DXDT Racing capped off the Fanatec GT World Challenge powered by AWS sprint season with a Pro class win at Barber Motorsports Park, their eighth win from eight attempts for the No. 63 KÜHL Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. This came after another spectacular Saturday, which saw the No. 64 sister entry join the No. 63 on the top step, with Bryan Sellers and Bryson Morris earning their second Pro-Am victory on the trot in the weekend’s opening race.
On paper, Race 1 may have seemed straightforward for the pole-sitting No. 63, piloted by Alec Udell and Tommy Milner, but in reality it was anything but. Udell led into Turn 1 and steadily built up his advantage over the chasing pack before handing off to Milner around halfway. Milner set a steady tempo from the lead, but the chasing No. 99 Random Vandals BMW reeled him in a tenth at a time, eventually making the catch with just over 10 minutes remaining. The BMW’s progress stalled, though, as Milner used every bit of his experience to survive a side-by-side moment for the lead and hold on for the win, the team’s seventh on the year.
The roles were reversed on the other side of the garage, with Sellers and the No. 64 chasing Pro-Am victory from a long way back of the lead. Morris started the race very solidly, avoiding mayhem at Turn 1 to move up and deliver the car to Sellers in a podium position. Sellers then had one goal: chase down the leading No. 91 Mercedes-AMG, who, through an alternate strategy, had a lead of over 20 seconds. Slowly, though, the gap shrunk a lap at a time, until Sellers completed the pass for the win with 5 minutes remaining, completing the second consecutive top-step sweep for DXDT in GTWC America competition.
Starting further back on Sunday, both cars would have their work cut out for them to move forward at a track notoriously difficult to pass at. That proved to be an issue in the first half of the race, as Milner found himself mired down in fifth for much of the first stint. The team had a flawless pit stop that vaulted Udell up to second, behind the Random Vandals BMW. It seemed that the two teams’ fortunes would be reversed from the day prior, but a fuel pressure issue forced the No. 99 into the pits and promoted Udell into the lead, which he would hold through the checkered flag.
With this weekend’s results, the No. 63 has cut the championship deficit to the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche from 35 points to just 7 going into next month’s double-points Indianapolis 8 Hour endurance race.
“I don't want to say the team have surprised me, but they've just stepped up,” said Team Principal David Askew. “They obviously like to win, and they want to keep winning. There's a hell of a lot of effort that's needed to win one of these races, and they're putting in all the effort that's needed and more. Today looked like a surefire second place, but when the opportunity arose, our guys stepped up and took it with two hands. I’m so proud of the way they've stepped up on both cars, and their effort shows with the 10 wins we’ve earned this year. Now we need to focus on prepping for the 8 Hour and challenging for this Pro class championship.”
The team is back in action next at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indianapolis 8 Hour Presented by AWS on October 5th. 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
No. 63 KÜHL Corvette Z06 GT3.R
Alec Udell
Tommy did a great job, as you’d expect from him, to stay cool under pressure at the beginning and hand it to me. From there, it was just about getting through some of the Am drivers and maximizing our result. It was a game of lead-follow yesterday when you got close to the car in front and it was kind of the same today. The guys in the No. 99 did a fantastic job and that car was the class of the field this weekend. We make our speed in such different places that it's hard to really make a pass. It’s especially hard at Barber because it's so flowy and every turn leads into the next one, so you’ve got to get someone out of sequence to pass. Our strategy at the end was to try and put as much pressure on the No. 99 as we could. I think today it really comes down to the team did an amazing job with prep, with execution in the pit stops, with making all the right calls.
It led us to P2, realistically, and then some bad luck for the other team let us inherit the win there at the end and, you know, we'll take it. The guys at DXDT were flawless all weekend, and today was an opportunity to show that preparation and execution can drive you to the win, even when when we don’t have the quickest car.
This weekend helps us in the long term [championship fight], which hadn't really been a thought in our minds before the weekend. We just were looking at how can we get the most out of our Z06 GT3.R every single weekend and it’s led to where we are today: seven points back with one round to go.
Tommy Milner
It was very hard today, for sure. We got lucky at the start. I got hit twice on the left-rear and thought something was broken or wrong, but I think the track was just super-dirty. We were lucky to get away with that one. As we expected, we weren't the fastest car. Alec did a great job and we had a great pit stop. This DXDT team just excels in every area. I'm really proud to be part of this race team and to drive this Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Everyone keeps asking about the championship and I didn't want to talk about it for a long time. But after today for us, things are falling into our hands. Now it's a discussion, and I'm happy to go to Indy with a good chance to win it.
(On Saturday’s win): We knew track position was going to be big. We didn't think we had the fastest car out there, but this Corvette was amazing on the tires at the end. The 99 pushed me very hard and probably could have made it a little harder for me, for sure. I'm super-excited for DXDT and Alec my teammate. This team... unbelievable. I could never have dreamed this.
No. 64 KÜHL Corvette Z06 GT3.R
Bryan Sellers
I think the team looks really good right now and I think it's functioning at a really high level. I think more than anything, it's executing well. You saw today with the 63 car that it's not just a sport based on drivers. They won today because there was a small mistake on another car that let them through. Execution is a crucial part of our sport, and I think that our guys have been performing at a very high level. I'm very excited for the future of the program and how it looks.
Saturday was another great day for us. The second win of the season for me and Bryson, and I think it proves what I just said: the team is executing across the board on all the cars. Bryson, although he’s young, has the racing IQ of someone with decades of experience. He’s done an outstanding job for us. It’s not easy to come into a team full of veterans and be the young guy, but he fits in perfectly and performs exceptionally well. His first stint was incredible – super consistent – and we're just thrilled to have him on board. He’s someone who's going to grow and become a major force in this sport."
Bryson Morris
It feels great to have two wins now. I’m getting more and more comfortable with the car, and of course, Bryan has been a huge help in that. I’m grateful he was able to finish strong and bring home the win. A big thanks to everyone and congratulations to DXDT for their double podium.