Blackhawk Farms CTS, Miller SSC race report / results

Miller Captures Blackhawk Farms SSC Shifter Kart Pro Series S1 Battle

South Beloit, IL - Round two of the MG Tires Championship Enduro Series at Blackhawk Farms Raceway, found another furious battle for the top spot on the podium waged between seven top longtrack shifter drivers. Marc Miller (CTS/TM) took the win making a pass on the final turn of the race as the rest of the field spread five wide in an attempt to catch Miller.

The entire field ran nose to tail with barely a second separating first from seventh place for the entire twenty-five minute race. Many of the pit lane observers called the event the best shifter race they have ever seen.

Lead changes came early and often with Miller, Ted Tackett (Interkart/Honda), Tim Koutny (Fox/Honda), Patrick Burke (Trackmagic/Honda), Chris Wright (Trackmagic/Honda), Lance Lane (Trackmagic/Honda) and Erik Winberg (PCR/Honda) all spending time at the point.

As the field thundered to the white flag, Erik Winberg led the train with Miller right behind. Going into the final turn, Ted Tackett went to the inside trying to out-brake Miller and Winberg. As Tackett slid onto the grass, Miller dove inside passing Winberg. "I knew at this point the drag race was on," added Miller. I tucked my head and started grabbing gears until I crossed the line."

The SSC Pro drivers battled challenging track conditions all weekend trying to find the right set-up for the very bumpy Blackhawk surface. As drivers came off the track, they surveyed the damage wrought by the track. Tackett had a severely damaged rear brake rotor, his second of the weekend, and Miller discovered a slightly bent axle.

The post-race celebration found Miller joined on the podium by Chris Wright in second and Patrick Burke in third.

The win puts Miller into second place behind round one winner, Tim Koutny, as the series heads into its next race at the challenging Grattan Raceway June 1-3.

In other series news, Terry Riggins, SKSUA Great Lakes Regional Director, and long-time karting official, joined the SSC Pro Shifter Series to assist with organization and administration tasks throughout the season. <pre> OFFICIAL RESULTS (top 5):

POS: DRIVER: CHASSIS/ENGINE/ENGINE BUILDER/TIRES: QUAL: TIME:

1       Marc Miller     CTS / TM Moto / PSL Racing / MG         7       1:21.691
2       Chris Wright    Trackmagic / Honda / ShiftwerX / MG     3       1:16.649
3       Patrick Burke   Trackmagic / Honda / Barros / MG        5       1:17.401
4       Tim Koutny      Fox / Honda / Rocket Racing / MG        1       1:16.290
5       Ted Tackett     InterKart / Honda / Champion / MG       4       1:16.873

Point Positions going into Grattan, MI (June 1-3)

Tim Koutny 358 Marc Miller 348 Lance Lane 298

-tblaney motorsports