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SALT LAKE CITY — Miller Racing, based in Salt Lake City, finished sixth overall in Round 8 of the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Series at the Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wis., on Saturday, August 10.
The No. 158 Miller Racing Ford Mustang Boss 302R, co-driven by team principal Roger Miller and Ian James, is sponsored by Total Care Auto in addition to Miller Motorsports Park and the Ford Racing School. The car is prepared and crewed by Dempsey Racing.
This was the team's best result of the season to date, and propelled Miller and James into a tie for ninth place in the drivers championship. The team is currently 10th in the team championship standings.
Miller qualified in 14th place, his best qualifying effort of the season, and opened the 2.5-hour race strongly. He put in a steady drive up to 11th place when the first caution flew at the 25-minute mark. The pits opened right at the 30-minute mark (drivers must drive at least 30 minutes to be eligible for points), and Miller pitted for tires, fuel and a driver change. The Total Care Auto Boss 302 was hit by another car in the pit lane, taking off the passenger-side mirror and damaging the rear wing. Despite the extra time spent in the pit, James re-entered the race in 12th position.
James had an amazing drive, motoring up to third place overall. A second, late-race pit stop for fuel dropped him back to 11th position. With aggressive driving and other cars pitting late for fuel, James made it back to fifth place in the closing laps. However, on the last lap the car stumbled, low on fuel, and James was passed to finish the race in sixth place.
Road America is one of America's grand racetracks and a favorite of both drivers, and that was reflected in their performances.
"Road America continues to be one of my best tracks," said Miller. "This is the third time I have raced here, and every time it is ‘the best race I've ever had!' Of course, the first time was my first professional race, but last year we finished fifth. Even though this wasn't our best finishing position, I feel that it was our best race. Ian helped me fix a couple of fundamental things I was doing wrong in my driving, and it made all the difference in the world. Plus, the Dempsey Racing crew had the car at its best, and together we performed at or near our true potential. It was a very satisfying day.
"As always, none of this would be possible without the support of Total Care Auto and our other sponsors as well as my family and everyone on our team. I'd like to particularly thank my friend, Dr. Jacques Dallaire of Performance Prime, for his continued encouragement. Sometimes I think he and my wife both have more faith in me than I have in myself."
"It was a great weekend in Wisconsin," said James, "and a great day for the Total Auto Care team. We really had a legitimate shot at the podium this weekend. Roger has been driving out of his skin lately, and this race was a continuation of that as he moved the car forward at the start of the race. The team had a great strategy, and but for a liter of gas we would have finished in fifth. It really is rewarding to be part of a team that has evolved into such a cohesive unit, and I truly appreciate all the help and support we receive from our sponsors, the Miller family and everyone else who makes this possible."
It will be a quick turnaround for the Miller Racing squad, as the team's next outing will be this weekend, August 16-17, at Kansas Speedway.
The race from Road America will be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis at 2:00 p.m. MDT on Saturday, August 17, on SPEED. Live timing and scoring during all on-track sessions is available at www.Grand-Am.com. Grand-Am also offers mobile apps for both iPhone and Android platforms, available at Google Play and the App Store, respectively, which will provide live timing and scoring among other features.
For more information on Miller Racing, visit the team's website at www.MillerRacing.com. Fans are invited to follow the team at Facebook: www.facebook.com/roger.miller158 and on Twitter: @millerracingUT.
Photo Caption: Miller Racing team principal Roger Miller and co-driver Ian James drove the No. 158 Total Care Auto Ford Mustang Boss 302R to its best result of the season in Round 8 of the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. (Photo courtesy Miller Racing / Margie Gerard)
