JDC-Miller Motorsports and GAINSCO Auto Insurance announced today the return of the No. 99 Red Dragon to the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship.
GAINSCO Auto Insurance will be the primary sponsor of the No. 99 ORECA/Gibson, driven by Misha Goikhberg, Stephen Simpson and Chris Miller.
Bob Stallings, Executive Chairman of GAINSCO, as well as the founder of the GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Race team, recently decided not to run his own race team, but is committed to continuing the legacy of the Red Dragon by partnering with JDC-Miller Motorsports.
“We had many opportunities to continue our quest for championships and JDC-Miller Motorsports was an easy pick,” Stallings said. “John Church and John Miller have established themselves as a team to be reckoned with, even against the formidable competition in IMSA.”
The last time IMSA fans saw the No. 99 Red Dragon on a track was the 2014 Rolex 24 At Daytona. Stalling’s GAINSCO team won the pole for that race but their dreams of a victory ended just three hours into the race when Memo Gidley was involved in a horrific crash that left him in the hospital for a week. About a month later, Stallings announced he was suspending the team’s operation for the remainder of the year.
The Minnesota-based team made an impressive debut in the 2017 IMSA Prototype Championship, finishing fourth overall. They led four events and were the only LMP2 team to complete every race in 2017.
“After getting to know them both and seeing the success they have had in a short period of time and especially after watching their performance in the Mosport race last season, I knew we had found the right match” Stallings added.
“JDC-Miller has the resources, drivers, engineering experience and desire to win that I was looking for. JDC-Miller Motorsports reminds me a lot of the early days of GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing, and I am looking forward to rallying the support of our combined fan-base behind JDC-Miller Motorsports and The No. 99 Red Dragon.”
Led by team principal John Church, JDC MotorSports has mastered the open wheel and sports car ‘Ladder System’ earning 18 motorsports championships since its inception in 2011.
Goikhberg and Simpson will enter their third full season driving together with the JDC squad. The pair recorded victories in 2016 at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and at Long Beach in the Prototype Challenge class before successfully transitioning to the top-tier LMP2 class in 2017.
Second place finishes at Watkins Glen and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park highlighted the season, which featured six top-five finishes, and made JDC-Miller MotorSports the most successful non-manufacturer LMP2 team in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
“We are honored to gain the support of GAINSCO Auto Insurance and to carry on the livery of the No. 99 Red Dragon,” Church said. “The GAINSCO folks are as committed as we are, and this is a tremendous opportunity for JDC-Miller Motorsports as we look forward to the season ahead.
JDC-Miller Motorsports ran the popular yellow No. 85 LMP2 ORECA last year that was a hit with fans as it became known as the “Banana Boat.” Rest assured that car will also be back in 2018 according to Church.
“Our second car will stay the yellow No. 85,” he said. “We were always going to keep the yellow scheme on the other car.”
The livery for the No. 99 Red Dragon will be unveiled in the days leading up to The Roar Before The 24 which will be held Jan. 5-7 at Daytona International Speedway.