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Dramatic & eventful weekend ends with 4th place finish at Quincy for Brett Miller
By Gary Thomas
June 24, 2007... Chico native Brett Miller had a very long and eventful go of it this past weekend, but in the end he tied his career best Golden State Challenge Series finish during the series’ first ever visit to the American Valley Speedway in Quincy, CA. Brett and the Care Free Pools team had a lot of things working against them during the weekend, but they showed what hard work and determination will do for you.
Last weekend saw Brett and the team take some time off as GSC was dark & Chico didn’t run 410's. Everyone was excited about getting back onto the track in Chico this past Friday night, but what transpired was one of the most up and down night’s any single team has had this season.
Friday’s point race at Silver Dollar Speedway started off with Brett running really good in hot laps, but on his first lap in qualifying he slowed to a stop in turn four with an engine issue. He was pushed to the pits and after getting the problem fixed he was able to take one lap at the end of qualifying. "The Catfish" turned a lap of 12.261 aboard the Care Free Pools, Care Free Custom Graphics, Smartwebsales.com No. 1x, placing him eleventh quickest. Ironically by taking one lap at the end of qualifying, a driver can’t be placed higher than eleventh, but even though he qualified at that spot, he was forced to start from behind the inversion in his heat race due to the rules.
Starting seventh in the opening heat race, Brett looked to the inside of Chris Masters in turns one and two, but the hole closed up which resulted in he and Masters making contact. Brett nearly tipped over but luckily the car bounced and eased back on all fours. Brett was able to restart the heat and was charging forward when Andy Forsberg got sideways off of turn two and left Brett with nowhere to go and he clipped Forsberg and went for a tumble down the backstretch. The 17 year-old got out of the car unscathed, but it put and end to the heat race.
With the help of the Care Free Pools team as well as assistance from a couple other teams, the damage from the flip was repaired and Brett was able to get out for the B-main. Although Brett had to start from behind the inversion in his heat race because of the qualifying penalty, he was able to keep his time for the B-main and he started from the front row. On the start he got a tad bit loose in turn two and caught one of the infield tractor tires and stopped to bring out the caution.
The damage couldn’t be fixed before the yellow lights were turned off, but a little bit of luck shined down on the team for the first time during the night, as the pole sitter jumped the ensuing restart and the yellow was thrown to move him to the back. This gave Brett the break he needed and he was able to push out onto the speedway on the same lap as everyone else. "The Catfish" was calm, cool and collected as he methodically worked his way forward and with the help of a couple cautions he was up to a transfer with just a handful of laps left in the B-main. As if things couldn’t get any crazier, smoke started to develop from back of the JP’s Paint & Body, Wolfe Electric, Jandy Pools, Maxim Chassis No. 1x. The smoke subsided a little when he got back on the gas and he was able to bring it home in the fourth and final transfer spot at the checkered flag. Unfortunately after getting back to the pits it was discovered that the engine was blown in the 1x machine and Brett was forced to scratch from the main event. It was definitely one of weirdest night’s Brett has had in his sprint car career but he put it behind him as he and Care Free Pools Racing made the drive to Quincy on Saturday.
The night in Quincy was the first time that the Golden State Challenge Series has ever competed at the 3/8 mile American Valley Speedway. The track is long 3/8 with very tight and flat corners which makes for some very close and narrow racing. After qualifying 17th quick Brett lined up on the outside of the third row in heat race number two. The youngster began to get a hang of the track midway through the heat race and he made a couple sweet passes of both Jim Richardson and Mark Tabor Sr. within the last couple laps to bring home a nice second place finish.
Brett started the 30 lap feature in 17th and on the start he was a victim of a huge pileup created by another car that got sideways near the front of the field. He was able to restart and was on the move early. "The Catfish" carved his way up to sixth by lap eight and during a red flag on lap 10, the Al’s Concrete, BR Motorsports, Kaeding Performance, Aspire Homes No. 1x sat in fifth place. Brett kept moving forward and on lap 12 he made the move around Tyler Spath to claim fourth. Over the last half of the race he got up to as high as third before losing a spot to Brent Kaeding on lap 20. At the checkered flag he brought home a fourth place finish aboard the Country Craftsman, River City Pools, A1A Performance Muffler No. 1x.
In Brett’s last three races with the Golden State Challenge Series he has scored two fourth’s and a sixth and has moved into fifth place in the series standings. He and the team have been through a lot of adversity over the last month, but have kept on trucking and have been rewarded with some very strong runs recently.
This coming Friday will see Brett and Care Free Pools Racing return to Silver Dollar Speedway for another night of point race competition. Then on Saturday we’ll make the haul down to Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway for the seventh to last night of the Golden State Challenge Series season.
For more on Chico, California driver Brett Miller visit http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Photo by Johns Racing Photos
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