Marc Miller SSC/CES Gateway report

Madison, IL - Nationally ranked S-1 shifter pilot, Marc Miller, turned in consistent performances at this weekend's MG Tires/Championship Enduro Series and SSC Pro Shifter Series events at Gateway Int'l Raceway in Madison, IL on July 26.

Miller, piloting his Intense Karting backed TonyKart entry, sat in third place in the final tally for both the CES SK-1 and SSC Racing S-1 Pro classes.

"We came here with the intention of winning both races, but more importantly to leave with the points lead for both classes," said Miller. "Once again PSL Karting has made a killer TM 125 available to me while the new TonyKart I have been running from Intense Karting has been terrific. Consistency is what is going to win these championships and it was a good feeling to be closer to that goal."

Saturday morning qualifying found Miller sitting third for both events, but in the CES SK-1 race he wasted no time moving to the lead and by half-way led a two kart draft away from the rest of the field. Leading 95% of the race at the fast Gateway Int'l Raceway would be a great position to be in if you were the only driver in the pack, but the long straights allow for very strong drafting effects, making it difficult to win the race leading the last lap. With four laps remaining, Miller began to experience ignition trouble, allowing the third place driver to catch and pass on the final lap to take the lead and the win. It turned out that a loose spark plug boot had cost Miller a good chance of victory. He finished third by less than a tenth of a second.

"That was a frustrating race," explained Miller. "Jon Kettlewell and I hooked up well together and drafted away from the rest of the field. To have led that much of the race and suffer a small problem like this is a tad frustrating, but we brought home another top three finish and all but locked up the CES SK-1 championship, so I can't be too disappointed in this result."

For the SSC Racing Pro Shifter race, Miller took a decidedly different approach. He elected to not try to lead throughout the 25-minute race until the final few laps. Miller ran second and third for the entire race, working with the lead pack of three to pull out a lead over the rest of the field. With three laps remaining, Miller began to jockey for position and tried a drafting move coming to the line that wasn't quite enough as he finished .139 seconds back from the victory in the third position.

"Another hard fought race, but it feels great to be back standing on the podium again," said Miller. "We are leaving here with the Pro series points lead and an empty bottle of champagne and for that I owe to my sponsors and crew. We are still learning and making improvements with our chassis and now have the new TonyKart working extremely well with the MG Tires we have been running all year."

"In addition to my sponsors, Intense Karting Imports, PSL Racing Engines, Shifter Kart Illustrated Magazine, MG Tires, AIM Sportsystems, DeCal Works and MMP Design, I would like to thank my mechanic this weekend, Tom Muffler, for all his help and special thanks to Tris Gour from ISIS, Inc. for aiding in the team transportation." Miller added.

Miller will next compete in a non-points event at Putnam Park, IN on August 25 & 26 before returning to Gateway Int'l on September 1 & 2 for round #6 of the CES - SSC Racing Pro Shifter Series. Miller currently leads the CES S-1 standings by a large margin and has a slight twenty-point lead over MO's Clayton Prater in the SSC Racing Pro Shifter Series standings with three rounds remaining.

-MMM