JDC-Miller MotorSports impressed at the Daytona 24 Hours despite running an old-spec car

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At a glance – save for the obvious livery differences – the three Porsche 963 GTP entrants that lined up on the grid for the 2026 Daytona 24 Hours were all but identical. 

However, the No.85 JDC-Miller MotorSports entry found itself at a disadvantage compared to the No.6 and No.7 Porsche Penske Motorsport contenders before the green flag had even dropped. 

For 2026, Porsche installed the fourth “Evo Joker” update to the 963. Manufacturers are allowed to make up to seven of these updates during the current GTP homologation cycle: five up until the end of 2027 and two during 2028 and 2029. 

The aerodynamics of the 963 were revised ahead of the 2026 season, with the changes including a new front splitter and rear diffuser design and rear bodywork tweaks. 

While the updates were applied to the two well-funded, factory-backed Porsche Penske Motorsport cars, the smaller JDC-Miller MotorSports outfit was unable to foot the bill for the new additions 

The installation of Joker updates on all participating cars of the same manufacturer was previously mandatory, but prior to the 64th running of the Daytona 24 Hours IMSA permitted JDC-Miller to run their Porsche 963 in 2025 specification. 

While JDC-Miller had cleared the Joker update regulatory hurdle, they still found themselves at a technical disadvantage going into this year’s Daytona 24 Hours. 

Of course, the Minnesota based team – led by its founder and President, John Church – are no strangers to being the underdog, a point arguably most saliently stated when JDC-Miller MotorSports took victory at the 2021 12 Hours of Sebring with their privateer Cadillac DPi-V.R – helmed by the French trio of Sébastien Bourdais, Loïc Duval and Tristan Vautier – against factory backed efforts. 

More recently, in the GTP era – during which they were also the first customer team not only to run a Porsche 963 in IMSA but to compete in the class altogether – the team finished on the podium at the Battle on the Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2024 after the No.6 Penske Porsche was disqualified from third place. 

For 2026, Tijmen van der Helm and Nico Pino were selected to contest the full IMSA season behind the wheel of the No.85 Porsche 963. The former returned to compete in his fourth season with the team, while the latter spent 2025 racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship and three rounds of the North American Endurance Cup with another privateer Porsche team, Proton Competition. 

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Selected to compete in the North American Endurance Cup rounds for JDC-Miller and making his IMSA debut, Kaylen Frederik completed the three driver lineup. 

During the Roar Before the 24 testing, the No.85 crew hit the ground running, posting the second fastest time in the opening session of the test, splitting the pair of factory Porsches. 

In session 2, they placed second again, this time beating the No.6 and the No.7 cars before topping the sixth session of the test. 

Come qualifying on Thursday ahead of the main event, JDC-Miller posted a time of 1:34.617 – set with Nico Pino behind the wheel – good for eighth position before the disqualification of the provisional pole-sitting No.31 Cadillac Whelen entry promoted the No.85 Porsche to seventh. 

While not qualifying within the top five and a little over half a second off Renger van der Zande’s 1:34.041 pole time, the JDC-Miller MotorSports entry would start ahead of both WRT BMWs, the Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Valkyrie and the the Whelen Cadillac which had been moved to the back of the GTP field. 

During the race, the No.85 crew held their own. The squad regularly featured in the top five, even inheriting the race lead following a full course yellow brought out by an incident involving the No.81 DragonSpeed Corvette and the No.43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca occurring just after the five hour mark and the subsequent slew of pit stops from the front-running GTP cars. 

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After the restart, Tijmen van der Helm managed to stay ahead of the No.7 Penske Porsche – driven at the time by Laurin Heinrich – for almost half an hour before the latter was able to make an overtake stick through the Tri-Oval with just over 18 hours to go. 

Damage picked up during the night and a drive through penalty hampered their progress, however. At the end of 24 hours of racing, the No.85 Porsche crossed the line seventh in GTP. 

While not replicating the fairytale result of Sebring nearly five years ago, under the circumstances JDC Miller Motorsports impressed. They were able to run near the top of the GTP field and were even able to give the factory Porsches a run for their money. 

Finishing on the lead lap, the team’s seventh position saw them place ahead of the No.25 WRT BMW, No.60 Meyer Shank with Curb-Agajanian Acura, No.23 Aston Martin Valkyrie and the No.10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac, which failed to see the checkered flag due to a mechanical failure. 

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“We were fast and had the pace to fight up front, but we picked up some damage through the night which compromised our pace in the end,” wrote Kaylen Frederik in a social media post. 

“Even though we only came home in 7th, we can still be proud of our performance.” 

Despite racing with an older-spec car and lacking the full factory support of their competitors, Daytona proved that JDC-Miller Motorsports can still race among the best in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. c

With the 12 Hours of Sebring next on the calendar, the team once again has the opportunity to stand out as an underdog performer or perhaps replicate their success from the same track from five years on.