|
Photo by http://www.johnsracingphotos.com
Issues early on put quick end to feature for Brett Miller after blistering track in semi win
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – April 28, 2009…After turning a lap under the existing weekly track record at Silver Dollar Speedway in the b-main on Friday night Chico's Brett Miller hoped to carry it over into the main event, however, steering box issues dashed any hopes of that and put an early end to the 25 lap race.
The event this past Friday marked the third Feather Falls Casino point race of the season and was the first time that 410 sprints have competed at the Silver Dollar Speedway since April 3. The night as a whole was also very special as it paid tribute to Bill Brownell and the winner of the main event received a nice $3,000.
Miller went into the night after finishing third during the Feather Falls Casino point opener earlier in the month and for the evening was utilizing a borrowed Don Ott Engine, giving the Care Free Pools Racing team a little more horsepower under the hood for the event. As the night began that was apparent as Miller continued his solid qualifying efforts this season by cutting an 11.843 for the third fastest time in the 28 car field.
In the heat race the 19 year-old driver got a great start from the outside of the third row at the waving of the green as he charged up to battle for second until disaster struck rounding turn four. Just as Miller was looking for the runner-up spot on the bottom he came in contact with one of the big white tires and suffered severe front end damage, forcing him out of the eight lap contest and into semi main.
As the night went on the Silver Dollar Speedway surface seemed to get faster and faster with the quarter-mile clay oval being very hooked up. Starting from the pole in the b-main Miller quickly shot to the lead and put distance between himself and second place Sean Becker. The Care Free Pools, Wolfe Electric, Simpson Race Products No. 1x was locked down to the speedway as crew chief Brian Cannon and the team expertly hit the set-up and gave Miller exactly what he needed for the extremely fast track.
"The Catfish" appeared to be running as strong as he ever has at the Silver Dollar bullring and when looking at the computer that was certainly the case. Miller continued to get faster with the race winding down as he turned laps of 11.400, 11.341 and then on lap 10 turned a blazing fast 11.189. He proceeded to charge away and easily pick up the win to transfer into the feature. Unfortunately issues occurred that were most likely created during the heat race incident as it looked like the steering box had damage and handling didn't work quite as well in traffic.
In the open track things were fine, but racing around cars was different when he was forced to get on and off the gas abruptly. It ultimately resulted in him spinning off the track on the opening lap in the feature and then going to the work area. The 1x team attempted to get the steering box changed, but just as soon as the work was about to be done, racing got back underway and Miller was trapped in the pits to put an end to the event. "The night didn't end how we hoped, but the good thing is that we're fast and the confidence is back in this whole team," the Chico racer said.
Although not an official record, Miller's lap of 11.189 in the b-main was faster than Sean Becker's regular season track record of 11.203 set last August. It was also under Jonathan Allard's Golden State Challenge Series track record for Silver Dollar Speedway and just off Joey Saldana's all time mark of 10.918. "The car definitely felt fast in the b-main and I just can't wait to get back out here because I think we can start putting some wins together with how quick this car has been," Miller said. "Brian and the guys are giving me some great race cars and we're really clicking well right now."
The next scheduled event for Miller will be this Friday's fourth Feather Falls Casino point race at Silver Dollar Speedway. Going into the night the Care Free Pools, Live Energy Drink, Platinum Powder Coating Maxim sits 10th in the current standings, but is just 18 points back of the lead in a tightly bunched race for the top spot. There is also a possibility of competing on Saturday at the Tribute to Al Hinds in Placerville, but that is still up in the air.
More news and info on Chico, CA's Brett Miller can be found at the http://www.brettmillerracing.net
----------------------
After showing immense speed last week Brett Miller & Care Free Pools Racing will look for a consistent night this Friday at the fourth Feather Falls Casino point race in Chico. Photo by http://www.graphxdesigns.com
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
|
