IMSA: JDC set for PC return in 2015

Marshall Pruett

John Church was one of very few brand-new entrants during the inaugural TUDOR United Sports Car Championship season, and tells RACER his Wisconsin-based JDC Motorsports program will be back for a full campaign with the No. 85 PC entry.

“We’re definitely going to be back; it’s been a bit of a struggle on a somewhat regular basis, but we’re finding our way and will be there,” he said. “We’re making progress; we’re a bit light on funded drivers, but hopefully that will change soon once we get a little closer to Daytona.”

JDC’s driver roster is still being formulated, according to Church. Some of last season’s drivers will continue into 2015, and others will be identified in the coming weeks.

“It’s more or less a continuation next year with some guys,” he explained. “We’ll have Mikhail Goihkberg for the full season, and we’ll probably have Stephen Simpson on the entry list for every event year because of the drive-time requirements. That allows you to have an extra guy to plug in if you need during a session, and we’ll see how the rest of the lineup fills out from there.”

Once they make it through the Roar Before the 24 test and the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Church expects to use the six-week break leading up to Sebring to lock down all of the funding for JDC’s PC effort.

“It might be a bit of a struggle financially getting through Daytona, but after that, we expect to get things turned around,” he noted. “It’s a fun car to run, and the series has decided it’s something they want to keep going for two more seasons. They’ve stepped up in the customer service area since that announcement and that lets us know they’re committed for the next two years. It won’t be easy on our end, but we’ll get everything in place.”​