additional challenges, put the team on the back foot in the closing stages; as a result, they finished in 12th place.

In the 10 hours and 53 seconds the No. 85 Porsche 963 was on track, the JDC-Miller MotorSports drivers completed 1099.8 miles with an average speed of 109.813 mph. This includes 12 pit stops and 5 driver changes.

It was a great experience for all of us at JDC-Miller MotorSports to finish the 2025 season in front of a massive crowd on a beautiful Georgia day. The Petit Le Mans fan experience is second to none and couldn’t have been better for the 2025 edition of Petit Le Mans.  We are very appreciative of our tremendously loyal fan base. Thank you for your ongoing support throughout this and previous seasons. We are already hard at work for the 2026 season.   

Quotes:

John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“We were actually much more competitive than our finishing position indicates. When Max brought the car up to 4th during his first stint and Neel ran off a stint in 5th, I thought we were onto something. At that point, our lap times were nearly identical to the leader’s, and we were very optimistic. Some contact with other competitors and a couple of other challenges negatively affected our strategy for the run to the finish. Great job by the drivers and crew. Feeling a bit melancholy as the season wraps up, but really looking forward to the 2026 IMSA season.

Tijmen van der Helm (NL), Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“Petit Le Mans is always a big challenge. We tested well here last month and were quite optimistic. In qualifying and the race, we had a solid setup. The pace was good, but we just needed a little more later on. A couple of times, we faced some bad luck, which happens in racing. Overall, very positive. We kept making improvements and are moving in the right direction. Just looking forward now.

Max Esterson (USA), Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“My first endurance race is complete. Quite an experience.  Good job by the team. The pace was very strong at the start of the race in the heat of the day. Really enjoyed it. Stayed out of trouble and learned a lot. It was a shame we didn’t have the pace at the end, but the team did a great job and we ran out front for a long while early in the race.   It was a really good first race in IMSA.   The team did a great job quickly getting me up to speed in the car with all the systems, switches, and adjustments that can be made. By the race, I was comfortable and knew what to do.”


Neel Jani (CH),  Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“It looked very good for us at some stages. For the first 5 hours, we were near the top, between 4th and 7th. Max did an excellent job for his first race in this type of car and series. Tijmen, as well. I don’t know exactly what happened from mid-race on because we were there at the start. We got taken out twice, once by a Cadillac and once by a BMW (both were penalized). That definitely bent our car a bit. That didn’t help, but that’s Petit Le Mans. We know it’s a tough race, but that’s part of the challenge. Thanks to JDC-Miller for the opportunity to race with them.”

JDC-Miller MotorSports finishes eighth at the Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Katie Church on September 23, 2025

SAVAGE, Minn. (September 22, 2025) — It was a weekend of significant progress for the No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 with a strong 8th place finish in the challenging 6-hour Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

JDC-Miller MotorSports returning driver Nico Müller qualified the No. 85 Porsche 963 in 12th position, but just .997 seconds behind the pole winner. After qualifying, the drivers collaborated with the engineering team and mechanics to enhance the car’s agility in the tighter sections of the 2.439-mile, 13-turn Indianapolis road course, significantly improving the car’s competitiveness. The anticipated rain on Sunday arrived early and moved through the Indianapolis area well before race time, allowing the entire race to be run in dry conditions in front of a record crowd for the event.

In the fiercely competitive IMSA GTP class, the run for the 85 Porsche was relatively trouble-free over the 243 laps completed. The drivers usually lapped within a few tenths of the Porsche Penske entries; the crew performed, quick, flawless pit stops and driver changes, and the team made excellent strategic decisions, allowing the car to methodically work its way up to its final 8th-place finish. The engineering and strategy crew on the pit stand to made a crucial fuel strategy call late in the race to conserve the position, avoiding an extra pit stop and finishing just 6.046 seconds behind the winners. The team maintained its streak of reliable race finishes, dating back to the 2024 season.

Building on our 2024 effort, we used the Battle on the Bricks as our main event to benefit the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This relationship aligned well with IMSA’s childhood cancer initiative at this race, which supported the Austin Hatcher Foundation.

Funds were again raised by offering donors the chance to place a LOVE RACING STOP CANCER sticker on the 85 Porsche for a 6-hour, 200 mph ride. This year’s St. Jude patient family drove all the way from Tennessee to experience their first IMSA race. They are now huge fans. For the team, it was a wonderful experience to host the precocious, now cancer-free, 10-year-old Hadley, along with her extended family. The cool kids were wearing the yellow “sunnies.”

A huge thank you to Senior Pit Lane Supervisor Johnny Knotts for once again introducing our St. Jude kid to all the fans during the pit stop demonstration. Johnny probably doesn’t get many hugs like that in pit lane.

Also thank you to Michael Kaltenmark from IMS for an incredible tour of the Victory Circle and all the operations in the Pagoda that make Indy such an incredible place to watch a race.

You can still support our effort to end childhood cancer by donating here.

Quotes:

John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“A really great weekend for us. Things really gelled on race day. We struggled a bit in practice and qualifying, but made some adjustments for the race that gave the car the pace we were looking for. The drivers ran a very clean race, and the pit stops and driver changes were excellent. We made a couple of good calls on the pit stand, and the drivers were able to bring it home in a satisfying 8th. This gives us confidence going into the next race at Road Atlanta.”

Tijmen van der Helm, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“We struggled a bit during the practice sessions to find a good setup, but we found it for the race. We started 12th and finished 8th, so it was a nice improvement. The guys in the pits did a great job getting us out quickly, and the team made good decisions on race strategy. The pace compared to the other teams was quite close. We are not far off the pace we would like, so with a bit of work, we should be ready for Petit.”

Nico Müller, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“We are very happy with how we executed this race. Generally, the team did a great job, good pit stops, and good strategy calls. I think Tijmen and I had some good stints, maximizing the package that we had. We didn’t really have the pure pace to challenge at the very sharp end, but I think generally the Porsches didn’t this weekend. 
Quite pleased with how we maximized what we had.”

Nico Müller returns to the JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 for the remainder of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech Championship season

Katie Church on September 10, 2025

SAVAGE, Minn. (September 8, 2025) — JDC-Miller MotorSports is pleased to announce the return of Swiss Formula E driver Nico Müller to its driver lineup for the remaining two races of the season. Müller will join Tijmen van der Helm in piloting the No. 85 Porsche 963 for the Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

Müller competed for JDC-Miller MotorSports earlier this year at the Twelve Hours of Sebring, where the team had a strong performance until experiencing a brake issue late in the race, bringing the car home in 8th overall.   

Since Sebring, Müller has gained additional Porsche 963 seat-time by competing in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and testing as the reserve driver for the Porsche 24 Hours of Le Mans campaign.

Quotes:

John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“I’m really pleased to have Nico back with us to wrap-up the season. He was a great fit with the team when he was with us at Sebring. Got up to speed with the 963 very quickly, which is not an easy thing to do. We think he will give us that little bit of extra pace we are looking for. We finished this race 3rd last year, so our goal is to move up a step or two.”

Tijmen van der Helm, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“It’s great to have Nico back with us for the Indy and Petit.  I very much enjoyed driving with him at Sebring. A great addition to the team.” 

Nico Müller, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“I am very excited to be back with JDC-Miller MotorSports after our race together earlier this season at Sebring. We demonstrated good pace and great potential during the 12-Hour event. I’m looking forward to building on that performance straight away.

Hopefully, I can help the team make further progress in the two races at Indianapolis and Road Atlanta. I’m really excited to compete in these endurance races with this amazing team. I’m familiar with Indianapolis because, in 2021, I took part in an 8-hour GT3 race there. I haven’t raced at Road Atlanta yet, so I’m eager to get my first experience on that fantastic track. Petit Le Mans is on every driver’s bucket list, so I’m truly excited about this opportunity. We’re going to give it our best effort to achieve some good results for JDC-Miller MotorSports.” 

LOVE RACING. STOP CANCER. returns to the Battle on the Bricks.

JDC-Miller MotorSports will once again host a St. Jude patient family this year. Already a motorsports fan, 10-year-old Hadley is thrilled to join the team. A St. Jude patient since age 2 and now cancer-free, watch for Hadley and her family around the paddock. They will be available for interviews. 

You can add your sticker to the No. 85 Porsche 963 or make a donation of any amount by clicking here.

🎗️ Send a Sticker for a Ride on the #85 Porsche 963 at the Battle on the Bricks:

  • 💛 Donate $250+: Get a 4” yellow sticker placed on the car.
  • 🖤 Donate $500+: Get a 5” black sticker for its 200 mph ride.
  • ✍️ Personalize your sticker with a message of hope!

We’ll mail you a sticker to keep and place one on your car. Every dollar helps ensure families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food—because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Help us “kiss the bricks” in the fight against childhood cancer.

Watch the Battle on the Bricks

Complete race is on Peacock starting Sunday, September 21st at 11:30 eastern.

NBC picks up the race at 3:00 eastern and runs through the conclusion at 6:00.

JDC-Miller MotorSports finishes in the 10th position at Road America

Katie Church on August 11, 2025

SAVAGE, Minn. (August 3rd, 2025) — It was an uneventful home race weekend for the No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 in front of a large group of incredibly loyal family, sponsors, and fans.

The JDC-Miller Motorsports No. 85 Porsche 963 qualified in 11th position, but the hardworking JDC-Miller Motorsports crew made some productive changes overnight before race day, successfully making the car more competitive for the race. Driver Gianmaria Bruno gained a spot at the start and worked his way up to 5th position with skillful driving and great team strategy. Unfortunately, he later got caught in traffic and lost the spot to the race-winning BMWs. After the pit stop and driver change, the No. 85 Porsche fell back to 10th and ran the rest of the race there without incident.

Our 2024 St. Jude patient family returned to Road America this year as race fans. Colton, now a cancer-free 11-year-old, hung out with the team and his IMSA friends. This marked the kickoff of JDC-Miller MotorSports’ St. Jude fundraising effort, again carrying the LOVE RACING. STOP CANCER. theme, which will culminate at the 6-hour race next month at Indianapolis. You can support this effort by donating here:

Quotes:

John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“Another tough race for the 85 Porsche 963.  We struggled with pace throughout the weekend.  The guys worked hard, giving the drivers a much better car for the race.  Many thanks to all our sponsors, family, and friends who came to support us at our home race.”  

Gimmi Bruni, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“Thanks to a strong start and solid strategy, we managed to break into the top five at times today. Later on, I got held up in lapped traffic. Compared to yesterday, we took a step in the right direction with our Porsche’s setup. However, we still lack top speed on the straights. Hopefully, that will improve in the final two races, so duels with other competitors become more enjoyable again – that would be nice. “

Tijmen van der Helm, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“Frustrating weekend. We didn’t have a lot for our competition. They didn’t need to fight us for position as they knew they could get the position a bit further down the road. The crew made the car better throughout the weekend, so that is good. I am looking forward to what we can do at Indy. 

JDC-Miller MotorSports Returns to Road America

Katie Church on August 6, 2025

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.”

JDC-Miller MotorSports finishes in the 10th position at Watkins Glen

Sophie Church on June 25, 2025

SAVAGE, Minn. (June 23, 2025) — JDC-Miller MotorSports has a long history of success at Watkins Glen International Raceway, including an overall win in 2018. While the team always strives for a top finish, the Glen presents a race that holds special significance for the drivers and crew. This made it particularly discouraging when the car simply lacked the pace to be competitive. In 2024, the team was permitted to run their Porsche 963 with a power output of 512 kW (696 hp); this year, they are limited to 480 kW (653 hp). Additionally, the car carries significantly more weight than last year.

The JDC-Miller Motorsports No. 85 Porsche 963 qualified in the 13th position in hot and humid weather, but the team was upbeat as they were less than 0.9 seconds behind the fastest Porsche. They were, however, 2.75 seconds off the pole, which was a harbinger of things to come on the 6-hour race day.

The race began under heavy overcast conditions, leading to light rain that intensified at the half-hour mark. This triggered a series of cautions, keeping the field relatively close for the first hour and a half. However, the sun eventually emerged, bringing back hot and humid conditions with temperatures nearing 90ºF. The 85 car persevered, working its way up to 8th place in a largely uneventful race, but ultimately couldn’t maintain the pace. While running in 10th close to the end, the team took a gamble on a fuel stop and ran the car out of virtual energy in T10. They were serving a stop-and-go penalty when the checkered flag waved, securing a 10th place finish.

Quotes:

John Church, Managing Partner, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“A truly frustrating weekend. The drivers, the crew, and everyone on the team executed well. The bright spot is that we worked extremely hard to maximize everything we could from the car. When you don’t have the pace, you have to go off strategy, and that doesn’t always work out. Tijman drove exceptionally well for almost four hours in very tough conditions. We are eagerly looking forward to Road America.”

Gianmaria Bruni, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“It was a difficult race. We knew before the start that it was going to be very, very challenging. In the initial part of the race, we kept the car on the track despite some tough conditions. We will keep working, we keep chasing, we’ll see what’s coming next at Road America.”

Tijmen van der Helm, Driver, No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963

“Difficult weekend for all the Porsches at the moment.  We just don’t have the power on the straight and coming out of the corners like the others.  Really frustrating.  We hung in there, but this was really all we had.”