Marc Miller, of Zeeland, plans on sticking with stock car racing the rest of the summer, and so far, that has been working out much better for him. Miller is back piloting the No. 8 Carhartt Dodge in the Canadian Association of Stock Car Racing on a limited basis, and he has now run two races in 2005. The most recent event was this past weekend's Berms-R-Us/Clarington 200 at Mosport International Raceway.
Miller finished 23rd overall on the 2.5 mile road course after an eventful race that saw him working through the field three different times. Miller started ninth but had to duck into the pits on the pace lap to fix a engine misfire, and that left him last in the 33-car field at the drop of the green flag. He later spun out twice, including once after he was closing in on the top 10. "I probably passed over 50 guys, but unfortunately, I didn't have a very good finish," Miller said. "With 11 to go, I had worked my way back up to 12th and we were lapping a second faster than the seventh or eighth place cars. "But then the guy behind me made a bonsai move, and my teammate behind him told me that he clipped me in the right rear. "I did a 360 spin on the straightaway and lost four spots. I got going again and passed another guy, but someone else spun me out. "My wheel was bent and I was leaking out of a right rear seal. I ended up 23rd."
CASCAR was established in 1981, and it's the governing body for amateur and pro stock car racing in Canada. It travels throughout Canada, making stops from Quebec to British Columbia, giving drivers a chance to run on big road courses to short-tracks a quarter-mile in size. Miller was the only American driver in this past weekend's field. He is back for his third season in CASCAR. "We had a good car, as Marc showed on the race track," crew chief Jason Leuschen said. "Marc put in a blistering lap in qualifying, even though he was in traffic, so we are looking forward to rebounding in Toronto with a strong finish."
The Toronto race is scheduled for July 10, and it will run on the undercard of the Toronto Molson Indy weekend. Miller finished ninth overall in that race a year ago. "It's extremely competitive," Miller said. "I'm racing against guys who have been doing this for 15 years and nothing has changed in the series. You have 20 guys who have the same type of car and tire for the last 15 years. It's tough to compete on a limited schedule. You don't have the same amount of seat time, practice time and race time. "It makes it tougher, but we were able to show well, particularly at the road course event. Hopefully, we can make up for it in Toronto."
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