USAR: Motor Mile: Travis Miller preview

TRAVIS MILLER FULL OF CONFIDENCE HEADING INTO USAR HOOTERS PRO CUP NORTH EVENT AT MOTOR MILE
PETE KNIGHT RACING DRIVER COMING OFF SEASON-BEST SEVENTH-PLACE FINISH IN MOST RECENT USAR NORTH RACE

Mooresville, NC (July 9, 2008) -- After racing on number of tracks he had never seen prior to race day throughout the early part of this season, USAR Hooters Pro Cup driver Travis Miller will finally get a chance to compete in familiar surroundings in this Saturday's K-Mart 250 at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, VA.

"The last time I ran at Motor Mile was in 2006," said Miller (right). "I qualified fourth for the Hooters Pro Cup race there and was running in fourth when we had a brake failure. I've also run some late model stock car stuff there, so I have plenty of experience at Motor Mile. I've think I've got the track pretty well figured out. We just need to fine tune the car and I think we can score a good finish there."

Last time out, Miller wheeled his No. 81n Pete Knight Racing Chevrolet Monte Carlo to a seventh-place finish in the USAR Northern Division Lucas Oil 200 at Salem (IN) Speedway. The solid, race-long effort came on the heels of a career-best, second-place qualifying performance earlier in the day.

"Everybody seems to be a lot more confident after Salem," said Miller. "The attitude is great at the shop. Everybody is putting in a lot of time and effort to keep the momentum we gained there. Everyone is on track with what we are doing."

Miller will have the added benefit of competing alongside his Pete Knight Racing teammate Mark McFarland at Motor Mile this weekend. Being able to draw on the veteran's experience, along with that of crew chief Shane Huffman and McFarland's top kick, Wes Ward, is a huge advantage according to Miller.

"Motor Mile is an average track and is suited to my driving style," said Miller, shown with Huffman at left. "Everyone was telling me how difficult Salem was and I didn't really have any problems with it. Motor Mile is easier than that and I have previous experience there, so I'm pretty confident. It also helps a ton to have Wes and Shane putting their heads together to get a good chassis set up for Mark and myself. I'm sure we're going to have great cars to work with."

And what if it comes down to racing McFarland for the win late in the race this Saturday?

"Mark is definitely my teammate first," Miller stated. "At Motor Mile, I'll be racing for Northern Division points and he won't. I'm going to race him as hard as I can, but as my teammate, I'm definitely going to be a little more cautious around him. I'm sure we'll work together well. We ran together at Milwaukee and that worked out really well with Mark winning the race. We'll put on a good show and hopefully we'll both get a good finish."

-credit: pkr