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After a break of nearly two months, GT World Challenge America powered by AWS reconvenes this weekend at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia. The track, located just 90 minutes up the road from the team’s home base in North Carolina, has served as the site of many DXDT tests and shakedowns over the years. Additionally, Tommy Milner, driver of the No. 63 KÜHL Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, and Team Manager Erin Gahagan are both local to the area, and will certainly be hoping to continue the team’s upward trajectory at their home race.
After a Pro-Am class win in 2021 and a podium in 2022, the team will be eager to regain their spot on the podium after a lean year at this event last summer.
If the team’s last event is anything to go by, they’re in perfect position to do just that.
At the Circuit of the Americas in May, DXDT earned the first wins for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in worldwide competition by sweeping the weekend. Milner and co-driver Alec Udell will be looking to return the No. 63 to victory lane this weekend, something Milner has done here in a Corvette twice previously in IMSA and ALMS competition.
“Corvettes have been very good in the past at VIR. The C8.R was superb there,” said Milner. “As we’ve seen so far this year with the Z06 GT3.R, the style of racetrack lends itself to what this car does so well.
I’m always excited to race there. It’s kind of my home track.
The people are great Connie [Nyholm], Kerrigan [Smith] and Mike [Rose] all just great people to work with, and they put on a good show for the fans.”
On the other side of the garage, the No. 08 FENEX Corvette of Scott Smithson and Bryan Sellers will be looking to capitalize on the strong pace they’ve shown in their recent outings. After narrowly missing out on a podium in the team’s debut weekend with Corvette in Sebring, they continued to run at the pointy end of the field but ran into issues in both races in Austin that prevented them from earning representative results.
Finishing the job is something that Sellers says will be of paramount importance this weekend.
“I think the Corvette will suit [VIR] very well,” expressed Sellers. “It’s a track that it will excel at. The more time we can continue to get our hands on the car and get familiar with it, the more we’ll grow and the better we will become.
“That’ll be our goal at VIR – to take the next step and hopefully get both cars in contention and on the podium.
There’s still a massive learning curve, and it’s a big undertaking, but we are moving in the right direction.”
The action, running from July 18-21, kicks off with a test day on Thursday and practice on Friday before two 90-minute races on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. As always, you can follow along with the action on our social media channels and watch every session from qualifying onward on youtube.com/GTWorld!
From the Drivers
Alec Udell: No. 63 KÜHL Corvette Z06 GT3.R
“I’m looking forward to being back behind the wheel of the DXDT Corvette Z06 GT3.R with Tommy in GT World Challenge America. It’s a wonderful series and I really enjoy the competition there. We’re looking to build on the success of the last round at COTA and to continue the momentum that the Corvettes have gained over the last few rounds in IMSA and other worldwide competition. It could definitely be a tricky one this weekend at VIR. It’s a classic American circuit with high commitment and high risk.
There’s a risk of rain, like there always is in the summer in Virginia. I’m looking forward to navigating those tricky conditions, trying the Corvette in the wet for the first time, and continuing to learn as much as I can throughout the process.”
Tommy Milner: No. 63 KÜHL Corvette Z06 GT3.R
“Corvettes have been very good in the past at VIR. The C8.R was perfect there. Tracks like Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Laguna Seca have suited this car pretty well, and I think VIR will follow along.
As we’ve seen so far this year with the Z06 GT3.R, the style of racetrack lends itself to what this car does so well. I’m always excited to race there. It’s kind of my home track.
The people are great Connie (Nyholm), Kerrigan (Smith) and Mike (Rose) all just great people to work with, and they put on a good show for the fans.
“With DXDT having done Sebring and COTA, things are still a little new too, and they’re still learning about the Corvettes. But the feeling is that they have a decent handle on the cars at this point. It helps by having a couple of Pratt Miller engineers to help along the way.
So it does help speed up the learning curve.”
Bryan Sellers: No. 08 FENEX Corvette Z06 GT3.R
“I love VIR. It’s such a special place for so many reasons. There’s the fan side of you that loves the history, the layout and the beauty of it. You have the driver’s side that loves the purity it still possesses that is so different from many other tracks we go to. And not to mention that it’s such a great layout.
It’s a good racetrack and fun to drive. It races well, which I think is super-important.
“I think the Corvette will suit it very well. It’s a track that it will excel at. The more time we can continue to get our hands on the car and get familiar with it, the more we’ll grow and the better we will become.
If you look at Austin, we had really good results with the 63 car. We all went away happy, but still striving to improve and gain more.
That’ll be our goal at VIR to take the next step and hopefully get both cars in contention and on the podium.
There’s still a massive learning curve, and it’s a big undertaking, but we are moving in the right direction.”
Scott Smithson: No. 08 FENEX Corvette Z06 GT3.R
“VIR is such a challenge for both the drivers and the team, which is what makes it such a great track. It’s a mix of technical and fast, and should give us opportunities to race hard against our competitors.
On one hand, if you miss one corner you’re compromised for that entire sector, but on the other hand, getting it right is so rewarding here.
We’re really looking forward to getting the Corvette out on track, and based on our runs at Sebring and VIR, we should be right there challenging for the podium this weekend.”
After a Pro-Am class win in 2021 and a podium in 2022, the team will be eager to regain their spot on the podium after a lean year at this event last summer.
If the team’s last event is anything to go by, they’re in perfect position to do just that.
At the Circuit of the Americas in May, DXDT earned the first wins for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in worldwide competition by sweeping the weekend. Milner and co-driver Alec Udell will be looking to return the No. 63 to victory lane this weekend, something Milner has done here in a Corvette twice previously in IMSA and ALMS competition.
“Corvettes have been very good in the past at VIR. The C8.R was superb there,” said Milner. “As we’ve seen so far this year with the Z06 GT3.R, the style of racetrack lends itself to what this car does so well.
I’m always excited to race there. It’s kind of my home track.
The people are great Connie [Nyholm], Kerrigan [Smith] and Mike [Rose] all just great people to work with, and they put on a good show for the fans.”
On the other side of the garage, the No. 08 FENEX Corvette of Scott Smithson and Bryan Sellers will be looking to capitalize on the strong pace they’ve shown in their recent outings. After narrowly missing out on a podium in the team’s debut weekend with Corvette in Sebring, they continued to run at the pointy end of the field but ran into issues in both races in Austin that prevented them from earning representative results.
Finishing the job is something that Sellers says will be of paramount importance this weekend.
“I think the Corvette will suit [VIR] very well,” expressed Sellers. “It’s a track that it will excel at. The more time we can continue to get our hands on the car and get familiar with it, the more we’ll grow and the better we will become.
“That’ll be our goal at VIR – to take the next step and hopefully get both cars in contention and on the podium.
There’s still a massive learning curve, and it’s a big undertaking, but we are moving in the right direction.”
The action, running from July 18-21, kicks off with a test day on Thursday and practice on Friday before two 90-minute races on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. As always, you can follow along with the action on our social media channels and watch every session from qualifying onward on youtube.com/GTWorld!
From the Drivers
Alec Udell: No. 63 KÜHL Corvette Z06 GT3.R
“I’m looking forward to being back behind the wheel of the DXDT Corvette Z06 GT3.R with Tommy in GT World Challenge America. It’s a wonderful series and I really enjoy the competition there. We’re looking to build on the success of the last round at COTA and to continue the momentum that the Corvettes have gained over the last few rounds in IMSA and other worldwide competition. It could definitely be a tricky one this weekend at VIR. It’s a classic American circuit with high commitment and high risk.
There’s a risk of rain, like there always is in the summer in Virginia. I’m looking forward to navigating those tricky conditions, trying the Corvette in the wet for the first time, and continuing to learn as much as I can throughout the process.”
Tommy Milner: No. 63 KÜHL Corvette Z06 GT3.R
“Corvettes have been very good in the past at VIR. The C8.R was perfect there. Tracks like Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Laguna Seca have suited this car pretty well, and I think VIR will follow along.
As we’ve seen so far this year with the Z06 GT3.R, the style of racetrack lends itself to what this car does so well. I’m always excited to race there. It’s kind of my home track.
The people are great Connie (Nyholm), Kerrigan (Smith) and Mike (Rose) all just great people to work with, and they put on a good show for the fans.
“With DXDT having done Sebring and COTA, things are still a little new too, and they’re still learning about the Corvettes. But the feeling is that they have a decent handle on the cars at this point. It helps by having a couple of Pratt Miller engineers to help along the way.
So it does help speed up the learning curve.”
Bryan Sellers: No. 08 FENEX Corvette Z06 GT3.R
“I love VIR. It’s such a special place for so many reasons. There’s the fan side of you that loves the history, the layout and the beauty of it. You have the driver’s side that loves the purity it still possesses that is so different from many other tracks we go to. And not to mention that it’s such a great layout.
It’s a good racetrack and fun to drive. It races well, which I think is super-important.
“I think the Corvette will suit it very well. It’s a track that it will excel at. The more time we can continue to get our hands on the car and get familiar with it, the more we’ll grow and the better we will become.
If you look at Austin, we had really good results with the 63 car. We all went away happy, but still striving to improve and gain more.
That’ll be our goal at VIR to take the next step and hopefully get both cars in contention and on the podium.
There’s still a massive learning curve, and it’s a big undertaking, but we are moving in the right direction.”
Scott Smithson: No. 08 FENEX Corvette Z06 GT3.R
“VIR is such a challenge for both the drivers and the team, which is what makes it such a great track. It’s a mix of technical and fast, and should give us opportunities to race hard against our competitors.
On one hand, if you miss one corner you’re compromised for that entire sector, but on the other hand, getting it right is so rewarding here.
We’re really looking forward to getting the Corvette out on track, and based on our runs at Sebring and VIR, we should be right there challenging for the podium this weekend.”
