IMSA Watkins Glen

Kaylen Frederick returns to a very different JDC-Miller team

Since his last IMSA start, the privateer Porsche squad has added Laurin Heinrich and won at Laguna Seca

Joey Barnes

Published: Jun 27, 2026, 3:47 PM

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#5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963: Tijmen van der Helm, Nico Pino, Kaylen Frederick

Photo by: IMSA

There is a different feel to JDC-Miller MotorSports since the last time Kaylen Frederick was in the car.

Frederick is back co-driving the #5 Porsche 963 for the Sahlen’s 6 Hours of The Glen, a little over three months since his previous appearance at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Over that stretch, the John Church-led outfit managed to acquire Porsche factory breakout star Laurin Heinrich for the sprint rounds of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, with the German helping pull off a stellar victory at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca - the first-ever privateer win in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class.

Through the uniqueness of Heinrich sitting second in the championship, courtesy of his two season-opening wins with his other responsibilities with Porsche Penske Motorsport (PPM), he was pivoted - and added - to JDC-Miller’s endurance lineups for Watkins Glen International and Road America. He will end the season with PPM at Petit Le Mans before taking over one of the entries full-time next season.

Frederick, 24, made his IMSA debut at Daytona and has been doing mostly simulator work since Sebring. However, he was present for Heinrich’s first weekend with JDC-Miller at Long Beach, where they finished sixth.

Kaylen Frederick, ART Grand Prix

Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli - Getty Images

And this weekend the Maryland has enjoyed not only getting back in the car, but getting the opportunity to work with Heinrich, as the pair also co-drive the entry with full-timer Tijmen van der Helm.

“It's been really good,” Frederick said. “I mean, to be honest, he has more races with the team than I do now, because I've only done Daytona and Sebring. He brings a lot of experience, which is great for the team. Just helping them develop and go in the right direction. It's something that I can only give a certain amount of feedback of what I'd like with the car. But, somebody that has that more experience and sort of knows what helps it go fast can move the team in the right direction, which is tricky for me or Tijmen to do.

“Obviously, with not having the experience from Penske or being a Porsche factory driver, you just get that bit more information, right? You have more experience.”

#5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963: Tijmen van der Helm, Laurin Heinrich, Laurens Vanthoor

Photo by: Art Fleischmann

While it might appear to be a significant difference in experience, Frederick also noted how the differences in the team - and car, as JDC-Miller runs without this year’s Joker upgrades - are something to retain awareness of as the weekend goes on.

“I think the main thing that we're also having to manage is to maximize what we have and not necessarily try to copy other people, because it is still a different car,” Frederick said.

“It's a different philosophy. So I think we're having to not take it with a grain of salt, but make sure we're not going too far away from our own philosophies that we're not in no man's land.

“We're just trying to find a balance of going in a certain direction that Laurin might feel is better, but also making sure we're still within a good window and not just massively experimenting for a race because you still want to get a good result. But I think they've done a good job at the sprint races recently. They've been pretty strong. So, yeah, we'll see how we go this weekend. I think we have a good opportunity to be pretty quick.”

Looking forward

#5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963: Tijmen van der Helm, Laurin Heinrich, Kaylen Frederick

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images

As it stands, Frederick will only be in the car for the remaining endurance rounds as he focuses on a budget to expand his racing presence next season. With that in mind, there are certain things he wants to see out of himself before the year is over.

“Obviously everyone wants a good result,” he said. “They want the number, but I think it's all relative to the car's performance.

“Sebring or Daytona was never really possible for us to get on the podium. But at some race this year, it might be like it was at Laguna. So we'll obviously capitalize on those races when we do have a good performance. Otherwise, I think having Laurin in the car, just making sure I am learning a lot. Because he is quite helpful in giving those last bits of performance. He knows where all those small pieces are. But also, I think there is just a lot to learn in general. I'm still very new to endurance racing. I think I did relatively well at Daytona and Sebring, but I just want to polish up on a lot of different things. And get more comfortable with them so I feel more vetted because every time I get in the car, it feels like I'm getting up to speed. As opposed to I'm already on it and I can keep improving and pushing the team.

“So I think just to gather that experience is the main thing. And yeah, get used to every track and get more comfortable with the car just so I'm not getting in the car and feeling like I'm playing catch-up, because that's what it feels like when you're out of the car for three months.”

Watch: The Rolex 24 at Daytona: Precision, Perfection, and The Road To Victory (IMSA Endurance Racing)

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