BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (July 13, 2026) – A pole position, another podium and a valuable haul of championship points. Paul Miller Racing left Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with plenty to show for another competitive weekend, as Neil Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi finished third in Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix.
After leading the GTD PRO field to the green flag from pole position, Verhagen settled into the lead group as the race quickly became a strategic contest shaped by full-course cautions and varying fuel strategies.
While the No. 1 BMW remained firmly in contention, the complexion of the race shifted during an early caution period when the No. 14 Lexus benefited from a shorter fuel stop to move ahead of the field.
Verhagen handed the BMW over to De Phillippi after 50 minutes of racing. Shortly after the driver change, the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche also worked its way past during the restart, dropping the No. 1 BMW to fourth as the fight at the front continued to evolve.
With just over an hour remaining, Verhagen climbed back behind the wheel for the run to the finish. Following the final round of pit stops, the No. 1 BMW returned to third and immediately began chasing down the Porsche ahead.
The gap fluctuated throughout the closing stint as traffic played a role, but Verhagen repeatedly worked his way back onto the rear bumper of the No. 77.
The battle took another turn when contact with an LMP2 car exiting Turn 1 briefly allowed the No. 77 Porsche to open a small gap. Despite the setback, Verhagen quickly regrouped, closing the gap again over the final laps before crossing the finish line just 0.745 seconds behind second place, with the No. 14 Lexus taking the victory.
The result marked Paul Miller Racing’s third podium finish and fifth top-five result through the opening six rounds of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
Alongside Saturday’s Motul Pole Award, the podium finish allowed Paul Miller Racing to further extend its championship lead as the season progresses.
The battle continues with the Motul SportsCar Grand Prix at Road America from July 30–August 2, where GTD PRO returns to endurance competition for a six-hour race.
Neil Verhagen
“A great points weekend for the #1 crew. The car was in a great window all weekend, and I’m very happy to have earned my second consecutive pole position here at Mosport. The team executed a great race with strong pit stops throughout. Some competitors took more risks with strategy to get ahead of us, but in the end, we can be very happy to come away with another podium finish, our second in a row.”
Connor De Phillippi
“Overall, another successful weekend here at Mosport,” said De Phillippi. “We executed our race as planned and showed promising speed, but it wasn’t quite enough today for the win. I’m super proud of the Paul Miller Racing team for another great performance, and we’ll continue to keep our eye on the championship.”
