Indycar driver Leist leaves to Join JDC-Miller in Second Cadillac DPi

Matheus Leist ditches IndyCar for IMSA

JDC-Miller MotorSports returns to the IMSA WeatherTech Championship in 2020, once again fielding a two-car prototype effort with the previously announced Mustang Sampling Racing No. 5 entry and No. 85 Cadillac DPi-V.R supported again by Polipetrosur and Mobile Pit Stop.

Twenty-one year old Leist from Novo Hamburgo, Brazil is a multiple race winner in Indy lights and drove the last two years for A.J. Foyt Enterprises in the IndyCar Series. He will join Juan Piedrahita in the No. 85 car for the four endurance races at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Petit LeMans. Chris Miller will join the team in the No. 85 for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

"To be honest I could not be happier to join JDC-Miller MotorSports in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship for 2020. I have driven for Chevrolet for the last two years in Indycar and I am super excited to stay in the GM family and to now drive a Cadillac DPi-V.R. prototype. I can't wait to get to Daytona," commented Leist.

Columbian Juan Piedrahita will return to the No. 85 car and JDC-Miller MotorSports in 2020 to again contest the four Endurance rounds of the Michelin Endurance Cup. Piedrahita is also planned for additional races in the No. 85 entry in 2020.

"2019 was a first step to get into endurance racing with the Michelin Endurance Cup races. For 2020 the plan is to also do some addition sprint races and ideally the entire season with JDC-Miller MotorSports" said Juan, "For sure the goal is to run the full schedule by 2021. Running in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship is very complex, there is a lot of stuff going on during those races especially the long endurance races but I love the challenge and how competitive it is. It's great to have Matheus joining us this year. We already know each other from when we raced against each other in Indy Lights so it will be good to have him as a teammate in 2020," Piedrahita continued.

The duo will be joined by long-time JDC-Miller MotorSports driver Chris Miller. Miller won the Rolex 24 at Daytona with the team in the PC class in 2016 and also was part of the team's overall win at the Six Hours at Watkins Glen in 2018. Miller who usually runs with the team in the endurance rounds only is currently scheduled for only the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2020 due to other commitments.

"I'm very happy to return to Daytona with Juan and Cadillac and to have Matheus join us as well. 2019 was a challenging year learning a new car but the team did a great job continuing to make progress throughout the season. I'm excited to see us take another step forward after all the hard work everyone has put in over the last few months," Miller explained.

"We are very excited about our driver roster for the Rolex 24 and the whole season," said JDC-Miller MotorSports team owner and managing partner, John Church. "We're thrilled to have Matheus joining us in the No. 85 entry and know he will be a great addition to our line-up. I'm also happy to welcome back Juan and Chris to try to build on what we learned together last season. We feel we have strong line-ups in both of our entries for 2020 and it certainly will be an advantage running two cars again."