This week, my friend and new teammate John Tecce has been kind enough to allow me to write this blog entry, to provide my perspective on things. Who am I, anyway? My name is Jon Miller and I'm the newest addition the BGB Motorsports Group driver lineup. I drove all last year with Automatic Racing in my first full season in the KONI Challenge. As 2007 came to a close, like every other driver in the paddock, I was furiously working on my plans for 2008. In the racing world, nothing ever seems certain. Especially at the end of the season which is the most stressful time for drivers and teams, more so when you're trying to clinch a championship, as we did with the No. 09 car, driven by Jep Thornton and Jeff Segal.

As a driver, you develop a special relationship with your team. When the summer comes and the racing season really kicks into gear, your team becomes your extended family and your social circle. Your co-driver becomes your roommate and your teammates and crew become your best friends. You learn to trust and collaborate with your crew chief and after a full season or driving the same car; you even develop a special attachment to your trusty steed. You learn the little nuances and personality traits of your racecar (and some of them have quite a bit of personality) and how to make it do what you want, when you want. It was an interesting lesson, being a part of a top level, four-car team. There were some weekends when all four cars would end up on totally different setups, but would all end up within one tenth of a second on the time sheet. No two cars are alike, even if they came from the same manufacturer, were built in the same shop and have all the same parts.

When the season finally came to a close and the celebration in Las Vegas ended, my 2008 plans were still not confirmed. As all of my friends and fellow drivers buttoned up their schedules and made press releases about their 2008 campaigns, I was still working and calling around to find a situation that would be the right fit for me. As a young driver, just completing my rookie season, I was set on returning to the KONI Challenge, armed with a year's worth of experience. I was calling around to teams all throughout the paddock, trying to find a co-driver and trying to keep track of who still had seats available, and of those seats, which team owner/manager/driver I hadn't inadvertently pissed off during the prior year. I'm kidding about that last part. Sort of.

Daytona was upon us and I was able to strike an 11th hour deal with Automatic, for another full season. I was ecstatic! I was back with the team that I knew and loved, in the car that I had spent a year learning in and my co-driver was set to be a good friend and a great driver. Things couldn't be any better; this is exactly what I was hoping for!

Then I got the phone call, as I was packing my gear to leave for the Test Days. The deal was off. As it happens in racing, there were last minute decisions that were totally out of my control, which directly affected my drive for the year. Back to the drawing board, again. I showed up to Test Days and participated anyway, hoping to work something out in the few short weeks between testing and racing. The phone calls and emails started up again. I had come very close to signing a deal with BGB just prior to the last minute deal with Automatic, so they were the obvious first call.

To wrap this all up, I started the season with Automatic at Daytona, determined to show what I was capable of. After qualifying third and then leading the race for the first hour and ten minutes, I felt I had done all I could to make a good impression on my sponsors (big thanks to Scott Weeden and Weeden Consultants) and anyone else who happened to be watching. After the post race congratulations to my friends at BGB Motorsports, the wheels were set into motion that secured my drive with them for the rest of the year. I was hesitant to switch to a Porsche, a car that I'd only ever driven once before and that I'd heard all sorts of crazy things about.

I was also apprehensive about the new team atmosphere and dynamic, would I get along with everyone as well as I did at Automatic? After testing with the team at Barber Motorsports Park for the first time this past weekend, all of that worry is gone. I'm thrilled and excited to get the opportunity to learn a new platform and work with another team that obviously has its ducks in a row.

As expected, BGB is a top team, with top equipment and a top level crew running the show. It was fantastic to get back behind the wheel after such a long break post Daytona and I'm now more excited than ever to get back to racing at Lime Rock.