Trois-Rivieres: Johnny Miller preview

Johnny Miller looks to change his luck at Trois-RiviÈRes

Trois-Rivières, Quebec - Johnny Miller will be on a quest during the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières on Saturday, Aug. 2. The driver of the No.64 Eaton Cutler-Hammer Jaguar XKR will try to shake a streak of bad luck that has plagued him for the last two Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich Tires Cup races. According to Miller, currently second in points going into Round 7 of this year's title chase, the energy and excitement surrounding this historic event may be just what he needs for a victory.

"The ambiance and energy of the town and all of the fans is just incredible," said Miller, who won his second career Trans-Am Series race in May at Lime Rock Park. "It makes the weekend really exciting."

Miller has a tremendous amount of respect for North America's oldest temporary street course. "This street circuit is incredibly challenging," explained Miller. "It's extremely demanding on the car because of the bumpy pavement and very tough on brakes. You traditionally run out of brakes by the end of the race."

With five starts here, Miller's best finish of third came in 1999. It was during that race that Miller led his first lap in the Trans-Am Series. In 2002, Miller finished 12th after being sidelined by an engine problem late in the race. "We were running second and we were saving the car for the end of the race," said Miller, who's scored one victory, four podiums and one pole so far this season. "The sad part is we had lapped so many people that if we lost it on the front stretch, we still would have finished sixth."

Miller hopes the bad luck that struck at Infineon Raceway and Cleveland won't follow him north of the border. Finishing 12th at Infineon after contact with another competitor and ninth at Cleveland after having to pit twice to remove debris from the front grill of his car, Miller is interested only in looking ahead.

"I go to every race to win," said Miller. "It's just been a couple of bad weeks, but I'm not going to let that bring me down. We're just going to do what we need to do. I need to win the race; I just need to win.

"I need a good finish to keep this thing going," concluded Miller. "I think that maybe we've gotten through our bad luck. We're going to be just fine for the rest of the year."