Miller Friday Notebook

Photo: John Dagys

***No trip to Miller Motorsports Park is complete without a visit to the Larry H. Miller Total Performance Museum. Opened in 2006, the museum is home to the largest collection of Shelby Cobras and is the only collection in the world to have all five versions of the Ford GT40, including the 1967 Sebring race-winning MKIV (pictured above).

***Andrew Palmer and James Sofronas have swapped cars for the remainder of the weekend following an engine failure for Palmer’s No. 21 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra. The 19-year-old qualified 10th for today’s 50-minute race while Sofronas will start from the rear of the field as work continues on the engine change.

***Nic Jonsson is pulling double duty, driving the No. 38 Kia Forte Koup in TCA in a bid to help Jason Wolfe secure the class drivers’ championship. It marks the car’s first outing since New Jersey in June. Jonsson will start third in today’s GTS race aboard his No. 36 Kia Optima.

***Tony Gaples has switched to a Blackdog Racing Mustang after driving the team’s Camaro in testing on Thursday. The team, meanwhile, fields a third entry for GTS debutant Michael Cooper this weekend, joining title contender Lawson Aschenbach.

***Former Extreme Speed Motorsports team manager Derek Granison has joined Blackdog this weekend as part of the team’s expanded efforts.

***SCCA President and CEO Lisa Noble is making her Pirelli World Challenge debut this weekend, driving the No. 42 Go 4 It Racing Pontiac Solstice in the TC class, in support of Maxton’s Fight, a charitable foundation supporting children battling disease.

***Porsche is expecting considerable growth in the series next year, with the addition of the GT Cup class, as well as a potential new two-car GT entry with Porsche 911 GT3 Rs. Porsche Motorsport North America President Jens Walther told Sportscar365 that any possible new GT class entries would have to be sourced from existing owners, as they recently completed the final production run of the 997-based car.

***The majority of GT teams polled the paddock this weekend have confirmed intentions of returning to the series next year, including Dyson Racing Team Bentley, which is planning a two-car full-season attack. Additional growth is expected in the GT-A class with some teams looking at expansion.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John