Corvette Racing Goes Old School for Laguna
Courtesy of Corvette Racing/Team Chevy
By Dennis Krause
While the novelty of a “Throwback” weekend has worn off in NASCAR’s Cup Series, there’s excitement for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s version at this weekend’s StubHub Monterey SportsCar Championship at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca — at least on behalf of Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports.
According to Corvette Factory driver Tommy Milner, a three-time winner at Laguna Seca, the team’s two Corvette C6 GT3 R. GTD (Grand Touring Daytona) PRO entries will compete in a special throwback livery similar to the 2000 early season Corvette C5-Rs.
“Yeah, obviously super, super cool livery from the team, joining some other teams this weekend. To throw it back to an earlier era of Corvette Racing. I think the response so far from the crew has been pretty positive, with some of them hoping that we can continue that for the rest of the season with that livery. A fun thing to do, especially with the history that Corvette Racing has and some of the details. If you look at the door panel there, it says Pratt Miller Motorsports Plus. So, kind of harkening back to some of the other sponsors that were on the door. Super cool to be in that car and fun for the fans to see something new every now and then.”
No matter the timing, Milner believes it’s important to take a moment to honor the history of American sports car racing.
“Yeah, no question. I think the idea was a great one. Sports car racing has been growing in popularity considerably over the last couple of years. Having been racing for a long time, one of my first wins in my career was 2005 at Laguna here, it's been a long time for me, and when you think about what it was then and where we are now, it's always been this general upslope in popularity.
“So, you can say that we're late to the game in some ways, but I think it just tracks well with sports car racing. Obviously, there's a huge history in the United States, but kind of in its current form to start to have teams that have been around for as long as they have. Obviously, Corvette Racing being the oldest kind of continuously running teams… there's a lot of history there to pull from, from our side.
Courtesy of Corvette Racing/Team Chevy
“And it's one for the fans, right? Sports car racing has grown in popularity and we have a lot of new fans, and it's fun to expose them to the not-so-distant past in some ways of sports car racing. I think in many ways, it encourages these new fans to take a look back at where sports car racing was 10/15/20 years ago and to see what it was like then. And, I think in general, many fans. Many people in the paddock have great memories of those previous times, especially a lot of the Corvette Racing fans.
“So yeah, it's great for us to be a part of that, great to kind of give a nod to the team of the past and hopefully make some of our own history this weekend.”
While he’s won in the SRO World Challenge America Series, it’s been five years since Milner has stood on the top step of the podium in the WeatherTech championship. After chasing wins and coming up short last year, Milner says the No. 4 Corvette team is changing its approach.
“For me, I’m excited to be at Laguna. I feel like (co-driver) Nicky (Catsburg) and I have had a good start to the season so far, kind of building on some momentum from last year as well. The goal at times last year was just trying to get race wins. This year, both Nicky and I agreed that just getting points is more important than always going for outright race wins.
“It's great to be in a good position and getting those points at the first two races,” Milner added. “Obviously, a lot of racing happening there, 36 hours of racing, and to be at the front for most of that hopefully bodes well for the rest of the season. But now we kind of get into the meat of the season here in IMSA where these two-hour and 40-minute races will feel quick, and will feel short compared to those first two endurance races. So, really minimizing mistakes in the race, making sure that we have a good race car from the start to the finish. And, hoping to continue down the path of scoring points and going for a championship.”
For Milner, it’s the strength and depth of the team that leads him to believe to he can win every time he’s at the track.
“With Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller, it's the strength of the team, the strength of the engineering staff there, all the men and women on the team. I've said since day one with this team that I feel like every time I'm at the track, they provide me a chance to win the race. Nicky and (Alexander) Sims are in the sim right now, the DIL (Driver In The Loop) sim in Charlotte. So, they're getting some time trying to find as much laptime as they can with some setup options for us.
“We always lean on our strengths. And I feel like right now the team’s working well together, Nicky, myself, (No. 3 Corvette co-drivers) Alexander and Antonio (Garcia) as well, we gel well together and have a lot of fun at the racetrack and push each other to be better and better. That's all we can do, is just focus on ourselves… figure out once we get going here, what our strengths and weaknesses are, and then from there build a plan for the race that we think is going to either keep us up front if that's where we are pace-wise, or if we're not quite the quickest then then looking for a strategy for the race that can provide us a chance to be more towards the front there as well.
“So, hopefully a little bit of good luck with that paint scheme from the days of the C5-R when that thing was winning everything. And really put our foot forward for the rest of the season, with the first of the sprint races here in IMSA.”
If the throwback livery leads to a win at Laguna, who knows, maybe we’ll see it again.
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.