Sellers: DXDT Will Grow to “New Heights” With Corvette

Photo: DXDT Racing

Bryan Sellers believes DXDT Racing will grow to “new heights” with Corvette in Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS next year, as the seasoned team takes on a new chapter with the Detroit manufacturer.

Announced in October, the David Askew-owned team will be the exclusive operator of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in Fanatec GT competition next year, with plans to run a pair of the Pratt Miller-built cars over the course of the season.

Sellers and 2023 Fanatec GT co-driver Scott Smithson are earmarked for one of the cars, which is poised to debut at the third round at Circuit of The Americas in May, with the driver lineup still being determined for the second Corvette.

The longtime Mercedes-AMG customer squad, meanwhile, will continue to field a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo for Jeff Burton in the series.

For Sellers, who has taken on an additional advisory type role within DXDT, the expansion to the GM brand will put the North Carolina-based operation in a unique position in the Fanatec GT paddock.

“One of the conversations we always have internally is that you have to win at every level you’re at, and you have to be good at every level you’re at before you take on anything else,” Sellers told Sportscar365.

“Dave [Askew] comes from a background of racing, not necessarily motorsports, but sail boat racing where they won and were successful. He’s not in this just to do it.

“He stepped aside [from driving this year] to put his focus on being team principal and being able to look at everything that was happening because he felt from the driver’s seat, he didn’t really have that ability.

“That’s a tough thing for someone who loves to drive race cars, to put the team owner aspect first and step back.

“From that vision was where Corvette was born, where the whole idea of going and trying to identity yourself as a program that is unique… One of how many [GM] decided to choose throughout the world.

“One of the other conversation we had early on is what will separate us from anyone else? What will help us draw clients into our program?

“Having a manufacturer like Corvette and being only one of a small handful [of Z06 GT3.R customers] seemed like a pretty good thing to generate interest.”

Sellers, a longtime driver for IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship squad Paul Miller Racing, which won the GTD title this year, believes DXDT’s switch in GT3 manufacturers will help “rebuild” the team in a similar process to PMR’s recent evolution.

“Just from our Lamborghini switch [at Paul Miller Racing] to our BMW, one of the cool things is the massive undertaking that it actually takes from one manufacturer to another,” he explained.

“It’s not just as simple as rolling one car in and one car out.

“You get this opportunity when you switch manufacturers to also be able to rebuild. I don’t mean rebuild in terms of personnel but rebuild in terms of tooling, organization, etc.

“It’s this opportunity to look at everything in your program and say, ‘OK, we’re weak here and we need to address this.’

“And because we’re tearing the thing down and tearing it apart, this is the perfect time to do that.

“We got asked the question at PMR, ‘How were you able to come right into the BMW and be successful and be so great?’ I think part of the answer is because we got better.

“You got better by being able to address all of the small things.

“For me, DXDT has been a part of a Mercedes program for so long that this is almost needed for them to take the next step.

“That’s what’s really exciting and that’s the greatest thing about what we have coming. I think we can see the program grow to new heights.”

New Perspective on Pratt Miller to Be “Eye-Opening” Experience

While Sellers will be racing against the factory-supported Corvette squad in the WeatherTech Championship, he and DXDT will bear fruit of the customer support network spearheaded by the same organization in Fanatec GT competition.

It will lead to a unique situation for the championship-winning driver next year.

“You do get a completely different perspective when you’re driving one vs. racing one and then the combination of the two,” said Sellers.

“What I’m most looking forward to is a look into how Pratt Miller runs their programs.

“I think everyone thinks they know how Pratt Miller and Corvette Racing runs programs because the success speaks for itself and the lack of errors and always the constant execution.

“But I think that being able to actually look inside will be eye-opening. That’s what you don’t get from racing up against them. You get to see the quality of the car, the quality of the people, the teams.

“What you necessarily see is the behind-the-scenes stuff that really drives a program forward.”

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