2007 Skip Barber champion Joel Miller, 19 from Hesperia Ca, is pleased to announce that he has signed for JDC Motorsport to contest the 2008 Star Mazda Championship. Miller progresses as champion of the 2007 Skip Barber National championship, his first full season in cars, with 5 wins and 10 podium finishes from 14 starts.  Joel was also selected for a place in the 2007 Team USA Scholarship program, which included a drive in the Formula Palmer Audi winter series in England, where Joel impressed with his speed and engineering feedback. Previous recipients of this award, who include Brian Herta, Memo Gidley, Phil Giebler, Jimmy Vasser, Buddy Rice and 2007 Star Mazda Champion Dane Cameron have gone on to have successful careers in professional racing with many race and championship wins to their credit.

Joel at the recent PRI show

In 2006 Miller was Stars of Karting National champion, and last month in Las Vegas he showed he was still a top quality kart racer by winning the SKUSA championship. Joel has said " I look forward working with John Church, Rick Cameron and all at JDC, also with Mazda having been selected as part of their young driver development programme." “Having raced in the Mazda ‘ladder’ from Karting through Skip Barber, the move into Star Mazda for 2008 is the next logical step for my career.”

Miller joins the JDC MotorSports squad having recently completed a successful test with the team at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California. Thanks to funding via Mazda Motorsports’ driver development program, the reward for winning the 2007 Skip Barber National title, the teenager from California will contest the entire 12-race Star Mazda schedule this coming season. Working with newly re-signed race engineer Rick Cameron, Miller will be part of a multi-car team, partnering with yet-to-be-named drivers.

Joel becomes the third consecutive Skip Barber National champion to enter the Star Mazda Championship, following in the footsteps of Gerardo Bonilla and Jonathan Goring. The personable pilot will be seeking to provide JDC with its second consecutive, driver, team and rookie championship titles.

A native of Hesperia, Calif., Miller enters the Star Mazda Championship having already established himself as a winner. First getting behind the wheel via local kart racing, Miller quickly became not only one of the leading karters in the region, but in all of North America. This culminated in 2006, when he captured the Star of Karting Intercontinental A national championship. Prior to winning this prestigious title, he had already made his car racing debut. As part of PR1 Motorsports driver development program, he extensively tested a Formula Ford in 2003. The following year, he entered and won his first pro race in the Pacific F2000 Series. With limited financial backing, he raced only a limited number of Skip Barber races in 2005 and 2006, winning in his National series debut.

Like many, it took some help to get him into a car full-time and thanks to a series scholarship earned via the Skip Barber Karting Shootout, the Californian competed in the Skip Barber National full-time this past season. Making the most of the opportunity, he captured the series title with a series-high five wins. In addition to racing in Skip Barber, Miller traveled to England and competed in the Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy as a Team USA Scholarship winner.

Based in Minnesota, JDC MotorSports has quickly established itself as one of the top junior-open wheel teams in North America. Co-owned and operated by motorsports veteran John Church, the team enjoyed its best season to date in 2007. With series rookie Dane Cameron leading the charge, JDC captured both the driver and team titles in the Star Mazda Championship in its second full-season of series competition, scoring a series-high three wins.

Prior to racing in the Star Mazda Championship JDC MotorSports competed in the Cooper Tires Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship, winning multiple races. With a reputation for developing talented young drivers, the team will expand its efforts in 2008, fielding multi-car entries in both the Star Mazda Championship and the F2000 Championship Series.

Following a short break for the holiday season, Miller and JDC MotorSports will commence an extensive winter testing program ahead of Round One of the Star Mazda Championship at Sebring International Raceway on March 13, as part of the Mobil1 12 Hours of Sebring event.