Paul Miller Racing Photo
ALTON, Virginia (August 23, 2026) – Qualifying at VIR came with an extra challenge for Neil Verhagen on Saturday. Following a red flag in Friday’s opening practice, IMSA regulations meant the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO would lose its fastest qualifying lap. One very good lap would therefore not be enough.
Verhagen responded with several quick laps throughout the session. His fastest, a 1:44.810, would have been good enough for second on the GTD PRO grid before it was deleted as expected.
That left his 1:44.957 from the eighth and final lap as the time that counted, securing third place and a second-row start for Sunday’s Michelin GT Challenge at VIR.
The margins at the front underlined just how close the session had been. Verhagen finished only 0.184 seconds behind the pole-sitting No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini and just 0.033 seconds behind the No. 4 Corvette in second.
The result came after a busy start to the weekend for Paul Miller Racing. Verhagen had been third fastest in Practice 1 on Friday before an off-track moment brought out the red flag and left the No. 1 BMW requiring repairs.
The crew worked to put the car back together before Saturday morning’s second practice, where the team finished ninth.
By qualifying later that afternoon, the pace was back.
Verhagen was able to push throughout the session and still secure a place on the second row despite knowing before he left pit lane that his quickest lap would not remain on the timing screen.
That performance continues Verhagen’s strong qualifying record at VIR.
He also started from second on the GTD PRO grid at the Virginia circuit last season, while Paul Miller Racing has enjoyed plenty of success at the track in recent years, including consecutive victories in 2023 and 2024.
With only GTD PRO and GTD cars racing at VIR this weekend, there is also a different feel to the event.
With no prototype traffic to manage and only 23 GT cars sharing the 3.27-mile circuit, qualifying offered an early indication of how closely matched the leading cars could be during Sunday’s 2-hour, 40-minute race.
The starting position also puts Paul Miller Racing directly behind its closest championship rival. The No. 4 Corvette will line up second, with Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi starting third as the GTD PRO title fight enters the final three races of the season.
After qualifying, Verhagen was quick to credit the team for getting the No. 1 BMW back into a position to fight at the front:
“First and foremost, I want to express my thanks to every single member of the Paul Miller Racing team for their dedication and hard work in giving me such a good race car after my mistake in Practice 1,” Verhagen said.
“I owe today’s result to all the guys for their remarkable efforts.
“As for qualifying, I was very happy with my performance. The car felt fantastic and, although we had a deleted lap, the result was still good. Looking ahead to the race tomorrow, it will be a hot one!”
The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR gets underway on Sunday, August 23, at 12:10 p.m. ET. Live coverage begins at 12:00 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock in the United States, with IMSA.tv and the IMSA Official YouTube channel streaming the race internationally.