ARCA

Chase Miller Pocono race report

Chase Miller Dominates Again at Pocono; Finishes Fifth Dropped Cylinder in Closing Laps Cost Ends Bid for Back-to-Back Pocono Wins CANTON, GA (July 24, 2006) -- Chase Miller dominated the year's first ARCA RE/MAX Series race at ...

Published: Jul 25, 2006, 8:33 PM

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Chase Miller Dominates Again at Pocono; Finishes Fifth

Dropped Cylinder in Closing Laps Cost Ends Bid for Back-to-Back Pocono Wins

CANTON, GA (July 24, 2006) -- Chase Miller dominated the year's first ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Pocono Raceway in June en route to his first-career ARCA victory. The good news for him was that after a month layoff, he would be back behind the wheel of the Cunningham Motorsports #4 Dodge in the series' second event at the 2.5-mile tri-oval.

Miller's return to the seat of the #4 meant bad news for all the other competitors at Pocono on Saturday afternoon. Even with a month between races, Miller drove like he hadn't missed a beat. In the first Pocono race, Miller had to climb up from the 34th starting position to claim the top spot. On Saturday, the job was a little bit easier thanks to Miller's outside-pole qualifying effort. Miller led 39 of the race's 80 laps at Pocono Saturday and was in perfect position for the race win before dropping a cylinder late in the race.

Still, even with the late motor trouble, Miller was still able to take home a fifth-place finish.

"We dropped a cylinder because of valve failure and that cost us some speed but we still hung on for a top five," said Miller. "That shows a lot about this team. Before that first pit stop the car was real good and after the second pit stop when we had the longest run the car got pretty tight and we loosened it up for the end of the race and the car just got so much better. It was awesome."

Scoring a win and a fifth-place finish at Pocono in his first two ventures there leave Miller satisfied with his efforts at the treacherous and fast 2.5-mile tri-oval.

"I think for as tricky as that place is, we got Pocono figured out both times we were there. It's key to just hit your marks there and carry momentum down the straightaways every lap to try to pull out a win.

"We had the dominant car all day both races and to come out with a top-five this time is pretty awesome. Even though we would've liked to have a win, knowing that we ran up front all day long and had a car that was capable of winning gives the whole team a lot to be proud of. With all that went on with the car late in the race, we'll definitely take a top-five finish."

By winning the series' first race at Pocono, the rest of the ARCA RE/MAX Series field had their targets on Miller and the #4 car. Because he was so dominant the first time there, everyone knew going into the Pennsylvania 200 weekend that Miller was again going to be tough to beat, and he proved them all right from the get-go.

"It's a good feeling for me and for the whole team knowing that everyone there was looking at us to be real strong. It just makes us more motivated to go out and show that we can be strong. We did that this time. Even though we didn't win, we'll be out there to get them again this weekend at Gateway."

Miller had more than a month in between ARCA starts, but this time he'll have a short layoff before getting back behind the wheel. Miller will again pilot the Cunningham #4 Dodge in the Shop 'n Save 150 at Gateway International Speedway on Friday July 29th. His first-career ARCA laps led came at Gateway last season but had to settle for a 23rd-place finish. This time, Miller will be back to lead the most important lap; the final one.

"We will try to back up the success we had at Pocono this weekend at Gateway. We've got a good team and Gateway is a place that I've been to before. I led some laps there last year and I want to just lead the last one this time. Hopefully we'll be able to finish the job at Gateway that we started at Pocono.

-www.chasemilleronline.com.

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