Paul Miller Racing Press Release
Bryce Miller will shift from fulltime Paul Miller Racing driver to endurance-race specialist commencing with the 2015 racing season, opening the door for an all-new driver lineup for the team's winning No. 48 Audi R8 LMS program next season.
Starting next year, Bryce Miller will participate in longer endurance races only - such as the Rolex 24 At Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans - in order to have more time to focus on his management role in the Paul Miller Auto Group.
The dealership group has included since 1976 Paul Miller Audi, one of the largest Audi dealerships in the nation, which made Paul Miller Racing's switch to the Audi R8 LMS program this season that much easier.
"I am certainly not retiring from racing but our growth at the Paul Miller Auto Group, and my desire to learn more about our 'other family business' makes it the right time to make this move" Bryce Miller said. "Knowing that I will still compete in endurance races in our Audi will make it easier but it will still seem a little strange when the first sprint races come after Daytona and Sebring and I will be watching on television at home."
Earlier this month, Bryce Miller joined his Paul Miller Racing teammates Christopher Haase and Matt Bell for a convincing win in the season-ending Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. The victory was the first for Audi in the IMSA TUDOR Championship, and the team and all three drivers in a major North American endurance race.
Bryce Miller also has multiple runner-up finishes in the Rolex 24 as well as a great deal of sprint-race success in ALMS, GRAND-AM and the IMSA TUDOR Championship. In addition to the Petit victory, his 2014 season included runner-up results at Laguna Seca and Indianapolis and third at Detroit, all co-driving with Haase.
"This change will certainly bring a new dynamic to the team and, frankly, will probably be a little strange at first for both me and Bryce, but he will still fill a key role in endurance races as he has for so many years," Paul Miller said. "Our next step is to find a full-season replacement for Bryce, which sure won't be easy, but it is something we want to wrap up as soon as possible."
Paul Miller Racing emerged as the top Audi Sport customer racing team in the 2014 IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship with Bryce Miller and Haase as the full-season drivers. In addition to the Petit win and sprint-race podiums, the drivers and the No. 48 team finished second in the IMSA TUDOR Championship GTD-class driver and team championships and also took driver and team runner-up honors in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup.
"We really enjoy the association and support from Audi and the R8 LMS is a wonderful race car," Paul Miller said. "Having Christopher Haase on the team was a huge part of our success and we would love to have him or an Audi driver of the same considerable talent back in 2015. Pairing that driver up with Bryce's replacement will be a main piece of the puzzle and we look forward to announcing our full program soon."
About Paul Miller Racing: Paul Miller Racing was the top Audi Sport customer racing team in the inaugural season of the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in 2014 in which Bryce Miller and Christopher Haase co-drove the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS. The racing team is affiliated with the Paul Miller Auto Group, which has operated Paul Miller Audi since 1976, races in support of Full Circle Home, and competes with the support of Castrol EDGE, Search Marketing Group and Motegi Racing.
Follow Paul Miller Racing on Twitter @paulmilleracing @bryceracer and @ChHaase and on Facebook fan pages at Facebook.com/paulmillerracing, Facebook.com/brycemiller.net and www.paulmillerracing.com, www.brycemiller.net and www.christopher-haase.de.
Photo credit: Paul Miller Racing / Bob Chapman
