2013 Nissan GT Academy champ McMillen drives Doran Z to 7th fastest qualifying time at Daytona in first U.S. race

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Nissan GT Academy’s 2013 North American Champion Nickolas McMillen celebrated his 22^nd birthday doing his favorite thing: pushing a race car to its limit at Daytona International Speedway during qualifying for Friday’s BMW 200 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (CTSCC) race.

McMillen will start the Doran Racing GT Academy Nissan 370Z NISMO in 9^th position. However, his fastest lap was nullified due to a differential leak on his last lap causing a red flag condition and an end to the session with about two minutes left. McMillen will share the #41 Doran Racing GT Academy Nissan 370Z NISMO with 2011 GT Academy North American winner Bryan Heitkotter.

“I haven’t raced in a while, and most of what I raced in Europe had sequential (gearbox) shifting,” said McMillen. “I’m just starting to develop a rhythm in the 370Z. Getting into a new car at a new track against tough competition is going to be a challenge, but I’m really excited to represent Nissan and Doran. My goal is to stay clean, stay out of trouble, but also go fast during the race.”

Doran’s #14 car driven by Brad Jaeger struggled with an alignment problem and qualified 11^th fastest.  Tim Bell Racing’s #29 car qualified 18^th by Brian Kleeman. TBR’s #28 did not qualify due to electrical repairs but will be ready to go for the race on Friday, starting at the back.

Friday's race, the BMW Performance 200, is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. Eastern and will stream live at IMSA.com.

For more information on Nissan GT Academy North America, follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GTAcademyNA

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Contact:

Steve Yaeger
Corporate Communications
Nissan North America, Inc.
615-725-4443
Steve.yaeger@nissan-usa.com