Daytona BMW Pre-Race

Michael Johnson, JDC-Miller Motorsports ready for Daytona, 2017 Season

Johnson and team to race in BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona

Daytona, Fla., Jan. 25, 2017 – 24-year-old sportscar driver Michael Johnson and teammate Stephen Simpson, JDC-Miller Motorsports, are kicking off the racing season with an endurance challenge in the sunshine state.

The paralyzed driver and his team are taking on the BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona, an IMSA Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge race that’s four hours long and offers fans the chance to watch their favorite drivers prepare for the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the years to come.

“This is my first time at Daytona and I couldn’t be more excited,” the former motorcycle champion Johnson said. “Our BMW 228i M Sport started running great, right off the truck. My hand controls from GuidoSimplex are working very smoothly and we learned a lot from testing a few weeks ago.”

Johnson’s car is specially-designed with hand controls for braking, shifting gears and manipulating the throttle, due to the driver being paralyzed from the mid-chest down. Because his car has to be specially modified, he was unable to compete on the 3.56-mile Daytona track last season, as it wasn’t ready in time.

“This will be the longest race of my career,” Johnson said. “I’ve been training very hard in the off-season with my trainer, Josh [Gibbs], and my teammate, Stephen [Simpson] to prepare. The field sizes for both classes are impressively large so the action should make this race very exciting!”

The 2017 Continental Tire Challenge season opens at Daytona International Speedway on Thurs., Jan. 26, with practice at 9:00 a.m. and qualifications at 5:30 p.m. The race takes place Fri., from 12:15 to 4:15 p.m.

The season will conclude Oct. 4, 2017, at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, which will complete a 10-race schedule.

All of the 2017 CTSC races will be televised on a tape-delayed basis by FOX Sports, as well as streamed, live, on IMSA.com.

In addition to primary backing from Universal Coating, Johnson’s racing efforts are also supported by: BraunAbility, freeM, Arai Helmets, Continental Tire and BMW.

For more information, please visit www.MichaelJohnsonRacing.com.

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