Catchfence

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (August 17, 2010) – American driving talent Joel Miller will contest his second career Firestone Indy Lights Series race this weekend driving for Bryan Herta Autosport in the Carneros 100 at Infineon Raceway. His #28 entry will be sponsored by Doug Mockett & Company, Lamborghini Travels, Blanco Basura Clothing, Valli Construction and Paradise Landscape. Miller will assume the seat held by Stefan Wilson in nine races to date this season while Wilson and BHA work to secure the funding to return Wilson to the cockpit for the remaining races on the schedule.

“We are excited to welcome Joel to the team this weekend,” said team co-owner Bryan Herta. “Joel has worked hard and creatively to put together the budget to compete at Sonoma and we want to provide him with the best opportunity to showcase his talents as he focuses on a full Indy Lights campaign next year.

“At the same time, we are working hard to raise the necessary budget to put Stefan back in the car for as many of the remaining races as possible. He will be at Sonoma to support the team and also fulfill his pace car team obligations. Stefan has done a great job this year on the road and street circuits and also in his oval debut. Our goal is to help him achieve his first Indy Lights win and we want to get him back in the car as soon as possible.”

Miller, 22, of Hesperia, Calif., made his Indy Lights debut at Long Beach earlier this season finishing 11th for Andersen Racing in a solid performance after losing second gear in the race. A mechanical engineering student at the University of California, Riverside and sales representative for Sparco USA, Miller began his racing career in the karting ranks. Among his credits are the 2006 Stars of Karting national title in the ICA division, the 2007 Skip Barber National Championship and runner-up in the 2008 Star Mazda Championship in his rookie season. He was also a Team USA Scholarship recipient contesting the 2007 Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy Series in England.

Miller helped to raise the funding for this Sunday’s 40-lap race through the Joel Miller Indy Racing Experience, an event held this past Sunday in Santa Cruz which featured a celebrity poker tournament, raffle, exotic car display, live music and a pro skate demonstration. Proceeds also benefited the Wings for Life charity. Organized by Monarchy Media Management, guests included “Dancing With the Stars” Karina Smirnoff, Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and former New York Giants defensive back Reggie Stephens and motocross champion Josh Van Den Heuvel.

“I have known Bryan since I was seven years old in go karts and I am happy to come full circle and finally be able to drive a car for him. I have run at Sonoma in various formulas and I am very familiar with the track. This is a local race for me and I am really looking forward to the weekend because I know the place and I also know that I will have a good car under me. My goal is a full season in Indy Lights next year. I did Long Beach for the experience and now this weekend at Sonoma. Everything we are doing is for next year. Hopefully, we can keep the sponsors we have on the car for this coming weekend involved for a full-time effort and, hopefully, with Bryan’s team.”

Miller will partner this weekend with Sebastian Saavedra who pilots the #29 William Rast entry. Saavedra and Wilson are currently fifth and sixth respectively in the championship standings.

“Obviously I am disappointed to not be driving this weekend but that is the economics of racing sometimes,” said Wilson. “I will be there to support Joel as much as I can and help him to get up to speed as quickly as possible. Bryan has worked hard to try to raise the necessary funding to keep me in the car this weekend but time was not on our side. We will keep working and, hopefully, I can be back to finish out the season.”

The Carneros 100 will take place at 12:00 pm PT this Sunday and will be broadcast on IndyCar.com.

For additional information on Joel Miller, please visit www.joelmillerracing.com.

About Bryan Herta Autosport:

Founded by veteran driver Bryan Herta and noted race engineer and team manager Steve Newey, Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) debuted in Firestone Indy Lights competition in 2009 claiming one win, five top-five and 15 top-10 results. Herta, an accomplished racer, has won in every series he has contested including the IZOD IndyCar Series, American Le Mans Series and CART in addition to garnering Skip Barber Formula Ford, Barber Saab and Firestone Indy Lights championship titles. Amongst his career highlights are a third-place finish in the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and victory in the LMP2 class at the Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2007.

Newey’s racing career spans over 20 years and includes design and race engineering positions in Formula One as well as team manager/technical director roles in IndyCar, American Le Mans and Grand-Am competition. Among his highlights are the 1992 Champ Car World Series title as the race engineer for Bobby Rahal, the 2006 Grand-Am Daytona Prototype Driver’s Championship with Krohn Racing’s Jorg Bergmeister and victory in the Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2007 as race engineer for Andretti Green Racing and drivers Bryan Herta, Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan. He was also instrumental in assembling the Patrick Racing Firestone test team and served as team manager for drivers Scott Pruett and Adrian Fernandez. For more information, visit www.bryanhertaautosport.com.

- Bryan Herta Autosport Press Release