The series finale of the 2019 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge ended on a high note for Taylor and Casey in the No.17 Unitronic Audi RS 3 LMS as they took on Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta this past weekend to compete in the Fox Factory 120 this past Friday.
Casey and Taylor kept a solid pace during the promoter test day, followed by 3 great practice sessions before qualifying, finishing within the top 3 positions in all of them. Casey then put the No. 17 Unitronic Audi RS 3 LMS on Pole with a lap time of, 1:27.826. “Yet again, our #17 Unitronic Audi RS 3 LMS was extremely competitive. JDC-Miller Motorsports has given us great initial baseline setups all season. Sometimes, the engineers and mechanics are shadowed from the successes when drivers are in the car. But our engineers, Cole Scrogham and Ryan Perera have truly been a pleasure to work with all year. Getting a third pole position on the season and earning a podium finish in the race was made even better by the attendance of Audi Atlanta. Their activation in professional motorsports is a shared passion and feeds their successes as the largest distributor of Audi Sport street car models in the United States. Overall, a fantastic weekend at a fantastic track!”, says Casey.
Casey started the race and managed his speed throughout his first stint to lead most of the Fox Factory 120.The first FCY came out 13 minutes into the race and went back to green with 1:41 mins remaining, causing the team to change strategy to pit while behind the safety car. This triggered a series of pit stops and amid the chaos a miscalculation in minimum drive time for Casey. Meaning Taylor had to hustle back through the field as he knew they would have to swap and put Casey back in at the end to avoid exclusion. Taylor pitted from the lead of the race and handed the car back to Casey to finish out the 2-hour endurance event. Casey spent the majority of the final 40 mins on the rear bumper of the No. 98 Hyundai but unfortunately couldn’t find a way past.
The No. 17 Unitronic Audi RS 3 LMS crossed the finish line in 2nd place this year at the Fox Factory 120 and brought home the manufactures title for Audi. An enjoyable end to an outstanding partial season that included 3 pole position awards, 3 podium finishes and 1 victory in only 6 races.
“What a crazy race! We usually have a pretty easy time with strategy and pit stops as its just one stop at the midway point, but we decided to roll the dice a bit here and we just didn’t have the pace to get by the 98 at the end. I’m super proud of my whole team of the effort we have put in this year, and to help Audi get the manufacturers’ championship was special! We’re already working towards coming back stronger in 2020, and I can’t wait to share that news in a few weeks. Thanks to all my partners who have helped me put this program together, I couldn’t have done it without all your help. It was just such an enjoyable year with a great group of friends!”, said Taylor.
