INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (July 25, 2014) – Following a wild event in Friday’s Brickyard Grand Prix, the seventh GT Daytona (GTD) round of the inaugural IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Paul Miller Racing drivers Bryce Miller and Christopher Haase took an impressive second-place finish in their first-ever visit to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The team endured a caution-filled race but largely avoided the mistakes and contact encountered by a number of competitors with some heads-up driving and good race strategy in the No. 48 Castrol EDGE/Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS.
The runner-up result was the top finish for the Audi marque at Indy. Haase led a significant amount of laps at mid race after Miller steadily drove up through the field and to as high as second in his race-opening driving shift.
“It was really hard work,” Bryce Miller said. “It was really difficult out there. There was a lot of contact and incidents on track. It was really hard fighting the prototypes for the line.”
Starting eighth from row four on the grid, Bryce Miller immediately had to skim through the aftermath of a multi-car prototype incident in the very first turn of the race. The incident set the stage for an eventful opening hour that produced two caution periods within the first 30 minute and three in total.
The No. 48 took advantage of one of the yellows to come in for the first of two pit stops, handing the car over to teammate Haase. He worked his way to the lead in the first of his two driving stints to the finish and pitted from the top position for the team’s final stop with just under an hour to go.
Gaining on the leading Ferrari, Haase ripped off a string of fast laps and closed to within two seconds in the race’s final minutes. Indy marked just the fourth time – and first ever sprint race – that the IMSA TUDOR Championship had all four classes competing together. The constant traffic
Never let Haase get close enough for a move, and the No. 48 crossed the line just moments after the class winner for the team’s third podium of the year.
The finish matched May’s runner-up result at Laguna Seca which was followed up with a third-place finish at Belle Isle Detroit at the very next race.
“Today was really good, the podium is always a pleasure,” Haase said. “We tried for a win. The traffic was the reason I couldn’t battle the Ferrari and take first, but the team did a good job. We’re great in points and I’m ready for the next race.”
Great strategy calls and pit stops by the Paul Miller Racing team from the pits, and spotter support from high above the Speedway’s “Pagoda” Tower, were huge factors in the team’s success.
“We had great pit stops and great spotting calls from the tower, which helped us to manage the traffic and incidents,” Bryce Miller said. “Christopher did a great job managing the car and the traffic. The team really deserved this for all their hard work. It’s great that we’re in contention for the championship now.”
The drivers and the No. 48 Castrol EDGE/Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS team have moved up to third in both the IMSA TUDOR Championship driver and team championship standings with just four races remaining on the 2014 calendar. The drivers and team have 183 points in both championships, just one shy of second place and only 10 points out of first.
With only two weeks until the next event, the team will immediately turn the car around for the upcoming Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Practice will begin on Friday, August 8, with the race broadcast at 6:30 p.m. EDT, Sunday, August 10, on FOX Sports 1.
