Connor De Phillippi is one of the more experienced drivers on the IMSA grid, particularly when it comes to BMW machinery. Having competed in both GT and prototype cars for the German marque, De Phillippi has gained extensive experience across a variety of circuits throughout his career, including Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (MRRA).
This weekend, the Gold-rated driver will look to put that experience in both categories to use behind the wheel of the Paul Miller Racing #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO alongside season-long co-driver Neil Verhagen and endurance driver Dan Harper, with the trio aiming to secure the GTD Pro championship for the team.
Reading the traffic at Road Atlanta
“The GTP car at Road Atlanta is probably one of the most physical and mentally draining tracks for that car because you’re just on top of it,” De Phillippi said. “Every part of the lap. When the sun goes down, it’s one of those tracks where it kind of feels like you’re on like three-times the speed. Everything feels a lot faster in that car, especially with the way you have to work the wheel there. Obviously, degradation is a big topic there, as well as. I would say the marbling over the years has become worse and worse, just with tires, different materials being used.
“All that starts to play a big factor into how we drive in GT, how we kind of choose our line in terms of which side we’re going to make people pass. I think when it comes down to the final hours, it comes down to knowing which cars are going to be around you. The decisions you make in those moments, because of that. That’s all going to be super crucial information that we’re going to need from the team, because the more we know, the more we can expect of how aggressive those drivers are going to be coming through.
“I think we know there’s a couple cars, and I’ve been a little more aggressive than others throughout the year, and so we kind of, as drivers, and have a mental note of who’s coming, and at what point in the race we are, and how aggressive we need to be, and how aggressive they might be.
“So, I definitely have an understanding of how that dynamic is going to work, especially at that track. I obviously respect the difficulty of when you’re on edge in dirty air in a GTP car and offline trying to overtake, and what that feels like to be forced into a situation. So, obviously trying to not do that, but equally maximize my own results, so, that definitely gives me a little advantage, but, obviously, with how tight things are in our series and our class, every little bit helps, so hopefully I can use that to my upper hand when it comes to the final hours.”
One car against the multi-car squads
While De Phillippi feels his experience navigating the ever-changing conditions of Road Atlanta across the 10-hour race provides an advantage, the California-born driver believes the presumed benefits of operating a single-car program could also present a disadvantage for Paul Miller Racing entering the weekend.
“To be honest, I would call it a disadvantage,” De Phillippi said. “There’s a large amount of high-quality teams prepping more than one car. It’s very difficult, but you’d always rather have two in the chamber. Rhere’s an additional Corvette (DragonSpeed #81) in the race as well in GTD PRO going into Road Atlanta, so that’s one more, if they can get them up to speed and be competitive. It’s a very good team. They’re fighting for the championship last year with another manufacturer, but they know how to do the job, clearly. That’s going to be a challenge.
Although competing against multi-car programs presents its own set of challenges, De Phillippi remains confident in the group around him as Paul Miller Racing looks to continue its strong 2026 campaign and secure another IMSA GT championship.
“It’s been a challenge. We’ve kind of been up against that all season. not changing what we’ve been doing. We’ve been… we’ve been very, you know, process oriented. We’ve focused on qualifying points for that exact reason all season, and we’ve seen the dynamic of that change from beginning to end of the season. We’re probably one of the only teams using two sets during qualifying, trying to maximize qualifying points. And now the last couple rounds, we’ve seen a lot of people using two sets as well. So, as a single-car team, it’s kind of been fun to put the pressure on them to react to us.
“Equally, in terms of race ability and strategy and things like that, you have way more options when you have multiple cars in the race on the same team or same manufacturer. It kind of is what it is. I know they’re going to want to get as many cars ahead of us as they can to reduce the amount of points we get. But it doesn’t really change what we do. We just got to go out there and aim to win the race, strategize around that, and let it ride.”
De Phillippi and Paul Miller Racing will look to carry their momentum into Saturday, October 3, when the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship concludes its 2026 campaign with the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. The season finale is scheduled to begin at Noon ET, with live coverage in the United States available across NBC, NBCSN and Peacock, as well as internationally on IMSA.tv and IMSA’s official YouTube channel.
