SELLERS: Getting the Gang Back Together

It’s the start of a new season of IMSA racing and I’m absolutely ready to get back in action with the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing TOTAL Lamborghini team. 

The Roar Before the 24 test at Daytona was just a taste of what we have to offer, and I think it went really well for our team.

We were fast, we were consistent and with myself, Corey Lewis, Andrea Caldarelli and the return of Madison Snow, I think we have a really strong lineup for 2020, and the Rolex 24. 

Having Madison back is good for a lot of reasons, and the least of which is his driving potential!

He’s someone that’s become such a good friend over all the years we’ve spent together and it’s nice to be able to do something you love with the people you enjoy being around.

For me, one of the most exciting things about this year is that I get to go to the racetrack and see one of my best friends every weekend.

Obviously, along with that comes his ability in the car and everything he brings to the team. One of the most important things in GTD right now is having a strong co-driver that can not only benefit you in driving, but help with the development side of the car and making sure you’re constantly progressing through the course of the weekend.

I think that’s one of the great things Madison brings to the table that is overlooked from the outside. 

It’s always been relatively easy for the two of us to get in and drive the same race car, but as time has progressed — this will be our fourth season together — you find that you want more and more of the same thing.

His style has come a little bit my way and my style has gone a little bit his way over the years. 

What that ends up meaning, is that you’re able to trust each other. If he goes and does qualifying after we make some changes and he says the car is good and that we should leave it, I know the car will be good for the race.

And, vice versa, if he doesn’t do a final practice session before qualifying, and I say we have a good race car, he gets in and trusts that the car will be that way.

The trust we have is really important and it’s something that continues to grow as we drive together. 

We’re also really lucky to have the combination of Corey and Andrea with us.

Andrea, at this stage of his career, is a wealth of knowledge for us at Paul Miller Racing. He has great connections with Lamborghini as a factory driver, he has such an understanding of the way things need to operate because of his experience managing FFF Racing Team by ACM and then, obviously, his driving accolades stand out all on their own.

Being the sprint, endurance and overall champion last year in the Blancpain GT Series, it’s clear that he’s extremely fast, he’s very good technically and he just continues to drive our entire program forward. 

Corey has been an integral piece of our program for the past two years now. He was a huge part in the team’s championship win in 2018 and without his contributions, it would have been much more difficult.

He’s a guy that doesn’t need much of anything to step in and be successful and he always does a great job when he’s called on. 

Even at the end of last year, when he stepped in for the final few races, he stepped up and did everything that was asked of him and more and he did a great job.

To have a guy like that, a real team-first guy, is perfect for that role. And, frankly, perfect for any role. We’re lucky that a guy like that was still available for us to grab. 

I think you have to go into the season optimistically. If you go in thinking that you don’t have a chance, then you never will. But, I think with our lineup and our Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO and our crew, we’re really justified in being optimistic. 

Daytona is a difficult race, you never know what’s going to unfold, but all of us have been working hard in the off-season to put ourselves in the best position possible.

The guys have been working tirelessly on the car, and on pit stops, to make sure everything is as prepared as possible, and all the drivers are doing the same thing on our end. 

That’s all you can do at the start of the season, you have to be optimistic about what you and the program are capable of, and put in the work to put yourself in the best position to deliver each weekend to the best of your ability.

That’s a mindset that works for our program—you go in and do the best you can. It’s going to be what it’s going to be, but as long as everyone gives their full effort, we feel confident that results will follow!