Miller took the #8 Carhartt Dodge through the pack three times before mechanical gremlins sidelined the team
BOWMANVILLE,ON (June 20, 2005) --- Marc Miller and his Carhartt Racing #8 Dodge looked to be in the driver’s seat for a top 8 finish at this weekend’s Berms-R-Us / Clarington 200 CASCAR event at Mosport International Raceway’s 2.5-mile road-course event. The sole American driver in the field qualified the car 9th in the 33-car field but was forced to start in the back after discovering an ignition misfire on the warm-up lap. The driver fought his way up through the field three times – making more passes than any other driver (over 50) before moving into a position for a top-8 finish with 11-laps to go. That top-10 finish slipped away when he was tagged from behind on a restart then black-flagged by officials with 6-laps to go. Miller would finish 23rd.
“Once we just put it all together I think we are going to have one amazing race weekend,” said Miller. “We got the car gridded in the top 10 and had a top-6 car for sure. I doubt that I could have driven any harder. I was on a mission and passing cars anywhere I could to claw our way back up to the front. I think I made over 50 passes for position!”
Miller had to pull out of his 9th place position on the pace lap and pull into pit-lane so the team could diagnose the engine misfire. Once it was fixed, it put Miller in a huge disadvantage, not only having to start in last place, but also 30 seconds behind the pack when the green flag had fallen. Miller reeled off quick laps and passed several packs of cars fighting his way to the front. When the caution came out, Miller was already in the top 15.
“We definitely had a fast car today,” said Miller. “I know if we would have started up front, we would have stayed there all day but that is just how it goes. We had several fans come over after the race that had noticed what we were accomplishing on the track and that definitely makes me proud. This CASCAR series is full of drivers and teams that have done this for 15 years. To be able to run a limited schedule and walk in and run in the top 10 is a great achievement. We just need to put it all together and get in the top 5.”
“We had a good car today as Marc showed on the racetrack,” said Jason Leuschen, crew chief of the #8 Carhartt Dodge. “Marc put in a blistering lap in qualifying, even though he was in traffic so we are looking forward to rebounding at Toronto with a strong finish.”
The Carhartt Racing team will be ready for the next road course event, the Toronto Molson Indy on July 10 in front of a crowd of over 100,000 people. Miller, a seasoned road-racer, hopes to improve on his strong 9th place finish last year and expects to be able to qualify and finish strong.
“There is a soft-spot in my heart for Toronto’s street-circuit,” said Miller. “We ran well there last year even with chassis gremlins and had an 8th place run the year before that before a problem with our clutch forced us to lose time. We have a better car and more experience and definitely a hunger to win so I am looking forward to getting on track and not having any problems.”
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