Brett Miller runs second at Silver Dollar Speedway “Open 360 Showdown” with ASCS Bullring Nationals on deck this coming weekend
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – July 24, 2011…Momentum is always a key thing in racing and Chico’s Brett Miller has certainly built it up over the last month. Fresh off a victory the previous week Miller proceeded to back that up with a close second place finish this past Friday at Silver Dollar Speedway’s “Open 360 Showdown.”
The victory two Friday’s ago marked Miller’s fifth career 410 sprint car triumph and very first since teaming up with Coors Light & Brian Cannon Motorsports in the off-season.
The win was also sweet redemption for Miller, who had led much of the main event on July 4 at SDS, only to lose the lead late in the race to Sacramento’s Mile Henry and have to settle for a second place finish that night.
“We’ve been close all season long and to finally get our first win is awesome,” said Miller after his victory on July 15. “People told me I had a monkey on my back all year so this week I was in Disneyland and I decided to buy this Chewbacca stuffed animal. It’s here with me in victory lane so I may just have it with me all the time now.”
The recently turned 22-year-old driver got the jump on the field as the green flag waved on Friday July 15 and quickly built up a sizeable lead.
Miller was able to make some tremendous, yet calculated moves when dealing with lapped traffic and never gave the rest of the field a chance to close in. At the checkered flag Miller held a nearly three-second advantage over Tim Kaeding & Andy Forsberg, who finished second and third.
The Chico wheel-man then entered the Silver Dollar Speedway this most recent Friday hoping to make it back-to-back wins with a special open 360 sprint car show on tap. Miller would open the night by timing in second fastest out of 22-cars aboard the Care Free Pools, Coors Light, Autism Awareness No. 1x machine.
Starting from the second row Miller settled into third when the race got underway, before shooting into second past Dan Menne on lap 15.
He then quickly cut down a near straightaway lead that Andy Forsberg had developed and got to the inside of him at one point, but couldn’t quite make it stick. Miller then had to hold off a fast moving Sean Becker over the last few laps, which he was able to do and claimed a runner up finish at the stripe.
Miller will now head next for the two-night “ASCS Bullring Nationals” at the Placerville Speedway this coming Friday and Saturday. So far this year he has driven the Care Free Pools, Brian Cannon Motorsports, 103.5 the Blaze No. 1x Maxim to a pair of runner up finishes at the high-banked red clay quarter-mile.
“Placerville was always a track that was a challenge for us in the past, but this year we have been pretty fast there so I’m looking forward to next weekend,” said Miller. “There should be a lot of great cars for the ASCS show so it will be a challenge, but we are excited to see where we stack up. I really have to thank my whole team for giving me such a great car this season.”
Brett Miller Scores 5th Career Win at Chico
By Troy Henning
CHICO, CA (7-11-11) - Chico's Brett Miller is someone that you just can't help but to root for. He comes from a strong family who has supported his racing career through the good times and the not so good times that every driver goes through. Friday night, Miller showed that hard work and perseverance pay off. Miller led all 25-laps to get his first win of 2011.
His last win at the track came on July 16, 2010. It had been 364 days since the last time he was able to celebrate on the front stretch. "First off I want to thank GOD because without him none of this would be possible," said Miller in victory lane. "I know times are tough with the economics of this world but just trust in him and we will get through it."
This past week Miller went on a road trip to Disneyland. This year people have been telling Miller there is a monkey on his back. At Disneyland he bought a Chewbacca stuffed animal and wore it on his shoulders today. "People told me I had a monkey on my back all year so I saw this at Disneyland and decided to buy it," said Miller as he was holding up the stuffed animal. "Maybe I need to wear it all the time now."
Brian Cannon Motorsports & Coors Light team up with Brett Miller & Care Free Pools Racing
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – February 16, 2011…With a new racing season upon us Brian Cannon Motorsports and Coors Light are pleased to announce a partnership with Care Free Pools Racing and driver Brett Miller, as the two sides will merge together for the 2011 campaign.
Cannon has been the crew chief for Miller over the past couple seasons and will now take on more duties, with the team planning on running with the California Sprint Car Civil War Series, as well as at Silver Dollar Speedway on Friday nights and the Placerville Speedway on Saturdays.
“I’m really happy to have Coors Light back on board with us this year and it will be great to continue our relationship with them,” commented Cannon. “We’ve been real fast with Brett Miller over the last two years and it will be awesome to have the chance to race even more with him this season.”
In 2010 Auburn’s Andy Forsberg drove the Brian Cannon Motorsports, Coors Light sponsored No. 47 sprinter to both the California Civil War Series title and the Placerville Speedway championship.
Miller also came very close to winning the Silver Dollar Speedway championship aboard the Care Free Pools Racing No. 1x mount, but was forced to miss a race late in the season that ended up costing him the title. The 21-year-old captured a feature win in July at SDS and ended the season second in points to Jason York.
The Brian Cannon Motorsports/ Coors Light/ Care Free Pools Racing No. 1x will kick off the 2011 season on Saturday March 5 at the Marysville Raceway Park. After that Miller and the team are scheduled to be in action at the annual Mini Gold Cup with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series at Silver Dollar Speedway.
Adolph Coors Company was founded in 1873 in Golden, Colorado and is renowned for having the largest on-site brewery facility in the world. Its principal subsidiary Coors Brewing Company is the nation's third largest brewer and throughout its history Coors has provided consumers with high-quality malt-beverage products using the finest ingredients available.
Dubbed the "Silver Bullet" Coors Light was introduced in 1978 and is the third largest selling beer in the country. Coors Light is also the official beer sponsor of NASCAR, the National Football League, the Oakland Raiders and is famous for its cold activated cans and bottles because, "When the mountains turn blue it's as cold as the Rockies." Coors Light's Rocky Mountain heritage and unique Frost Brewing process delivers that crisp, refreshing taste you can't find anywhere else.
Along with Coors Light the team will also start out the year sponsored by Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, FK Rod Ends and 103.5 the Blaze. T-shirts will also be available soon. More information on Brian Cannon Motorsports can be found at http://www.briancannonmotorsports.com and for more on Chico’s Brett Miller visit http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller races to first victory of 2010 and takes over Silver Dollar Speedway 410 point lead on Friday night
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – July 16, 2010…With triple digit weather in Northern California this past Friday night Chico’s Brett Miller turned up the heat even more by pulling away from the field and easily dominating all 25-laps in the main event to tally his fourth career sprint car victory at the Silver Dollar Speedway.
The triumph was also good enough to move Miller atop the Silver Dollar Speedway 410 sprint car point standings for the first time in his career.
"It’s a pretty big deal for us to get a win tonight because we've had a lot of bad luck during the first part of the season," said Miller, who turns 21-years-old next Wednesday "We’ve wrecked a lot of stuff and we've been fast enough to win, but we just haven't been in that position yet. Finally tonight everything clicked and fell into place so we couldn’t be happier."
Miller went into the event on Friday night ranking second in the Silver Dollar Speedway standings and sat just six-points behind leader and former track champion Jason York. Going out 14th in the qualifying order the “Catfish” ripped off the second fastest lap of the night behind York at the helm of the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, Simpson Race Products No. 1x sprinter.
The Chico wheel-man then lined up sixth in his heat race, before moving forward to tally a third place finish and when the number zero pill was drawn for the feature inversion it put him on the outside of the front row in the 25-lapper.
At the waving of the green flag in the main event Miller rocketed into the top-spot and quickly opened up a sizeable advantage over he and rest of the field. Early on it was apparent that the 20-year-old driver was in a league of his own on this night and that was the case right down to the end, as Miller went unchallenged the whole way and crossed the checkered flag for his first win of 2010.
With the victory under his belt Miller will bring the Care Free Pools Racing No. 1x machine into this coming Friday’s point race at Silver Dollar Speedway holding a four-point lead at the top of the standings. This Friday’s evening of action will also be Care Free Pools Night at the races and the team has some special and fun stuff planned for the night. Prior to this previous Friday’s triumph Miller’s most recent victory had come during Care Free Pools Night in 2008 and he will try to duplicate that performance on Friday.
The front gate of the Silver Dollar Speedway will open at 6pm this coming Friday night July 23 with qualifying at 6:30 and racing scheduled for 7. Adult tickets are just $12, juniors and seniors $10 and children $5. “We’re looking forward to Care Free Pools Night on Friday and it’s especially cool that we’ll be bringing the point lead into the night so hopefully we can have a good run and stretch it out a little,” said Miller. “A couple years ago we had a great night and won during our sponsor night and I’d definitely like to do it again.”
For more info on Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing log onto http://www.brettmillerracing.net
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After tallying his fourth career sprint car victory this past weekend Chico’s Brett Miller will bring the Silver Dollar Speedway 410 point lead into Friday’s Care Pools Night at the quarter-mile bullring. Photo by Steve Lamothe of http://www.stevesracingphotos.com
Brett Miller "runs the alphabet" to make it into feature after starting from d-main at 18th annual Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals Saturday night
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – October 4, 2009…Rebounding from a tough preliminary night at the Silver Dollar Speedway on Friday Chico, CA's Brett Miller put on the charge Saturday evening to make an impressive "alphabet soup" run and get into the A-main during the 18th annual Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals.
After starting out the night by winning the d-main on Saturday Miller continued to pass cars for the duration of the event and even got up to as high as fifth at one point in the 40-lap finale. "It was a great run for us and we seem to be at our best when the track gets slick and takes down rubber like it did tonight," Miller said. "The actual finish in the main event wasn't what we wanted, but we can't complain with the performance and just getting into the main event was an awesome thing considering how far back we were to begin the night."
Miller opened up the event by being a part of the Friday prelim at the Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals, but it didn't start off exactly as planned with his fastest lap of 12.178 placing him 26th quickest in the qualifying order. It then stuck him in the fourth row for the heat race and as he was attempting to move forward another car spun sideways in front of him and resulted in Miller clipping the car and getting upside down to bring out a red flag.
With the damage too severe to continue on he was forced to run the b-main and did a great job to charge for a transfer spot, until an issue made the fuel to the car shut off, which caused him to slow and slide off turn two for a yellow flag. He went to the work area and restarted, but didn't have enough time to work his way back to a transfer and crossed the checkered in eighth to put an early end to the night.
Coming back for Saturday's Fall Nationals finale the 20-year-old driver found himself lining-up on the inside of the fourth row in the d-main and he proceeded to carve his way forward for victory to transfer the Care Free Pools, Wolfe Electric, JP's Paint & Body No. 1x into the c-main. Starting from 13th Miller would then have his work cut out for him in the 15-lap contest, but with the track drying out it created multiple grooves to work with and the former Silver Dollar Speedway Rookie of the Year could put his machine on every inch of the quarter-mile clay oval. Working high and low the "Catfish" moved through the pack to score a fourth place finish and transfer into the b-main.
Already having a ton of track time Miller lined-up from the 16th starting position in the semi and was once again able to charge through the field, but also use patience and smart driving to avoid numerous spins and collisions due to the extremely slick conditions. The 20-lapper proved to be a wild affair, as the track continued to change with extremely high winds in the Chico area taking its toll on the surface and at the conclusion of the race Miller would bring home a third place finish to transfer out and continue the amazing night of action.
When the 24-car field came onto the speedway for the A-main it saw the Platinum Powder Coating, Live Energy Drink, Simpson Race Products sprinter line-up from the 12th and final row. With the track taking rubber quickly it made passing fairly hard to come by and made tire wear become a critical factor in the 40-lap race. Drivers were forced to be as smooth as possible on the throttle to conserve tires and the first of the issues was seen just before the halfway point when fourth running Kyle Hirst lost his right rear. Through the early laps Miller was doing a nice job to get around cars when opportunities presented themselves, while at the same time being easy on his tires.
By the time lap 23 came around there were enough caution laps to warrant an open red and during it many drivers decided to change tires however, Miller and the crew didn't and it allowed the No. 1x machine to move up solidly into the top-10 for the restart. When the green lights came back on the youngster began picking cars off and with the race winding down he was able to make the move around two-time Civil War champ Mike Henry to claim fifth.
With less than 10 circuits left though the drivers with fresh rubber started to make things exciting as they fought their way back towards the front. Continuing to battle it out with Henry, Miller would lose the fifth position back to the Sacramento driver after a couple laps and then fall a few more spots, but continue sitting in the top-10 until he got over the edge and spun off turns three and four during the final lap. Unfortunately for Miller he was unable to take the checkered so was officially placed 18th in the rundown, but it still couldn't spoil the outstanding effort for the night put forth by he and the team.
The Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals marks the end of the Silver Dollar Speedway season and Miller's attention will now be focused on the upcoming Trophy Cup at the Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare. "We've been really quick all year long and I'm really looking forward to the Trophy Cup," said Miller. "I love racing at Tulare, but haven't been there in a while so I can't wait."
For more info on Chico's Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing please log onto our website at http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller comes up just shy of making first Gold Cup A-main
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – September 16, 2009…Following a runner-up finish during Coke Championship Night at the Silver Dollar Speedway on August 28 Chico, CA's Brett Miller looked to push his way forward at this past weekend's Gold Cup Race of Champions and he proceeded to put together his best career run at the event, ultimately missing out on the A-main by just four spots on Saturday night.
The outing was Miller's first start at the Gold Cup since 2007 after having to miss the event last season and it also marked the final 410 winged sprint car race in Northern California for the year. "Although we would have liked to make the main event this season it was a fun Gold Cup and we can't wait for next year," Miller said. "I have to thank all of our sponsors and my family for giving me the chance to be out here and I'm focused on getting into that A-main next year."
Miller took part in Friday's preliminary action and started off the night strong by timing in 16th out of 41 cars to earn the final spot in the inversion, which is huge in World of Outlaws competition since the top-two finishers in the heat races make the dash. At the waving of the green flag in the fourth and final heat the 20 year-old driver got a great start to rocket out into the lead, however, the caution lights would fly for a spun car to make for a complete restart.
On the ensuring restart Miller looked to try the same move in the first set of corners, but outside front row starter Kyle Harris got a better jump than the first time and used a lower entry. As Miller tried to slide under him contact occurred and it caused the Care Free Pools, Wolfe Electric, Live Energy Drink No. 1x to get sideways and fall back to fifth. "The Catfish" was able to straighten the car out and hold off Midwest driver Wayne Johnson to score the final transfer spot into the main event, where he would eventually go on to finish 18th.
Coming back on Saturday Miller found himself having earned enough points to line-up from the 17th starting spot in the evening's 20-lap b-main. The track surface had remained a bit heavy by this time of the night and it made passing chances a little more difficult to come by, but the Chico driver began to march his way forward and started to put himself in position to fight for a top-four transfer spot. Miller had found the high-side to his liking and made his way up into the sixth position as he closed in on Kraig Kinser and Jayme Barnes.
At one point Miller put his machine on the top of turns one and two and looked to have a chance to charge around the drivers ahead of him, but the rear-end broke loose on the exit of the corner and he couldn't keep his momentum up like needed. It cost him a spot and as the race went on he would lose another position to Evan Suggs, before driving off and crossing the checkered flag in eighth. "We made a nice run in that b-main and were racing with some great drivers so we can't complain," said the Chico driver. "This event is just plain awesome and it was fun to be able to race in front of so many fans."
The next event for Miller and Care Free Pools Racing at Silver Dollar Speedway will be the 18th annual Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals on October 1, 2 and 3. Adult tickets on Thursday and Friday will be $15 with Saturday being $20. The Fall Nationals routinely attracts a huge field of sprint cars and the last couple seasons have featured some of the best racing seen during the year.
For more info on Chico's Brett Miller log onto http://www.brettmillerracing.net and more on the Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals can be found at http://www.silverdollarspeedway.com in the coming weeks.
Brett Miller tallies runner-up finish during Coca-Cola Championship Night at Silver Dollar Speedway
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – August 30, 2009…Going into this past Friday's Championship Night at Silver Dollar Speedway Brett Miller looked for a good run to help build some momentum towards the upcoming Gold Cup Race of Champions and the Chico, CA driver did just that by leading laps and finishing runner-up to the blazing hot Kyle Hirst in the 410 sprint car main event.
The runner-up finish also marked Miller's best result in the Friday night Feather Falls Casino Championship Series since finishing third on opening night back in April. "We would have liked to win tonight, but Kyle has been running real well lately so we can't be too down about finishing second to him," said the driver of the Care Free Pools, Wolfe Electric, Simpson Race Products No. 1x sprinter. "The car has been really good and that gives me a lot of confidence going into the Gold Cup in two weeks."
This past Friday's event was sponsored in part by Cherry St. Mini Storage, Napa Auto Parts and Coca-Cola as the weekly 410 year came to a close with the 21st and final point race of the Feather Falls Casino season. Miller started off the night by qualifying ninth fastest in the 24 car field and then scored a fourth place finish in his heat race to transfer into the feature. When fast qualifier Kyle Hirst pulled the number six pill for the inversion the 20 year-old driver found himself on the outside of the front row for the 25-lap contest.
Following the four-wide salute to the fans the field came down for green and Miller quickly jumped out into the top spot in the first and second corners. The early circuits saw the Chico native pull away from the rest of the competitors as the Platinum Powder Coating, JP's Paint & Body, 6-feet Deep Clothing Maxim was locked down to the speedway to perfection. Hirst had been on the move though and claimed second on lap six, before closing in on Miller as traffic came into play. With slower cars ahead Miller looked to the high-side in turns three and four on lap 11, but lost just enough momentum in the top groove to give Hirst the chance to sneak under and take over the top spot.
Miller continued to run solidly in second as the race went on and after 25 laps of racing would cross under the checkered flag comfortably in the runner-up spot as Hirst won his fourth main event in the past six Silver Dollar Speedway races. It was also the second time Miller has run second to Hirst in that time span, after finishing runner-up to him during the Golden State Challenge Series sanctioned Tribute to Gary Patterson on July 25.
The Care Free Pools Racing team will now take this coming weekend off in preparation for the 56 annual Gold Cup Race of Champions, which will be held at the Silver Dollar Speedway on September 9-12. After not competing in the event last year Miller will look for a good run to try and get into the Saturday night main event for the first time in his career. "The Gold Cup is as big as it gets out here and we definitely would like to get into that A-main for the first time," Miller said.
When the World of Outlaws competed at the Silver Dollar Speedway earlier this year in the Mini Gold Cup the "Catfish" was able to qualify for his first career A-main start with the series during opening night and he'll look for more of the same at the biggest 410 sprint car event in the west. "We were good at the Mini Gold Cup even though we were still fighting through some bugs with the car so I definitely think we'll be in an even better position this time around," he said. "There will be a lot of really good cars there, but we're up to the challenge and can't wait to hit the track."
For more news and info on Chico, CA's Brett Miller visit http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller scores 5th place finish during Feather Falls Casino Point Race #20 at Silver Dollar Speedway
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – August 23, 2009…Competing in the penultimate event for the Feather Falls Casino Championship Series on Friday night Chico's Brett Miller raced to a fifth place finish in the 25 lap 410 sprint car main event at the Silver Dollar Speedway.
Miller came into the evening following a ninth place finish the previous Friday and was happy to get back into the top-five during this most recent event. "It was a good finish for us tonight and the track was just really fast so it made it pretty hard to do things without others making mistakes in front of you," the 20 year-old competitor said. "I have to thank my grandparents and my whole team and hopefully we can come back here next week and put this car into victory lane."
The next to last event in the Feather Falls Casino point season saw a 22 car field on hand for the night and Miller kicked it off by qualifying seventh fastest overall in the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, Live Energy Drink No. 1x. The Chico driver then started from the fourth position in the opening heat race and brought home a runner-up finish to transfer into the main event.
With the number eight pill being drawn for the inversion it put Miller in the third row for the feature and when the green lights came on he would settle into the fifth spot. The track remained extremely quick for the main event and the "Catfish" ran strongly in position like everyone else, until getting an opportunity during a lap eight restart when he charged to the low-side of Colby Copeland to move into fourth.
Just after that however, the yellow lights would come on and Miller would have to go back to fifth for the restart. The remainder of the race saw him run smooth and clean laps, while at the same time holding off the strong challenges of Kyle Hirst to cross under the checkered in fifth after 25 laps of racing. "It was tough to have the yellow come out and have to go back behind Colby because we made a nice move there to get under him on that restart," said Miller. "It was one of those things though, but at least we got a solid finish and could roll the car into the trailer at the end of the night so we're happy with it."
This coming Friday will be Coca Cola/Napa Auto Parts Championship Night at the Silver Dollar Speedway as the Feather Falls Casino point season comes to a conclusion. After not competing in the event last season Miller will look for a strong run to try and bring home the 6-foot tall Coca Cola Championship Night trophy that has been a staple at the track for a number of years. The evening of action will also be the final tune-up at the track prior to the 56th Gold Cup Race of Champions and one of the strongest field's of the Friday night season is expected to be seen.
The event on Friday will also mark fan appreciation night at the Silver Dollar Speedway and tickets will be just $5 for adults with kids 11 and under being free. The pits will open at 3pm and the front grandstand gate will open at 5, an hour earlier than normal. For more info on the event this coming Friday visit http://www.silverdollarspeedway.com in the coming week.
Gold Cup Pit Seating: For fans planning to attend the 56th running of the Gold Cup Race of Champions on September 9-12 Handy Racing Promotions has announced that an extra 1000 seats are being added to the pits in addition to the normal seating that is brought in for the event. The additional seating is going to be located near the turn two area and is being added for fan comfort due to the usual large crowd that goes into the pit area during the Gold Cup Race of Champions.
Brett Miller scores ninth in main event at Feather Falls Casino point race #19
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – August 16, 2009…Returning to the wheel of a sprint car after a couple weekends away from the track Chico, CA’s Brett Miller was able to hang in and bring home a ninth place finish on a lightning fast surface Friday night at the Silver Dollar Speedway.
The last couple weeks had seen Miller fighting fires that had developed around the area and it forced him to miss the previous two Feather Falls Casino 410 point races. In fact the last time he was in competition the driver of the Care Free Pools Racing Maxim had one of his career best nights when he won the dash and finished runner-up in the main event with the Golden State Challenge Series on July 25.
This most recent Friday’s action was sponsored by Riebe’s Auto Parts and the 20 year-old driver began the evening by timing-in eighth fastest in the field aboard the Northwest Pool Plastering, Christopher Bean Coffee, Platinum Powder Coating No. 1x sprinter. Starting fourth in his heat race Miller ran a smooth eight laps as the track had become even faster than it was in qualifying and he crossed under the checkered flag in second to transfer into the feature.
When main event time came up the surface remained locked-down and very fast, which made passing chances hard to come by with the fairly narrow racing groove. Lining-up on the outside of row four Miller tried to fight his way forward before settling into the single file freight train around the speedway. “The Catfish” positioned himself in eighth and spent much of the laps trying hard to get by current Silver Dollar Speedway point leader Bobby McMahan.
Miller poked his nose to the inside of McMahan’s machine a few times, but ran the veteran driver extremely clean and with track conditions like they were he couldn’t get the momentum needed to sneak by. As the laps wound down though, another driver made an aggressive move to the inside in turns one and two making slight contact with Miller’s car, before making the pass a lap later. Miller would run the remaining circuits in position and score ninth after 25 laps of racing. “The track was pretty tough tonight and I pretty much got all I could get in the main event,” said the driver of the Simpson Race Products, Al’s Concrete, JP’s Paint & Body No. 1x.
The next scheduled event for Miller and Care Free Pools Racing will be this coming Friday’s Silver Dollar Speedway Point Race #20. It will mark the penultimate event for the Feather Falls Casino 410 sprint car championship series and the Chico racer will be searching for his first victory of the year to build some momentum towards the Gold Cup Race of Champions, which is fast approaching.
More news and info on 20 year-old Brett Miller can be found at http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller wins dash & scores career best GSC finish with runner-up at 26th annual Tribute to Gary Patterson
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – July 27, 2009…So far this season Chico, CA's Brett Miller had put together a pair of solid efforts in two starts with the Golden State Challenge Series and that trend continued this past weekend at the Silver Dollar Speedway, which was highlighted by a second place finish on Saturday night after leading the first 13 laps in the main event at the 26th annual Tribute to Gary Patterson.
The runner-up marked Miller's best career Golden State Challenge King of California Series finish and was also his second podium of the season with the traveling 410 sprint car tour. "This is really awesome to come out here and finish second tonight with GSC," said Miller, who also finished third at the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial this year. "We would have liked to win, but to come out here and run this good with such a great field on hand is pretty special for this whole team."
Miller, who turned 20 years-old on Tuesday of this past week, kicked off the double-header Golden State Challenge Series weekend on Friday at Silver Dollar Speedway by moving through the field in the main event to finish eighth after starting from the 15th position.
The Care Free Pools Racing team then came back for Saturday's Tribute to Gary Patterson looking for more good things after the successful end to the opening night and Miller was able to time-in 13th fastest out of the 31 car field to begin the evening. It set him up to start from the inside of the second row in the opening heat race and he would spend the majority of the 10 lap contest hounding leader Brent Kaeding, before settling for a second place finish at the stripe.
Miller then got a great draw for the dash to put the Wolfe Electric, Platinum Powder Coating, Christopher Bean Coffee Company No. 1x on the outside of the front row for the six lap event. At the waving of the green flag the "Catfish" blasted into the lead ahead of pole sitter and former SDS track champ Jason York and he would never look back to bring home his first ever Golden State Challenge 410 Series dash victory. "The guys have been giving me great cars all year and it's a really cool feeling to win the dash tonight," Miller said on the front-stretch. "It's been a good season so far for us and hopefully we can get a good finish in the feature."
With the dash win Miller earned the pole position for the 26th annual Tribute to Gary Patterson main event and when the green lights came on he would charge out into the lead in the first set of corners, but the red flag would come out immediately for an incident involving outside front row starter Colby Copeland and GSC point leader Tyler Walker. When things got straightened out Miller would once again get the jump on the field moving ahead of new outside front row starter Kyle Hirst.
Early on in the feature Miller had his way with things as he pulled away from the field to a sizable advantage, doing a great job even with a number of early restarts following a few cautions and a pair of reds. The Brian Cannon tuned Care Free Custom Graphics, Al's Concrete, JP's Paint & Body Maxim was on a rail during the first half of the race with Miller locked down to the bottom side of the speedway. A caution period on lap 13 set up yet another restart however, and Hirst was able to take advantage as he got a run into turn one and when Miller missed the exit of turn two slightly it was all the Loomis driver needed to slide under into the top spot.
Miller would then go on and run the remainder of the race comfortably in second holding off a hard charging Tyler Walker over the closing laps to score a career best GSC finish of second at the checkered flag. "The car was really good tonight and I want to congratulate Kyle on doing a great job because we've been friends and racing each other for a long time," Miller said. "This stuff is so much a mental game and after Kyle got me on the restart I kind of started to miss my marks a bit, but it was a lot of fun and a great experience to sit out front and lead the race for that long with these guys."
Miller was also appreciative of everyone who supports the Care Free Pools No. 1x sprinter. "I have to thank my grandparents, my whole family, Brian, Dave, Fudd, Colin, all our sponsors and everyone who helps out on this team," said the former GSC Rookie of the Year. "The season I ran with Golden State full-time was the most fun I've had and to run second with them tonight is pretty amazing and I'll definitely remember this one. Hopefully we can come back here next Friday and put this car in victory lane."
More info on Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing can be acquired by visiting http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller charges from 17th to 8th with Golden State Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series Saturday night at SDS
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – July 6, 2009…Returning to Golden State Challenge Series competition for the first time since May Chico, CA's Brett Miller carved his way through the pack and used a late surge to get up to the eighth position and score the hard-charger award in the main event on Saturday night at the Silver Dollar Speedway.
The night of racing was the second time this year that Miller had moved through the pack on a rubber-down surface at the Chico bullring, after also putting on a charge from 19th to fourth at the annual Silver Cup in March. "This was a good run tonight and I'm happy with getting a top 10 after starting a ways back in the main event," Miller said. "I just focused on trying to save my tires the best I could to see if we could make a run at the end and thankfully it worked out great and made up some spots right towards the finish."
A total of 27 cars showed up for the special 4th of July show at the Silver Dollar Speedway on Saturday and it marked Miller's second start of the season with the Golden State Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series. In May the 19 year-old put on a strong charge from the rear of the field at the prestigious Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial to finish third in the main event following an opening lap spin. The result was his best ever finish with the traveling tour and he looked for more of the same this past Saturday.
Early in the evening however, qualifying didn't go how Miller would have liked as his fastest lap put the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, Wolfe Electric No. 1x 19th fastest in the field. Starting seventh in the heat race he tried hard to make movement, but even with the track being drier than normal for the heats, passing chances were still tough to come by and a sixth place finish left him one out of the transfer, forcing him to run the b-main. After making adjustments in the pit area Miller started in the second row of the semi and rode the rim of the quarter-mile to a second place finish, which transferred him into the feature.
By main event time the track had become very slick, but started to take rubber after just a few laps making tire wear become a big factor in the later stages. The 2007 GSC Rookie of the Year lined-up on the inside of the ninth row in the 30 lap contest and spent much of it running the same line as everyone else, but at the same time trying to be as easy as possible on his tires. Following a long green flag run the yellow lights came on during the 18th lap and the "Catfish" sat 13th in the rundown.
The final 12 laps of the main event then saw Miller make some nice moves to execute passes of drivers such as Evan Suggs, Sean Becker and Andy Forsberg to maneuver his way through the pack and cross under the checkered flag in the eighth position aboard the Live Energy Drink, Simpson Race Products, Northwest Pool Plastering, JP's Paint & Body No. 1x sprinter. "I want to thank this team for giving me another great car and it was my crew chief Brian Cannon's birthday so it's nice to get a good run for him," Miller commented. "We didn't get qualified as well as we have been this season, but definitely made up for it in the feature."
Miller was also in action on Friday night at the Silver Dollar Speedway and it saw him time-in sixth fastest overall in qualifying, before missing the transfer by one in the heat race and then dominating the semi for victory to move into the A-main. The youngster started 10th on the grid and was flying on the hooked-up surface to get up to sixth in just a handful of laps, but was forced to pit after clipping a spun car in turns three and four on lap seven. He was able to restart at the rear and get back up to 10th by the finish to cap the evening of competition.
The next scheduled event for Brett Miller will be this Friday's Feather Falls Casino 410 point race at Silver Dollar, which is sponsored by Withrow's Motorsports and JP's Paint & Body Works. Going into the night he ranks seventh in the SDS standings and will be searching to put the Care Free Pools Racing Maxim into victory lane for the first time this season.
Night filled with brake problems nets 11th place finish in Quincy for Brett Miller
By Gary Thomas
Quincy, CA – June 23, 2009…Competing at the long 3/8 mile American Valley Speedway dirt oval on Saturday Chico's Brett Miller fought through a night of competition filled with issues and brought home an 11th place finish in the 30 lap feature to conclude the evening.
The event marked Miller's first start of the season with the California Sprint Car Civil War Series and was disappointed with the outcome after various issues plagued the team during the night. "We had a really fast car all night so it was pretty frustrating to have the brake problems and then have the front wing get knocked sideways in the main event," Miller said. "I think we definitely had a top five car and would have been right up there if we wouldn't have had the problems."
In his career Miller has experienced highs and lows at the scenic American Valley Speedway in Quincy, which include scoring a fourth place finish during the inaugural Golden State Challenge Series visit in 2007 and a fast-time effort in the first Civil War appearance at the track last season, but he was also involved in a scary front stretch flip at the 3/8 mile oval with GSC in May of last year.
This past Saturday's event began with rear end problems in hot laps and with not enough time to get it fixed he was forced to qualify without the luxury of brakes, but was still able to hit his marks and time-in ninth fastest aboard the Care Free Pools, Simpson Race Products, Wolfe Electric, Live Energy Drink No. 1x. After qualifying the Care Free Pools Racing team changed rear ends, but the issues didn't stop there as brake problems arose during Miller's heat race once again.
Lining-up fourth in the heat Miller charged up into second early on and despite having no brakes the 19 year-old executed a nice late race pass to pick up victory in the 10 lap contest and transfer into the main event, where he would start from the fifth row. Miller would move forward quickly to make his way into the top five, but on an early race restart a lapped car didn't take off and it caused the field to bunch up, which resulted in the Chico driver hitting the car in front of him knocking the nose wing sideways.
The incident also saw Miller get hit from behind and if things couldn't get any worse the brakes failed following the contact and he was forced to run the rest of the feature with a cockeyed nose wing and no brakes yet again. "The Catfish" did his best as the race went on, but lost a few spots as he couldn't hold the car in turns three and four like he wanted to. Miller would go on to cross under the checkered in 11th place after 30 laps of racing. "I have to thank my guys for working hard tonight and we're just looking forward to getting back to Chico on Friday and seeing if we can get this car up front," Miller said.
This Friday's event at Silver Dollar Speedway will mark the 11th point race in the Feather Falls Casino championship series and Miller will go into it sitting eighth in the current 410 sprint car standings, 44 points back of leader Jonathan Allard. The previous point race on June 12 at SDS was the first show on the new track surface and it saw Miller qualify third fastest in the field, but contact with one of the big white tires in the infield caused him to finish last in his heat race.
With the 0 pill then being drawn and no b-main being run it forced him to start 17th in the feature event and the Chico native was able to move forward and finish ninth, running much of the contest with a broken rear shock. "The track was pretty rough and interesting during the first race on it, but we'll just have to give it some time to get worked in," Miller commented. "Having a broken shock didn't help things and it made it a pretty physically demanding main event so I'm ready to head back and see if we can get a win. It seems like we've barely raced in Chico this year with the rainouts, but things should start picking up and it'll let us get into a rhythm as the rest of the season goes on."
Brett Miller puts on strong charge from the back at Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial to score first career Golden State Challenge Series podium finish
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – May 9, 2009…Following an opening lap excursion off turn one in the main event on Saturday night Chico, CA's Brett Miller rebounded by putting on an entertaining charge from the rear of the field to score an impressive third place finish in the 19th annual Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial at the Silver Dollar Speedway.
The third place finish marked Miller's first career podium with the Golden State Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series and continued his solid start to the '09 season. "I wish the first start of the race would have gone a little differently, but even with the spin it still turned out to be an amazing night for us," Miller said. "Brian Cannon and this team had this car on a rail tonight and it was a lot of fun to be able to charge through the pack like that."
The 19th annual Dave Bradway Memorial saw a very strong 39 car field on hand to compete in the cornerstone event for the Golden State Challenge Series. Miller came out first in the qualifying order and ripped off a blazing fast 11.195 to become the first of a number of drivers to break the existing GSC track record at Silver Dollar Speedway. When all was said and done the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, Jandy pools No. 1x was fourth quickest overall.
After carving his way from sixth to second in his heat race Miller then started from the third position in the evening's dash and got a great start to slide underneath Brad Sweet and move into second. The 19 year-old racer proceeded to hit his marks the rest of the way and bring home a runner-up finish to give himself a front row starting spot in the 40 lap Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial main event.
When the green lights came on Miller drag raced with pole sitter Jonathan Allard into turn one, but got over the edge of the track and spun to a stop forcing him to restart from the rear of the field. He didn't let that deter him however, as he began to immediately move forward when the green flag was waved once again. Miller was up on the wheel with the Silver Dollar Speedway being very hooked-up and quick yet again. As many drivers fought their machines on the track surface the former GSC Rookie of the Year was dicing it up and making some incredible moves on the quarter-mile bullring.
By the half way point Miller was already back up to the top five, having made passes of a number of drivers, including some hair raising ones where he was forced to split cars with extreme precision. The youngster was charging by veterans such as Paul McMahan, Brent Kaeding, Bud Kaeding and Jason York as he moved into fourth with just under 15 laps remaining in the feature. Miller then closed in on third running Tyler Walker and got a great run down the backstretch to make the pass heading into turn three.
Walker would fight his way back, but would get over the edge of the track and spin to a stop. Finding himself in third now Miller ran the final laps mistake free and was able to cross the line behind Jonathan Allard and Brad Sweet to put a strong end to a great main event for the JP's Paint & Body, Simpson Race Products, Christopher Bean Coffee Company No. 1x sprinter. "I really have to thank my grandparents and all of our sponsors for supporting this team and giving us a chance to be out here," Miller commented.
Making the finish even more special and impressive was the fact that the other drivers who made up the top five included Jonathan Allard, Brad Sweet, Tyler Walker and Brent Kaeding. "To be able to run with guys like that is really a dream come true and to be able to finish this good at the Bradway is really awesome," the 19 year-old commented. "I really feel that we're getting faster every week and we're definitely going to get a win real soon if we keep running like this."
Brett Miller and the Care Free Pools Racing team will return to the Silver Dollar Speedway this coming Friday night for the sixth point race of the Feather Falls Casino season. Miller will look to put the No. 1x machine into victory lane for the first time this year, during what will be Moore Insurance Services night at the races.
More news and info on Chico, CA's Brett Miller can be found at the http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller claims podium finish to open Feather Falls Casino 410 point season at Silver Dollar Speedway
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – April 5, 2009…Coming off a strong outing at the Silver Cup Race of Champions the previous weekend, 19 year-old sprint car driver Brett Miller kept up the momentum and raced to a podium finish during the opening round of the Feather Falls Casino championship season at the Silver Dollar Speedway on Friday night.
With strong winds during the day the Silver Dollar Speedway track preparation crew took all precautions necessary and soaked the quarter-mile clay oval with water making for a very fast and hooked-up surface as the night went on. A total of 28 entrants signed in for the opening Feather Falls Casino 410 Point Race on Friday night and Miller kicked-off the season by qualifying ninth fastest in the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, Al's Concrete No. 1x.
He then started from the second row in his heat race and quickly charged into second, where he would run for the duration of the eighth lap contest to transfer into the main event. When the number eight pill was drawn for the inversion it put Miller on the outside of the front row in the 25 lap main event.
When the green lights flashed on Miller had a side by side drag race with pole sitter Jason York, but York was able to get the advantage off turn two. It was all for naught however, as the yellow flag waved for a stalled car to create a complete restart. When the green came back out York got on the gas a little early and the yellow lights proceeded to come back onto the speedway as officials deemed that he had jumped the start and set him back three rows.
During the yellow some confusion happened however, as Miller also dropped back to the fourth row despite the fact that the penalty was only on the pole sitter. Race officials didn't realize it though and allowed the race to restart, but fortunately for Miller another stoppage occurred on the next attempted green. Under the stoppage officials corrected the issue and the Wolfe Electric, Christopher Bean Coffee Co, 6-Feet Deep Clothing No. 1x was put back up to the front row.
Miller would settle into second when the action finally got underway and held the spot until two-time King of California Jonathan Allard was able to by. The 19 year-old driver would hold his own the rest of the way on the extremely fast surface and bring home a third place finish after 25 laps of competition. "It was a nice way to start the Chico point season and hopefully this will be the trend as the year goes on for this team," Miller said.
Next up for Miller will be this coming Friday's second annual Bill Brownell Memorial, which will mark the second point race in the Feather Falls Casino championship season at the Silver Dollar Speedway. The prestigious event will pay a nice $3,000 to the winner of the 410 sprint car main event.
Last season saw Miller qualify fifth fastest at the event, before finishing seventh in the feature after an early race spin. "We're looking forward to the Brownell Memorial this coming weekend," Miller commented. "It sure would be nice to get that $3,000 and it would be huge for our team if we could come out and end the night in victory lane."
More news and info on Chico, CA's Brett Miller can be found at the newly updated http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller charges from last row to fourth at 28th annual Silver Cup
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – March 29, 2009…Battling through adversity to begin the night and difficult track conditions Chico, CA's Brett Miller put together one the finest runs of his career on Saturday night to transfer out of the b-main and charge for a fourth place finish in the main event, while at the same time conserving his tires on an abrasive surface at the 28th annual Silver Cup Race of Champions.
The double-header program at Silver Dollar Speedway saw an extremely large car count for the three divisions on hand and each night featured drastically different track conditions. Opening night on Friday saw an extremely well prepared and racy surface, but Saturday brought high-temps and strong winds to the Chico area, which took its toll on the quarter-mile bullring.
Friday's opener at the 28th annual Silver Cup saw Miller have a strong start to the night as he cut a great lap in qualifying to place the Care Free Pools, Live Energy Drink, Christopher Bean Coffee Company No. 1x, third fastest out of 37 competitors. He then proceeded to make a great high-side pass on the eighth lap of the third heat race to grab the fourth and final transfer spot into the feature. In the main event Miller ran around the top five early on, but would drop back a bit and cross the stripe in 11th at the finish.
Coming back on Saturday Miller looked for a better result in the main event, but early on in the program it didn't look possible as a problem with the brakes and rear end was discovered after hot laps. Even though Miller was due to go out third from last in the qualifying order, there wasn't enough time to make repairs so he was forced to time-in without the luxury of brakes and coupling it with a drying track his fastest lap of 13.253 left him just 29th quick.
Following qualifying the crew thrashed hard to get the rear end changed in time to make the call for the opening heat race where Miller would line-up from the outside of the fourth row. The 19 year-old carved his way into fifth after a couple laps and with only one more car to pass to get into a transfer spot he ran over something on the track, which punctured a tire causing it to lose air pressure and forcing Miller to nurse the car home to a fifth place finish, putting him into the b-main.
The semi-main event saw Miller line-up from the 13th starting position and with only 12 laps to make it up to the top four it forced him to get up on the wheel and charge forward quickly. At the waving of the green flag the "Catfish" moved up fast and got by a few cars on the opening lap to get up to the top 10. He would keep passing cars one by one as the laps ticked off and at the checkered flag he crossed the line in the third position to transfer into the feature.
Due to the slower qualifying time however, it put Miller way back in the 10th row for the 30 lap Silver Cup Race of Champions main event, but the driver of the Platinum Powder Coating, Care Free Custom Graphics, Wolfe Electric Maxim was determined to move forward. With the track being very abrasive on tires though he would have to play a conservative/aggressive race and the Chico native did just that. Making some nice passes on the difficult surface Miller would race up to the top 10 by an open red flag period with just a handful of laps remaining in the race.
When the green lights came back on Miller continued to pass cars as he moved forward in the running order and when a couple drivers blew tires in the top five it moved him up to fourth, where he would go on and finish after 30 laps of racing. "It was a great ending to the night for this whole team," Miller said. "The car was really fast and it was a tough main event to try and save my tires, yet also pass cars and move up through the field. We're definitely happy with how things ended though and are excited for next week."
Next Friday will see Miller and the Care Free Pools Racing team kick off the Feather Falls Casino point season at the Silver Dollar Speedway with the opening night of 410 competition at the quarter-mile bullring. The 19 year-old will look for a strong evening of action to kick off the Friday night season as he guns for his first track title with newly acquired crew chief Brian Cannon.
More news and info on Chico, CA's Brett Miller can be found at the newly updated http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller Racing Mini Gold Cup Recap
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – March 17, 2009…Competing at the 23rd annual Mini Gold Cup this past weekend 19 year-old sprint car racer Brett Miller was able to make his first career World of Outlaws Sprint Series A-main start during opening night of the double-header event held at the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico.
Miller had made previous World of Outlaw feature's at the Silver Dollar Speedway, but those had come during preliminary main events, which don't officially count as A-main's with the traveling 410 Sprint Car series. This season marked the first time since 1992 that the "Greatest Show on Dirt" has sanctioned the annual season opener for the Chico, California based quarter-mile.
Opening night at the 23rd annual Mini Gold Cup saw extremely fast racing conditions to open the night as a total of 17 drivers broke the previous all-time track record in qualifying. Miller's quickest lap of 11.436 placed the Care Free Pools, Simpson Race Products, Al's Concrete sprinter 29th fastest out of 54 cars.
The qualifying time put Miller in the fourth row of his heat race and when the green flag dropped he was able to quickly move his way up to the fifth and final transfer spot. The Chico driver was forced to hold off former World of Outlaw champ Danny Lasoski for the entire 10 lap distance and he was able to do just that and transfer into the main event. Unfortunately throttle issues in the feature contributed to a pair of spins forcing him out of the 40 lap contest early on.
Strong day-time winds on Saturday that seemingly never stopped created much different racing conditions the following night as the track dried out very quickly. Miller would time in 20th quickest in the 54 car field on Saturday to put him in the third row of his heat race. He would settle into the fifth and final transfer spot early on, but lose a pair of spots to Terry McCarl and Wayne Johnson, which forced him to run the night's B-main.
By the semi-main event the track surface had become very slick and began to take rubber with most everyone using the bottom groove of the speedway. Miller started fifth and would settle into that spot at the waving of the green flag as he began to hound Mark Hall for the final transfer spot into the feature. Miller's Brian Cannon tuned Platinum Powder Coating, Wolfe Electric No. 1x seemed to be faster than Hall, but passing opportunities were hard to come by with the way the track was.
As Miller tried his hardest to make something happen with Hall, a mid-race restart spelled disaster for the 19 year-old driver as the motor sputtered and he spun in turn two. As Miller sat stopped a couple other cars were collected and knocked the front nose wing loose forcing him to pit and get it removed. Miller would restart and end the night with a 13th place finish in the 12 lap contest.
This coming weekend will find Miller and the Care Free Pools Racing team in action at the Placerville Speedway during the opening round of action for the California Sprint Car Civil War Series. Miller is expected to compete in select events with the traveling 360 series as he tries to make the top 32 in points to lock himself into the Pacific Sprint Cup Invitational held during Gold Cup week at Silver Dollar Speedway in September.
More news and info on Chico, CA's Brett Miller can be found at http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller geared up for 2009 season
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – February 7, 2009…As Northern California teams get ready to kick off the racing season in just about one month from now Chico, CA's Brett Miller is excited and ready to begin his fourth full year of sprint car competition behind the wheel of his grandparents Care Free Pools No. 1x machine.
Before the actual sprint car season starts however, Miller will take part in the DMS Driver Challenge, which is presented to some of the top young racing talent around and takes place at the Madera Speedway in Madera, CA. At the event drivers will be showcasing their talents in a USAC Pavement Midget in front of influential industry insiders and selected drivers will be offered a contract to compete in various USAC National & Western States Midget Series races aboard the DMS house car.
Following the DMS Driver Challenge Miller will be ready to begin the 2009 sprint car season, in which he'll be contending for the Silver Dollar Speedway 410 track title, as well as competing in other selected races, including some World of Outlaws Sprint Series events.
Last season saw Miller finish seventh in the final Feather Falls Casino weekly 410 standings at Silver Dollar Speedway, despite missing five events throughout the year. The 19 year-old was able to tally seven top 10 finishes in eleven starts, which included picking up his third career 410 sprint car victory during Care Free Pools Night at speedway on August 1. That event also turned out to be his final night of racing for 2008, due to the fact that he was taking part in the California Regional Fire Academy in Sacramento during the later parts of the year.
The past couple of seasons have seen Miller persevere though an inordinate amount of tough luck, but the former Silver Dollar Speedway, Golden State Challenge Series & Civil War Series Rookie of the Year is poised to put that behind him entering the '09 season. "We're ready to get some of that bad luck out of the way and start showing the true potential of this team," Miller said. "These guys have worked hard and I truly believe we can be a top five each and every night."
The final handful of races of the season for Miller last year showed an improved level of performance including his victory on August 1, as well as a runner-up finish to Jonathan Allard on July 11 during a weekly Chico point show and an eighth place finish with the Golden State Challenge Series at Silver Dollar on July 5. "I've got a lot of confidence coming into the season with the way we ran in our last few events and I really think we're going to have a good year and have some fun," he commented.
Miller and the Care Free Pools team will also be supporting the Butte Humane Society once again this season. Last year Miller raised $3,000 for the Humane Society and is hoping to gain as much support from everyone this season to present them with another large check at the end of the year.
For more information on Chico, California's Brett Miller please visit our website at www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller leads all 25 laps at Care Free Pools Night for 3rd career 410 sprint car victory
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – August 1, 2008…The 2008 racing season hadn’t been the kindest one to Chico’s Brett Miller and although the performance has been there for the most part, that little thing known as luck hasn’t been with him and the team for much of the year. That all changed on Friday night however, with Miller leading every lap of the main event on Care Free Pools Night at the Silver Dollar Speedway to claim his first victory of the season.
Miller had picked up a season best second place finish a couple Friday’s ago and hoped to build off that when the Feather Falls Casino 410 point season resumed action at Care Free Pools Night this past Friday.
Prior to Friday nights competition though, Miller and the Care Free Pools No. 1x sprinter made a special visit to the Old Town Root Beer Company in Chico on Thursday evening during the weekly Farmers Market. Miller was on hand for autographs and it turned out to be a success as the owners of Old Town Root Beer commented that it was the best night they’ve had since opening the store in Chico. After the event Miller was geared up to do well at his team's sponsor night on Friday.
The 19 year-old driver began Care Free Pools Night at the Silver Dollar Speedway by timing in sixth fastest aboard the Platinum Powder Coating, JP’s Paint & Body No. 1x and bringing home a fifth place finish in his heat race. When the number six pill was drawn for the inversion in the main event it put Miller on the inside of the second row, but when the front row starters both jumped the start, it moved “The Catfish” up to the pole. When the green lights flashed again, Miller jumped into the lead but had to deal with a number of cautions early on, as various spins and flips slowed the pace of the 25 lap contest.
For the second week in a row Miller had a perfectly set-up car for the quarter-mile bullring and was able to do his job in traffic when needed, all the while trying desperately to hold off former track champions Andy Forsberg and Sean Becker. For most of the season it seemed like the Chico driver was snake bitten when it came to traffic, but on this night he would put all of that behind him. The final caution of the feature came out on lap 18 and Miller proceeded to run his own race following that as the Wolfe Electric, RPM Racing Engines powered No. 1x Maxim came off the corners superbly.
Miller ran a flawless final handful of laps and drove off to cross under the checkered flag in first place and pick up the victory over Becker, Forsberg and Kyle Hirst. “This is just awesome to be able to come out here and win tonight,” said the emotional Miller following the main event. “This year has been a struggle for us and I can’t tell you how great it is to be able to be here on Care Free Pools Night and have everything come together. I have to give big thanks my grandparents, my mom and everyone who supports this team. I also have to give special thanks to Scot Clarke, Dave Peterson & my crew who have been working hard at the shop all season long and it’s pretty awesome for it to all pay off tonight,” Miller concluded.
In addition to picking up the win on Friday at Silver Dollar Speedway Miller and the team also collected around $2,000 for the Butte Humane Society. This season the Care Free Pools team has been donating a portion of the winnings, sponsor money and T-shirt sales to the Humane Society. On Care Free Pools Night a “pass the helmet” was used during breaks in the action and around $700 was raised from that alone. Other gracious donations during the night were turned in from Dan Simpson, Destiney Hays and Mike & Carol McCann of Cherry St. Mini Storage. We would like to thank each and every person who donated because it really is appreciated!
The win for Miller marked his third career 410 winged sprint car victory and was a nice way to give a boost to the whole team with the special late season events coming up. To top the night off fans were allowed in the pit area for the second straight week and the Old Town Root Beer Company was on hand giving away free root beer at the 1x trailer. The whole team would like to thank everyone who came by last night as well as everybody who visited during the Thursday night Farmers Market at the Old Town Root Beer Company.
For news on upcoming races for Brett Miller and the Care Free Pools Racing team please visit http://www.brettmillerracing.com
Brett Miller ready for Care Free Pools Night at Silver Dollar Speedway
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – July 29, 2008…After competing in a double-header with the Golden State Challenge Series last weekend Chico’s Brett Miller is geared up to kick off the month of August with Care Free Pools Night at Silver Dollar Speedway this Friday.
This past weekend saw Miller and team shaking down a new motor that had arrived on Thursday evening and after a few problems during hot laps and qualifying on Friday, things began to turn around and the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating No. 1x very nearly transferred out of the heat race.
The 19 year-old had initially started eighth in the heat race Friday night at the Silver Dollar bullring, but after the driver lining-up in front of him got over the edge and came to a stop on the first start, it bumped him up to the outside of the third row. Miller then put the car on the extreme high side of the speedway and made a couple of great moves to get into third on the next two attempted starts, but each time the yellow lights came on for stalled cars.
Race officials then decided to line the cars up single file, which hurt Miller as he started from sixth and didn’t have a clear enough path to try to make something happen on the still fast surface. “The Catfish” still tried everything he had and got into fifth after a couple laps before closing in on Shane Golobic for the transfer. Miller gave Golobic a couple peaks, but couldn’t get by and was forced to run the B-main where he went on to finish 10th.
After getting a full night of racing with the new motor Miller and the gang came back on Saturday looking for good things at the Golden State Challenge Series season ending Tribute to Gary Patterson. The Chico driver began the event by timing in the JP’s Paint & Body, Bulter Built Performance Maxim 11th fastest and bringing home a sixth place finish in a stacked heat race, that also included veterans Jonathan Allard, Brent Kaeding, Mike Henry and Greg Decaires.
It once again put Miller into the B-main, but on this night he would move forward from his inside row three starting spot to finish third and transfer into the main event. Lining-up 11th in the 30 lap feature Miller looked good early on as Scot Clarke and the team hit the set-up for the racy track surface. After the first few laps Miller began to dice it up with multiple drivers around the eighth position. “The Catfish” looked to make the move by Brent Kaeding around lap five, but the 13-time GSC champ was able to get drive off the second corner to maintain the position.
Miller continued on, but just before the midway point he got bottled up behind a car that had gotten over the edge in turn four, costing him a number of spots. As he went into turn one that same lap a bunch of cars got jammed up again and Miller hopped a right rear tire sending the Al’s Concrete, Wolfe Electric No. 1x upside down. The crew did a great job to get him back out on the track, but issues arose just before the end and he pulled off the speedway before the finish to put an end to the weekend.
Care Free Pools Night this Friday/ Old Town Root Beer Company Appearance Thursday:
Brett Miller and the No. 1x team will be back in action this Friday August 1 at the Silver Dollar Speedway during Care Free Pools Night at the races. The evening of racing is sponsored by Miller’s grandparent’s business, which is also the main sponsor of the 1x sprinter. During the night Miller and the team will be throwing out goodies into the grandstands and look forward to running up front with a number of sponsors, friends and associates on hand for the event.
The front gate will open at 6pm on Friday night with adult tickets only $11, juniors/seniors $9 and kids will be free as it will also mark kids night at the races.
Prior to Care Free Pools Night Miller and the team will make an appearance this Thursday evening at the Old Town Root Bear Company, which is located at 126 W. 2nd St in Chico. Miller will be on hand for autographs and the car will be in front of the store from about 6 to 9pm. It will also be part of the Thursday night farmers market in Chico so please stop by to say hi, get an autograph, as well as meet Miller and the team in front of the Old Town Root Beer Company.
More news on Chico, CA’s Brett Miller can be found at http://www.brettmillerracing.com
Brett Miller races to runner-up finish at Silver Dollar Speedway on Friday
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – July 13, 2008…Young Brett Miller went into this past weekend’s event at the Silver Dollar Speedway fresh off an eighth place run with the Golden State Challenge Series the previous weekend and kept up the momentum on Friday night, racing to a season best second place finish.
During the week Miller spent time helping to fight the fires in the surrounding areas that had continued to rage, but was able to take time off to allow him to compete in another double-header weekend of action at Silver Dollar Speedway. Going into Friday night’s festivities he sat eighth in the Feather Falls Casino standings, having ran nine of the eleven 410 point races.
Miller started off the event on Friday by timing in 13th fastest aboard the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating Maxim. It then put the 18 year-old on the front row of the night’s opening heat race and he jumped into the lead as the green lights came on. Miller went on to pull away from the field and drove off for his first heat race victory of the Friday night point season.
When the 25 lap main event hit the speedway the “Catfish” found himself starting in the 10th position and with the track still being very fast it made it crucial for drivers to get up on the wheel. Miller steadily made his way forward as the race went on and did a great job in traffic to put himself in the top five by the halfway point. He then proceeded to make a great move on a mid-race restart to charge around the outside of Keven Sharrah to take over the third spot, but a caution just after negated the pass.
When the green waved again he sliced to the bottom of Sharrah to take the position and then went after Mark Hall for the runner-up spot. Another restart was seen however, as the race wound down and a big puff of smoke came out of Hall’s machine during it, which resulted in Hall slowing and leaving Miller nowhere to go, causing him to get held up and dropping a few spots.
Thankfully the yellow waved before a lap was completed though and the JP’s Paint & Body, Wolfe Electric No. 1x was able to restart in the runner-up spot. Miller continued to drive the wheels off the car and was able to hold off a strong late race challenge from Sharrah to bring home a nice second place finish behind current Golden State Challenge Series point leader Jonathan Allard. It was a big confidence booster for the whole team and gave some momentum heading into Saturday’s action.
After putting in a long day of work at the shop another fast and heavy track greeted the Care Free Pools Racing team on Saturday for the 18th race of the GSC King of California season. Miller began the show on a very good note as he qualified fourth fastest in the 27 car field and was in some good company as the top five in time trials was comprised of Tyler Walker, Jonathan Allard, Tim Kaeding, Miller and Bud Kaeding.
The youngster then started fifth in the opening heat race and was able to charge around the outside of Brad Bumgarner on the final turn to pick up a third place finish and score a spot in the dash. This is when things went bad however, as J. Allard hit a rut in turn one on the start of the dash and Miller had so much of a run that he couldn’t react in time and caught the rear of the 0 car, which launched the “Catfish” into the air sending him upside down hard off turns one and two.
Miller had the wind knocked out of him in the accident and was otherwise okay, but the same couldn’t be said about the car as damage was too severe to continue and the team was forced to scratch for the rest of the night. Allard came over to apologize following the dash, but it was just one of those deals that can happen in racing and the team will move on and look for good things next weekend.
This coming Friday will find Miller and Care Free Pools Racing throw the 360 engine back into the car to compete with the California Civil War Series at the Silver Dollar Speedway. During his most recent Civil War start the Chico driver set fast time and finished ninth in the main event.
More news and info on Brett Miller and 1x team can be found at http://www.brettmillerracing.com
Brett Miller scores 8th place finish with GSC in Chico
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – July 5, 2008…Chico’s Brett Miller competed in a double-header of action this past weekend at the Silver Dollar Speedway and capped it all off by driving to his best Golden State Challenge Series finish of season with an eighth place result aboard the Care Free Pools No. 1x.
The annual 4th of July show at Silver Dollar Speedway kicked off the weekend on Friday and early on in the feature it looked like Miller would be in for a good run after getting a great start at the waving of the green flag. The 18 year-old started 12th and was able to get under 13-time King of California Brent Kaeding on the start to move the Platinum Powder Coating, JP’s Paint & Body Maxim into the top 10 on the opening lap.
As Miller battled with Kaeding on the backstretch he got over the edge however, and spun off turn three to bring out a caution. “The Catfish” restarted and was working his way back through the field when he got together with another car and came to a stop in turns one and two, which put an end to the night. It was a tough way to go out since the car had seemed to be quick, but Miller and the team remained focused and came back on Saturday looking for better things.
The event on Saturday was the 17th race of the Golden State Challenge Series season and marked the fourth time Miller had competed with the traveling circuit this year. A strong field of 37 winged sprint cars signed in at the back gate and the defending GSC Rookie of the Year began the night by timing in 16th fastest aboard the Al’s Concrete, Wolfe Electric Maxim.
It put Miller in the second row of the night’s final heat race, but on the opening lap the pole sitter came to a stop and it moved the No. 1x machine up to the pole. When the green lights came back on the Chico racer jumped into the lead and was able to hold onto the top spot until the very last corner when USAC National driver Brad Sweet got by up top to steal the win away by about an inch.
The second place finish in the heat race was still good enough to transfer into the main event though and Miller lined-up on the outside of the sixth row in the 30 lap contest. The youngster was able to move forward at the start and jump into the eighth position by the time six laps had been completed. Miller ran the high scary side for much of the race and made the move around Jason York just past the midway point to take over the seventh spot.
The Silver Dollar Speedway was very racy on this night and as the laps wound down Miller had to deal with GSC regular Evan Suggs. Miller and Suggs ran nose to tail for a number of laps before Suggs was able to get by with just a handful of laps remaining in the race. “The Catfish” ran the remaining laps solidly in eighth and was able to take the checkered in that spot to record his best GSC finish of the season.
After a season filled with tough luck Miller and the Care Free Pools team were happy with the eighth place finish and will look to build on that during this upcoming weekend. On Friday night the 18 year-old will be in action in another round of Feather Falls Casino point race competition during a night sponsored by Moore Insurance Services.
The next night will see the Golden State Challenge King of California Series return to Chico for another round of action at the Silver Dollar Speedway. For the season it will be the 18th round of competition for the traveling 410 series and will be the start of five to go until the King of California is crowned at the end of this month.
For more news on Chico’s Brett Miller log onto http://www.brettmillerracing.com
Brett Miller sets fast time & fights for 9th in feature at Quincy
By Gary Thomas
Quincy, CA – June 23, 2008…Returning to action following a week off, Chico’s Brett Miller turned in his first quick time effort of the season and brought home a ninth finish in the main event during a long night with the California Civil War Series at the American Valley Speedway in Quincy.
Miller, who is a volunteer fireman, was forced to miss the previous Friday’s 410 point event on June 13 at Silver Dollar Speedway due to being called up to fight the fire in the surrounding Chico area. With the fire being out the Care Free Pools Racing team was able to make the drive to Quincy this past Saturday night to compete with the Civil War 360 Series.
A field of 32 winged sprint cars made the tow to the American Valley Speedway and Miller came out second in the qualifying order. The 18 year-old ripped off a 15.851 second lap and it was good enough to hold up and give the Platinum Powder Coating, Wolfe Electric No. 1x fast time in the field. Miller then lined-up in the third row during his heat race finished fifth to put him into the B-main.
In the 12 lap semi Miller settled into second and ran there for the remainder of the race to transfer into the main event. “The Catfish” got his time back for the feature, but unfortunately for him the 10 pill was drawn for the inversion and it put the JP’s Paint & Body, Al’s Concrete Maxim in the sixth row.
The first couple starts saw a pair of collisions occur and Miller caught a piece of the action and was forced to change the front wing during the red flag stoppage. The long 3/8 mile track is very narrow and it makes for tough racing conditions when 20 cars are present on the track. Miller did the best he could from the back and hung in for 30 laps and crossed the stripe in the ninth position at the checkered flag.
The Care Free Pools Racing team was happy with the night and will look to get some momentum rolling with another Feather Falls Casino point event at the Silver Dollar Speedway this Friday. The night of racing will be sponsored by Riebe’s Auto Parts and Miller will go into the event sitting ninth in the track standings.
For more info on 18 year-old Brett Miller log onto http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Broken fuel line takes away top 10 Civil War run for Brett Miller
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – May 26, 2008…Charging from the rear of the field on Sunday night Chico’s Brett Miller looked to be on his way to a strong run with the California Civil War Series before a fuel line issue forced him into the pits and ultimately out of the race. The 18 year-old was able to maneuver the Scot Clarke prepped machine anywhere he wanted on the track until the tough break just past the midway point of the feature.
The annual Memorial Day weekend double-header at the Silver Dollar Speedway began under cloudy skies on Saturday with a non-sanctioned 360 event. The entire weekend was held as part of the annual Silver Dollar Fair and a large crowd was on hand to witness the action during the two-night show. The opening night saw Miller and the Care Free Pools team struggle as the track was extremely greasy and fast early on.
There was no qualifying held on Saturday as a pill draw determined heat race line-ups for the evening. Miller started third in his heat race but fought an extremely tight condition and fell back at the waving of the green flag and eventually pulled off with a couple laps remaining. He then started 14th in the B-main and although the car was still tight, he was able to move forward and stay out of trouble to get up to the fourth & final transfer spot with just a few laps left.
Miller tried his best to hang on, but pushed up the track with a couple laps to go and it allowed Alissa Geving to get by for the final transfer. “The Catfish” drove on to finish fifth and with everybody making the call for the main event it ended the night early. After assessing the situation the next morning it was decided to swap cars for Sunday’s event to see if it could help remedy the problems from the night before.
After making the motor swap and changing a few things on the car, the team got into the pits just after 4pm and were able to fire the car off to make sure everything was good to go for the evening of Civil War Series competition. The track was much drier on this night and unfortunately for Miller he was set to be the very last of 48 cars to hit the speedway for timed qualifications. With the track slowing down as the session went on he was still able to cut a good second lap to put the Platinum Powder Coating, Wolfe Electric Maxim 23rd quickest.
Miller then started from the pole in his heat race and charged out into the lead at the waving of the green flag. Early on he felt intense pressure from fellow youngster Alissa Geving, but was able to hit his marks on the tricky cushion and maintain the lead. After about five laps the car began to come in and he pulled away from the field to easily win the 10 lap contest picking up his first heat race victory of the season.
The track began to progressively get slicker as the night went on and Miller lined-up in the 18th position for the night’s 30 lap Civil War Series main event. When the green lights came on he was able to pick off a few cars during the first few laps as he ran the high scary of the quarter-mile bullring. “The Catfish” gave up his nickname as he charged around the top side battling it out with Civil War veterans David Robinson Jr, Herman Klein and Mike Benson.
Miller was able to get up to as high as ninth before he slowed to a stop during a restart with about 10 laps remaining in the race. It was found that a fuel line had come loose creating problems with the engine and the JP’s Paint & Body, Al’s Concrete No. 1x was pushed back into the pits to put an end to the night. Altough it was a dissapointing end to the weekend, the night as a whole was a great rebound from Saturday as the car was locked down and rolled through the corners very well all night long.
Miller and the Care Free Pools Racing team will look to the change the luck when the Feather Falls Casino Friday Night Point Series resumes action in a couple weeks on June 6. The 18 year-old will go into the event sitting ninth in the current Silver Dollar Speedway point standings. For more news on Brett Miller and the team log onto our website located at http://www.brettmilleracing.com
Brett Miller carves his way from 16th to 7th on Friday night in Chico
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – May 20, 2008…Chico’s Brett Miller returned to action and scored a seventh place finish for the fourth time in the first seven Feather Falls Casino point races at the Silver Dollar Speedway this past Friday night. The 18 year-old once again was forced to charge from the rear of the field and ran a smooth and solid race to keep him ninth in the track standings.
Miller was forced to take the previous Friday off at Silver Dollar Speedway due to effects suffered from the hard crash the weekend before in Quincy. “The Catfish” began the night by timing in 21st quickest out 36 cars and brought home a fourth place finish in his heat race to transfer into the main event. The 25 lap contest saw Miller start 16th and steadily make his way forward, avoiding a few on track incidents to get up to eighth by a lap 21 caution.
On the restart leader Tyler Walker spun off of turn one and it bumped the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating No. 1x up to the seventh position. Miller ran the final handful of laps solidly and brought the car home in seventh for his fourth top 10 finish of the Feather Falls Casino point season.
The Golden State Challenge 410 Series then made its way to Silver Dollar Speedway for Saturday’s 18th annual Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial. The event is one of the biggest sprint car races of the season in California and packed a lot of extra money and goodies during the night. A strong field of 43 cars was on the hand and unseasonably warm temperatures were seen during the day, which dried out the quarter-mile much quicker than usual.
A large curb had developed up high and with Miller drawing a late number it made it tricky to get a good lap since the ledge could upset the car if it wasn’t hit perfectly. Miller caught the cushion a little rough both laps and his fastest one of 12.810 put him 26th fastest, just two spots shy of making the heat race inversion.
By missing the inversion Miller was forced to start from the fourth row of his heat race, which just happened to be the most stacked one of the night. The drivers starting in front of him were Roger Crockett, Mike Henry, Sean Becker Tim Kaeding, Andy Forsberg and Stephen Allard, all drivers with multiple championships under their belts. Unfortunately Miller didn’t get a chance to do battle with them as another car lost power in front of him in turn two on the start and left him with nowhere to go.
Miller contacted the stalled car and it resulted in the JP’s Paint & Body, Al’s Concrete Maxim flipping onto its side. He was towed to the pits and the crew was able to fix some of the damage, but it wasn’t all right and he looped the car on the next start, forcing him to run the B-main. The Care Free Pools team went to work and got the car ready for the semi where Miller lined up in the 10th position. The youngster tried his best to get up to a transfer but came up a couple spots short finishing the 12 lap race in the eighth position.
The next scheduled event for Miller and the 1x team will be this Sunday’s California Civil War Series race at the Silver Dollar Speedway. The night of action will be run in conjunction with the annual Silver Dollar Fair and routinely attracts a large field of cars. Miller competed at the Civil War fair race in his rookie year of 2006 where he qualified 12th out of 60 cars and also finished 12th in the 30 lap feature. The 410's will take a couple weekends off at Silver Dollar Speedway before returning to action on Friday night June 6 during Ashley Furniture night.
Brett Miller charges from rear to 7th at Silver Dollar Speedway
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – April 25, 2008…Chico’s Brett Miller rebounded from last week’s disappointment to charge forward and record a seventh place finish Friday night coming from the rear of the field after an opening lap bicycle off turn two. The 18 year-old was able to use the cushion on the expertly prepared Silver Dollar Speedway clay and made some great moves to get back up and record a good finish.
Going into the evening Miller sat 11th in the Feather Falls Casino Friday night point standings and looked to make up ground in the standings. The night of competition was sponsored by Withrow’s Motorsports and JP’s Paint & Body Works, two great supporters of sprint car racing from the Chico area.
Miller was slated to start the 25 lap main event in the 10th position, but after checking up for another driver in turn two on the start, the Care Free Pools No. 1x bicycled and nearly got upside down off the second corner. The young driver was able to cowboy the car down and it stayed on all fours so he was able to get pushed off and restart at the rear of the field in the 20th position.
The “Catfish” got away from his nickname as the green flag came back out and immediately went to the high scary side of the speedway aboard the JP’s Paint & Body, Platinum Powder Coating Maxim. Miller blew around several cars right from the get go and got back up to the top 10 right around the midway point. He continued to charge forward and after battling it out with a handful of drivers over the remaining laps, Miller brought the car home in the seventh position at the checkered flag.
It was a good way to the end the night as Scot Clarke and the gang put a great set-up in the car and Miller did a fantastic job ripping around the cushion in the feature. The 18 year-old was also in some good company during the main event as all six drivers that finished ahead of him were former Silver Dollar Speedway 410 sprint car champions.
The Care Free Pools Racing team will look for more good things next Friday at Silver Dollar Speedway during the fifth race in the Feather Falls Casino point season. Then on Saturday Miller will head for the American Valley Speedway in Quincy to compete with the Golden State Challenge King of California Series for the first time since the Mini Gold Cup. Last season Miller scored a fourth place finish in Quincy during the GSC event at the track.
Late race crash ends Brett Miller's night-Late race flip ends hope of good night for Brett Miller
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - April 18, 2008.Chico's Brett Miller was poised to have a good finish last night at the Silver Dollar Speedway, but a late race collision during the 25 lap main event ended his chances. The night of action marked the third point race of the Feather Falls Casino weekly season and the evening was sponsored by NMI Industrial Contractors.
Warm day time temps, coupled with a strong wind that never subsided as the night went on caused the track surface to become tough to pass on during the main event. Miller however, was still able to make headway in the feature as the Scott Clarke prepped machine was set-up to perfection on this night.
The 18 year-old driver lined up 12th in the main event and was on the move early as he put the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating No. 1x into ninth by the time a caution appeared on lap five. He continued to move forward on the restart as he dispatched of both Colby Wiesz and Kevin Sharrah to move into the seventh position by the ninth circuit.
The last part of the race saw him run the bottom like many of the other competitors were doing, but on lap 20 as he battled wheel to wheel with another driver, the pair made contact and it sent the River City Pool Plastering, JP's Paint & Body Maxim upside down off turn two. It was a very disappointing end to the night, but the team will come back strong next week at the fourth Silver Dollar Speedway Feather Falls Casino point race.
New shirts- Please stop by the trailer after the races next week to check out our new Brett Miller Racing T-shirts that are on sale now. The shirts were designed by well known racing artist Randy Frank
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – March 23, 2008…Competing for the first time at the Silver Cup Chico’s Brett Miller brought home an 11th place finish Saturday night at the Silver Dollar Speedway. The two-night 360 winged sprint car main event saw a total of 54 cars in competition at the high banked ¼ mile clay oval.
The Silver Cup uses a draw show format with passing points so qualifying wasn’t held on either night. Miller and the Care Free Pools Racing team kicked off the action on Friday night and it found the 1x machine lining up ninth in the final heat race. “The Catfish” was able to move up a few spots early on, but with the heat race going green to checker it made for a difficult task with the track still being very fast and hooked up.
Miller was able to hang on and cross the line in sixth aboard the Platinum Powder Coating, Wolfe Electric No. 1x. The main event was set by heat race points and with Miller being 24th in the standings; it put an early end to the night. Thankfully however, the main event was only for money so it didn’t hurt him too much in the overall weekend points.
Coming back on Saturday Miller drew the number 27 pill which put him on the inside of the second row in heat race number three. The 18 year-old proceeded to claim the lead and hold off all competitors to pick up the 10 lap win and significantly help him out in the weekend points.
After points were added up following the heat races, Miller sat in the 10th spot overall, giving him an outside row five starting position in the Silver Cup main event. The youngster did a solid job in the feature and battled with Brad Furr and Shain Matthews over the final laps of the main event to bring home an 11th place result.
Miller and the team were satisfied with the finish with the large field of cars present and will now move on to next week as the Feather Falls Casino point season kicks off on Friday night at the Silver Dollar Speedway. The night will be a tribute to Bill Brownell and the main event will pay a nice $3,000 to win. The Care Free Pools team would like to congratulate good guy Sean Becker on his win at the Silver Cup on Saturday night.
By Gary Thomas
Tulsa, Oklahoma – January 15, 2008…Competing in his first career Chili Bowl Midget Nationals at the QuickTrip Center in Tulsa, OK this past week, California sprint car racer Brett Miller transferred into the G-main on Saturday night in an event that saw a stacked field of 267 race cars in competition during the week.
The five day Dodge Chili Bowl saw drivers from all forms of motorsports tackle the tiny bullring inside the Tulsa QuickTrip Center and the Saturday finale was broadcast on HBO Pay Per View for the first time. For the event Brett competed aboard the Fauver Race Ready Rentals, Care Free Pools, Zilla Chassis No. 64 and ran in the Friday O’Reilly Auto Parts qualifying night.
During the qualifying night he and the team toughed it out with a wire coming loose in the heat race to finish sixth, before having a fuel pump issue later in the evening which ultimately put an end to the night and left Brett with a low point total. Keeping positive though he and the Fauver Race Ready Rental crew came back on Saturday looking to make it as far as possible through the alphabet soup. Main events during the day on Saturday went as far back as a K-main and the “Catfish” was set to run his first event in I-main number two.
With the experience of Friday night underneath his belt, Brett gassed it up from the ninth starting spot to carve his way forward and finish fourth in the 10 lap non-stop contest. It transferred him into the H-main where he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when a couple cars in front of him got together and left him with front end damage. It put an end to the Chili Bowl for Brett and the guys but the experience gained was well worth the trip and it’s something the 18 year-old definitely wants to do again.
Racing journalist and media member Bobby Gerould made mention of Brett in his Chili Bowl Midget Nationals recap column: “Brett Miller impressed during his Saturday afternoon racing. Miller ripped the top of the track and passed cars like a veteran even though it was his first try at it,” Gerould said.
With the ’08 sprint car racing season rapidly approaching, Brett and the Care Free Pools Racing team are looking forward to getting everything started. Look for Care Free Pools Racing to focus on the Feather Falls Casino Friday night point championship at Silver Dollar Speedway as well as running in select other races with various sanctioning bodies during the season.
By Gary Thomas
TULARE, California November 19, 2007 -- Chico, California youngster Brett Miller completed his sophomore season of sprint car racing this past weekend during the 14th annual Trophy Cup at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway. The prestigious two-night event ended with Brett getting upside down in the second corner in the B-main on Saturday, but the weekend as a whole has to be considered a success as it was one of Brett’s best this season at the lightning fast 1/3 mile clay oval.
The Trophy Cup has been going on since 1994 and this season was the third straight year it was held at the Thunderbowl Raceway, which is located on the Tulare County Fairgrounds in Tulare, Calif. The event benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the organization was presented a check worth $35,000 on Saturday night by Dave Pusateri and the Trophy Cup staff.
The event saw a whopping field of 82 cars compete over the two-night’s and some of biggest names in sprint car racing were in the pit area. Brett hadn’t run a race since the Fall Nationals in early October and after getting some hot lap sessions in he qualified 33rd fastest in the field aboard the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, Wolfe Electric No. 1x, missing the heat race inversion by just three spots.
The heat race on Friday night turned out to be an ultra stacked affair and it made it a tough task for Brett to transfer out. Starting in front of the 18 year-old were World of Outlaw drivers Joey Saldana & Jason Solwold, as well as top California drivers Tim & Brent Kaeding and fellow youngster Kyle Larson. The racing surface was hooked up and Brett stayed with the drivers in front of him and finished seventh in the heat, putting him in the B-main. Starting near the back in the last chance event, the "Catfish" ran a smooth and solid race to finish ninth. It put an end to the night, but it was good to roll the car back into the trailer in one piece and gave Brett some confidence at Thunderbowl Raceway, a track that has been rather tough to the 1x team this year. "I’m definitely happy with how the night went," team owner Bill Bell said on Saturday afternoon.
On Saturday night there is no qualifying held at the Trophy Cup as points from the previous evening are used to determine heat line-ups. Brett found himself on the outside of the front row in the night’s opening heat race. The start saw him fall into line second, but he quickly found a nice line in turns three and four up on the high side and he used it to make a brave move and sweep around leader Seth Bergman on the third lap to take the lead.
After that he quickly had to deal with a fast moving Tim Kaeding and after running nose to tail for a couple laps, "TK" slid Brett in turn three, but the "Catsfish" diamonded the exit of the corner to drive back underneath the Tom Rolfe Trucking Special to re-claim the lead. Just as the battle was heating up a caution appeared and it set up a three lap dash to the finish. It’s always intimidating to have a driver the caliber of "TK" on your bumper for a restart, but Brett was up to the challenge and drove away to pick up the heat race win aboard the Smartwebsales.com, Jandy Pools, Al’s Concrete No. 1x.
With points determining main event line-ups it put Brett into the B-main where he started from the eighth position. While running among the top 10 Brett attempted a high side pass in turn two, but the car running below him got loose and slid up into Brett causing the RPM Racing engines powered Maxim to get upside down. It put an end to the night, but the team was definitely happy with the performance at the 14th annual Trophy Cup. The Thunderbowl Raceway has been tough on Brett this season, but he always speaks highly of the track as it’s one his favorites and he now has some confidence heading into next season at the 1/3 mile clay oval.
With the 2007 racing season complete, Brett and Care Free Pools Racing will take part in the John Padjen Motorsports Banquet next Saturday at the Feather Falls Casino in Oroville. Brett will have a chance to get on the stage and be honored for his fourth place finish in the final 410 point standings at Silver Dollar Speedway. Following the JPM Banquet Brett will be part of the Golden State Challenge Series ceremony on January 5, which is also held at Feather Falls. The week following the GSC Banquet will see Brett compete for the first time at the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Chili Bowl sees top drivers from all around motor sports compete and this past season saw 267 midgets in action at the event. This will be Brett's first time behind the wheel of a midget and prior to the Chili Bowl, he'll be doing some practice sessions with midget ace Ryan Kaplan at the Jimmy Sills school of Open Wheel Racing.
Care Free Pools Racing would like to thank all of our sponsors and everybody that supported us this year. We hope everyone has a great holiday season and hope the Winter goes by fast.
Chico, CA - October 15, 2007...18 year-old Brett Miller competed without the wing for the very first time this past Saturday during Silver Dollar Speedway’s wingless sprint nationals and brought home a 16th place finish in the main event. The Chico youngster sat behind the wheel of the Rod Fauver owned No. 66 for the night of action that saw 67 cars sign into the back gate for the final race of the 2007 season at Silver Dollar Speedway.
This was the third straight year that Silver Dollar has hosted the wingless sprint nationals and it was the largest field seen yet. After getting used to the car in hot laps Brett came out to qualify and after going out early on, he was deemed to be too loud and was forced to come out a re-qualify. His lap of 14.297 placed him 15th quickest out of the 60 cars that took times. It put the "Catfish" in the third row of the opening heat race which was stacked with some of top spec sprint drivers in California. After getting shuffled back on the start, he came back and moved forward to finish the heat in sixth.
The main events were lined up by accumulated points and Brett found himself on the pole of the B-main starting alongside Mark Abouzeid. As the green flag waved on the 15 lap B-main, Abouzeid got the jump into turn one. Brett settled into second but took advantage of a miscue by Abouzeid around lap 10 and was able to take the lead off of turn four. "The Catfish" led the rest of the way to earn a transfer spot into the main event. Starting way back in 19th Brett had a long ways to go, but as the night went on he began to get more comfortable with the car and was able to move forward in the feature. He was battling up in the top 10 when contact was had with another car, which folded the front end of the 66 machine and put an end to the night with a finish of 16th place.
Brett and the family would like to thank Rod Fauver and crew for the great car and opportunity to compete at the wingless sprint nationals. Brett had been wanting to run a wingless car for quite a while and it was good to get in some competitive racing laps without the wing in time for the upcoming Chili Bowl Midget Nationals which he’ll be competing in for the first time come January.
The next scheduled race for Brett and Care Free Pools Racing will be the 14th annual Trophy Cup at the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - October 8, 2007...The winged sprint car portion of the 2007 season at Silver Dollar Speedway came to an end on Saturday and it saw Chico’s Brett Miller win the B-main before finishing 20th in the 40 lap finale at the 16th annual Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals. The 18 year-old looked to be on his way to great point total during his Thursday night prelim, until he caught a rut and was forced to charge back through the field on a very fast racing surface.
The Fall Nationals kicked off on Thursday night and after winning the third heat race he pulled the number one pill for the seven lap dash. "The Catfish" jumped out into the lead and led the first handful of laps until former World of Outlaw driver Shane Stewart was able to get by. Brett stayed focused and was able to finish the dash in second aboard the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, River City Pools No. 1x.
Lining up third in the feature, Brett hung strong with a bevy of talented sprint car drivers scattered throughout the top 10. He was running solidly in the top five when a rut in turn four upset the 1x machine and nearly sent him upside down. He was able to stay on all fours but stopped on the front straightaway to bring out a caution. Brett was pushed back out and did a good job over the final 15 laps to get back up to a 10th place finish in the JP’s Paint & Body, Al’s Concrete, Wolfe Electric Maxim.
A total of 91 cars competed over the two prelim nights and when points were tallied Brett found himself sitting just a few points shy of automatically making the A-main. His total was good enough however, to give him the pole for the 20 lap B-main event.
After running some hot laps with the other B-main cars he went out and handled the field with ease to pick up the victory and transfer into the 40 lap Fall Nationals finale. Starting 20th, Brett diced it up with several cars right around that position until he suffered a flat tire and was forced to pit to get it fixed. He was pushed out to rejoin the field and went on to finish the Fall Nationals in the 20th spot.
The 2007 winged sprint car season at Silver Dollar Speedway was an up and down one for Brett and Care Free Pools Racing, but everyone had a good time and gained a lot of valuable experience to take into next year. Look for Brett to compete next week in a wingless sprint car for the first time at Silver Dollar Speedway’s wingless sprint nationals.
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - October 2, 2007...After finishing 14th in the Civil War Series finale at Placerville last Saturday; Chico, Calif driver Brett Miller will close out the winged sprint car portion of the Silver Dollar Speedway schedule this weekend at the annual Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals. It will be the third time Brett has competed at the event which has been going on for more than 15 years at the Chico bullring.
The 18 year-old will go into the Fall Nationals having finished fourth in the final Silver Dollar Speedway point standings and will look to wrap up the winged sprint car season at the track on a high note. Brett has suffered through a large deal of tough luck over the last half of the season, be it engine issues or on track misfortune, but a good run at the Fall Nationals would certainly make up for the majority of it. The crew has worked hard and Brett has had a good car, now if the luck will turn around we should be in for a good weekend of racing action.
Last year’s Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals saw Brett have a very good weekend of competition. He was able to set fast time out of 42 cars during his preliminary night and bring home a ninth place finish in the prelim feature. It was good enough to give him a row seven starting position in Saturday’s main event and after 40 laps of racing he finished the Fall Nationals main event in sixth place. Last year’s main event was held on a rubber down surface and the Catfish was able to conserve his tires enough to earn a very solid finish.
The Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals has become one of the premier 360 winged sprint car events on the West Coast and will begin its three-night run starting this Thursday evening October 4. Nearly 100 cars are expected for the event, which forces the field to be split into a pair of qualifying night’s just like the Gold Cup Race of Champions. Brett and Care Free Pools Racing will take to the track on Thursday looking to gain as many points as possible towards Saturday’s starting line-up.
Gates open at 5 pm all three night’s with tickets costing $15 on Thursday & Friday, and $20 on Saturday. All seating will be general admission in what will be a can’t miss weekend of action. Brett and the team would like thank all our sponsors who have supported us this season and look forward to having a good run this weekend at the Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals.
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - September 12, 2007...Contact on the opening lap during this past Saturday’s C-main at the 54th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions took away any shot of moving up the program for Chico’s Brett Miller. The 18 year-old driver got a great start, but while rounding turn four another car slid up and left Brett with nowhere to go but over his right rear and into the fence.
The 54th running of the Gold Cup went green last Thursday night at Silver Dollar Speedway and Brett took part in the opening qualifying night. A large field of 47 cars signed into the back gate and Brett was the 38th driver to take to the raceway for timed qualifications. The Catfish turned a fastest lap of 12.204 putting the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, Al’s Concrete, JP’s Paint & Body No.1xm 23rd quickest overall.
Lining up sixth in his heat race, Brett had the final transfer spot locked down until the front nose wing came up and created handling issues on the extremely hooked up race surface. With about two laps left in the heat, Dan Menne was able to get under Brett and take the final transfer spot pushing the Care Free Graphics, Smartwebsales.com, Jandy Pools Maxim into the B-main. Starting 3rd in the 12 lap semi main, the youngster held his own and transferred into the main event. Brett lined up in the very last row of the feature, and after 30 laps he brought home a 19th place finish on a single groove race track.
When points were tabulated for Saturday, Brett and Care Free Pools Racing had accumulated enough to get into the C-main. Starting seventh Brett got a great start and looked to be in good position to transfer until turn four when a car slid high and the Catfish hopped over his wheel launching the 1xm into the fence. The car was pushed back to the pits where the crew tried to piece it back together having suffered a bent jacobs ladder and some front end damage. After doing the best they could, Brett was pushed back onto the track and he went on to record a 12th place finish aboard the River City Pools, Aspire Homes, BR Motorsports, Wolfe Electric No. 1xm.
The Gold Cup didn’t turn out how everyone would have hoped, but it was another weekend of experience building moments. The luck has to turn around sooner or later and the perfect time for it to happen is at the Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals, which is coming up at Silver Dollar Speedway in less than a month. Last year at the Fall Nationals Brett set fast time on opening night and finished ninth in the prelim feature. He then backed that up with a charge from 13th to 6th in the main event on Saturday. It would definitely be big to do well at the Fall Nationals since it will be the final winged sprint car race of the season at our home track.
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - August 26, 2007...Despite a trying season at Silver Dollar Speedway, Chico youngster Brett Miller gutted through it and brought home a fourth place finish in the final 2007 Feather Falls Casino 410 winged sprint car point standings. The sophomore jinx seemed to play havoc with Brett and the Care Free Pools team all year, but everyone remained positive throughout it and will move on having gained a lot of added experience.
The final point race of ‘07 at Silver Dollar pretty much summed up the year. Lining up on the inside of row five in the main event, a couple cars near the front of the field got together and Brett had nowhere to go, getting into the melee suffering front end damage. The Platinum Powder Coating, Jandy Pools, Al’s Concrete No. 1x was towed off to the work area to try and get the damage fixed. After thrashing away the car was dropped off the jacks, but unfortunately the light went off on the speedway and racing got back underway before Brett could get back out.
Finishing fourth in points is an improvement over last year’s seventh place finish during his rookie season, and is remarkable to finish that high despite all the tough luck during the season. The highlight of the year came on April 6 when Brett picked up his second career 410 sprint car victory. In 17 total starts the 18 year-old brought home nine top 10 finishes. The night that hurt the most, however, was June 22 when Brett transferred through the B-main, but was forced to scratch from the main event due to engine issues. Rules stipulate that if a driver transfers he has to forfeit his points from the B-main, but even if they can’t start the main event, they are still forced to forfeit the points. This was a major hit and left Brett with 0 competitive points from the night.
Other adversity that the team fought through were constant engine troubles that plagued the 1x for much of the Summer. In fact Brett was forced to utilize a 360 power plant under the hood during three Silver Dollar Speedway point races in July. Even with all that Care Free Pools Racing was one of only two teams to compete in every Friday point race in Chico and every Golden State Challenge King of California Series event in 2007. It was truly a grind and we have to thank each and every one of our sponsors for making it possible.
With all the point racing done for the season it will give Brett and Care Free Pools Racing time to focus on the special events that take place during the later part of the year in California. The first of those events will be in a couple weeks when the World of Outlaws Sprint Series invade Silver Dollar Speedway for the 54th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions. Last year Brett was running in the five during the C-main on Saturday night when an accident took him out of contention. A good run at the Gold Cup would certainly be huge for the Brett and the whole team. It’s the toughest sprint car event in California, but should be a fun time all around as more than 90 cars are expected to take part in action.
Brett Miller moves to 4th in points as final Chico point race looms ahead
By Gary Thomas
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Chico, CA - August 18, 2007...With the end of the 2007 points race at Silver Dollar Speedway creeping closer, Chico’s Brett Miller has moved solidly into the fourth position in the Feather Falls Casino point standings. Brett and the Care Free Pools Racing team went into this past Friday’s event looking to move up in the points and did just that, even with an unfortunate incident that took away a possible podium finish.
After qualifying seventh fastest in the field of thirty-one 410 sprint cars, the 18 year-old brought home a fourth place finish in the second heat race to transfer the Platinum Powder Coating, Al’s Concrete, Jandy Pools, Care Free Graphics No. 1x into the main event.
The night’s fastest qualifier then pulled the number four pill for the inversion, which put Brett and last weeks winner Kyle Hirst on the front row. Brett was on outside though, and with the 1/4 becoming a one lane expressway on the bottom, he had to get to the bottom quickly. As the field rounded turn four looking at the green flag, Brett settled into third as the inside row moved forward with the increased traction on the low side of the speedway.
The Catfish ran in third throughout the early part of the race, but then began to hound Robby Whitchurch for second. A couple laps following a restart, an opening came forth and Brett took it, but off turn two it closed and resulted in both Brett and Whitchurch coming together. The Care Free Pools 1x bounced around and Brett was able to wrestle it back in but there was damage and after pitting to get it looked at, he pushed back out onto the track to rejoin the field. With the track not being very conducive to passing, the youngster had a tough path ahead. Doing the best he could as the race wore on he moved forward and got up to 12th by the finish.
This coming Friday will see Coca Cola/Napa Auto Parts/Cherry St. Mini Storage championship night as the 2007 Feather Falls Casino point season at Silver Dollar Speedway comes to a close. It seems like it was just yesterday that we opened the season and although it hasn’t been the kindest to Brett and team, the year has been full of experience building moments. With all the point racing done after next week, it’ll be time to focus on the number of season ending special shows. Care Free Pools Racing would like to thank all our sponsors who have supported us this season and we look forward to finishing the season strong.
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - August 12, 2007...Chico’s Brett Miller looked to be well in position to picking up his third career 410 sprint car win this past Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway, but an encounter with lap traffic while leading the race dashed his chances of doing so.
The 18 year-old driver lined up in the fifth position during the night’s 25 lap main event aboard the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, Wolfe Electric No. 1x. The track had started off the night being very fast and continued to be in the feature, but the bottom became very quick which made it the place to be. Holding true to his nickname of the Catfish, Brett rode the bottom of the 1/4 mile bullring and moved forward very quickly. On lap two he got under Kyle Hirst for second and the following lap took the lead from Tyler Spath.
Once in front Brett rocketed out to a commanding lead as the crew gave him a perfectly set up race car and the RPM racing engine was hitting on all cylinders. The tough part on this night was that an inordinate amount of cautions and reds were seen, which slowed the flow of the race. It didn’t seem to faze the youngster though as he doing a solid job and pulling away from the field each time he saw a restart. Once traffic came into play however, Brett would have to kick it into high gear as he had fellow youngster Kyle Hirst coming quickly. Lap 11 saw Brett get by one lap car off turn four, but unfortunately there was another car directly in front of that one and Brett had such a head of steam that he had to go higher than usual in turn one and he slipped off the corner spinning to a stop. Brett restarted the race and got back up to 11th by the finish in the River City Pools, A1A Performance Muffler, BR Motorsports, Kaeding Performance Maxim.
It was a tough way to end the night as Brett was clearly the class of the field, but sometimes traffic goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t. The Catfish just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and he couldn’t just follow the lappers, because he had some fast company headed his way. The only thing to do is move on and the positive thing to take away from the night is the fact that the JP’s Paint & Body, Al’s Concrete, Smartwebsales.com, Jandy Pools No. 1x was extremely fast and in position to win the race.
There are only two point races left in the 2007 season at Silver Dollar Speedway and the next to last race will be this Friday night. Brett will go into the event sitting fifth in the current Silver Dollar Speedway point standings. Stop by the rig after the races to check out our T-shirts and say hi.
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - August 5, 2007... As the final month of 410 point racing at Silver Dollar Speedway got underway this past Friday, Chico’s Brett Miller put together one of his most solid night’s of racing in recent weeks. Just six days after finishing out the Golden State Challenge Series season, the Catfish and the Care Free Pools team were back in Chico looking to have a strong run at our home track.
The event in Chico marked the start of the final four races in the Feather Falls Casino Series for 2007 and during the month of August Brett is looking to build some momentum towards the Gold Cup Race of Champions, which is coming up in early September. Momentum is always a big thing heading into large events and the youngster certainly showed that he’s going to be a force over the next month at Silver Dollar Speedway.
Qualifying has been a bit of a struggle recently for Brett and the team, but it was all put behind on Friday as the Catfish cut a pair of great laps to place the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, Wolfe Electric No. 1x second quickest in the 27 car field. Starting sixth in the second heat race of the night, Brett made quick work to get into a transfer spot and brought home a fourth place finish aboard the JP’s Paint & Body, Care Free Custom Graphics, Smartwebsales.com, Al’s Concrete Maxim.
With fast qualifier Stephen Allard pulling the number eight pill, it put Brett on the inside of row four in the 25 lap feature. The track surface was fast all night and remained hooked up and haulin’ during the main event. Brett got himself up to the top five when the laps ticked down and used a late race restart to put the pressure on the cars in front of him. The 18 year-old had found the high line and on the restart he powered around Robby Whitchurch to take fourth and closed in on fellow youngster Mason Moore for third. Just as Brett was getting to the outside of Moore on the final lap the yellow light’s came on and forced a green/white/checkered restart. The last couple circuits were clicked off smoothly and Brett brought the Jandy Pools, Aspire Homes, BR Motorsports No. 1x home with a fourth place finish.
It was great night and a definite confidence builder for Brett and the whole team. The solid qualifying time was a real bright spot and Brett looked comfortable all night as the crew put a great car underneath him.
Next up for Care Free Pools Racing will be this coming Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway for the third to last point race of the season.
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA July 30, 2007...As the 2007 Golden State Challenge Series season came to a close Saturday night at Silver Dollar Speedway, Chico's Brett Miller charged up from the 18th starting position to tally his ninth top 10 finish of the season. The 18 year-old driver has been fighting through engine problems and steering box problems throughout the last month or so, but the whole Care Free Pools team has remained positive and finished off our first full season of GSC competition this past weekend.
The GSC finale double header weekend began with a tough one on Friday that saw Brett miss the main event, but he came back on Saturday looking to finish off the season with a strong run. After finishing third in his heat race behind Sean Becker and Brent Kaeding, the Catfish was ready for the final 30 lap main event of the GSC season. Lining up 18th aboard the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, JP's Paint & Body, smartwebsales.com No. 1x, Brett methodically worked his way forward and brought home a 10th place finish at the checkered flag.
After 25 races Brett finished his rookie season with the Golden state challenge series with a seventh place finish in the final point standings. It was a fun season with GSC but a long one as luck didn't seem to be on the youngster's side very often. Still he was able to bring home three top five finishes, including back to back fourth place runs at Medford and Quincy in June. He also picked up three heat race wins with the series and earned a ton of experience racing with some of the top drivers in the western United States.
Even though the Golden state challenge Series season is over, there is still a lot of racing left to go before '07 is finished off. This month for Care Free Pools Racing will be spent racing at the Silver Dollar Speedway in the Feather Falls Casino Friday night point series. There are four races left this month in Chico and they will all be spent trying to get ready for the big $50,000 to win Gold Cup Race of Champions, which takes place in early September.
We'd like to thank all of our sponsors and crew for helping out making it through the Golden State Challenge Series season and we no look forward to the rest of the year.
By Gary Thomas
July 9, 2007... Chico’s Brett Miller was forced to put in the smaller 360 cubic inch engine during this past weekend and he did a respectable job, however, a pair of accidents in the features took away finishes that could have been higher. Brett was underpowered running with the 410's, but on the bright side, the team will get the 410 engine back in time for this coming weekend’s double header in Chico.
Brett started this past weekend off with Care Free Pools night at the races at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway. Brett ran a strong qualifying lap to turn a 12.675, but it was 16th fastest showing just how much difference there is between a 410 and a 360. Brett then lined up on the front row in heat race number one aboard the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, JP’s Paint & Body, Al’s Concrete No. 1x. Brett fell into second and did an outstanding job to hold off Brad Sweet over the last five laps of the heat to bring home a second place finish.
After the sprint car B-main, Brett and the Care Free Pools team came out on the front stretch to throw shirts and candy into the grandstands. Brett was interviewed by Troy Hennig on the front stretch and everyone had a great time doing it.
Lining up 15th in the feature, Brett was up to the top 10 when a pileup occurred in front of him on lap 13 which left him with nowhere to go. "The Catfish" was involved in the incident and after going to the pits and getting the damage fixed, he came back out and drove forward to bring the Wolfe Electric, Smartwebsales.com, Jandy Pools, BR Motorsports No. 1x home in 13th.
On Saturday Care Free Pools Racing made the drive to Antioch to compete with the Golden State Challenge Series. After qualifying 11th quick, Brett transferred through his heat to put the 1x machine into the feature. Starting in the sixth row of the 30 lap main event, Brett hugged the bottom of the speedway like many of the other competitors and was running in the top 10 when he was involved in an accident in turn four with just two laps remaining and was officially placed 18th in the rundown.
This coming weekend will feature two races at home including another Silver Dollar Speedway point race on Friday before a Golden State Challenge event on Saturday at Silver Dollar. Having the 410 engine back will be nice and will put Brett and the team back on a more level playing field.
Don’t forget to stop by the rig after the races and check out the new Brett Miller T-shirts that Beth picked up this past week. They came out great and look really nice. For all the info on Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing visit http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller marches on through rough weekend
By Gary Thomas
July 3, 2007... Chico’s Brett Miller has been running strong lately and the 17 year-old has been gaining some valuable experience as the season goes on running with some of the top talent on the west coast. The one thing that has slowed the pace, however, has seemingly been engine problems that have been plaguing the team ever since Mid-May. It seems like every other week the problems resurface and for the most part it has been the same thing every time.
Friday night in Chico saw the rocker arm break while Brett was running near the top 5 and forced him to pull out of the main event. It’s been a little discouraging for the team to keep have these issues coming up, especially in Chico since Brett has been one of the strongest cars this season at the Silver Dollar Speedway bullring. The team has been giving him some great cars but the luck just hasn’t been there.
After the night in Chico, Brett and the Care Free Pools team headed to the engine builder in the morning to get the problem in the engine fixed and after that, made the drive down to Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway for a night of Golden State Challenge Series action. Coming into Tulare Brett had finished in fourth place the previous two races with the series and looked for good things at the 1/3 mile clay oval. To begin the night Brett qualified 16th quickest aboard the Care Free Custom Graphics, Wolfe Electric, Jandy Pools, BR Motorsports No. 1x. A third place finish in the opening heat race transferred Brett into the 30 lap main event.
The start of the main, however, turned out disastrous for Brett as a couple cars in front of him tangled and he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, which resulted in him getting upside down. The Platinum Powder Coating, JP’s Paint & Body, River City Pools, Smartwebsales.com No. 1x was then pushed back to the work area. The damage on the car was fixed, but the top wing was cocked at an odd angle which created handling difficulties for the rest of the feature and Brett went on to bring home a 17th place finish.
Brett & Care Free Pools Racing will be right back in action this coming Wednesday night at the Silver Dollar Speedway for a special 4th of July event. The front gates open two hours earlier than usual to accommodate the large crowd that routinely fills the grandstand at the 4th of July race. The evening will be capped of with a fireworks display. Right now it looks like Brett will be running a 360 power plant in the 1x all week as the engine problems have taken their toll more than originally thought.
Then on Friday night July 6 Brett and the team will be back in Chico for Care Free Pools night at the races. The evening is sponsored by his main sponsor & grandparents business, which is located near the track. It should be a fun night as there will be many friends, family and sponsors in the grandstands. We would like to thank all our sponsors for supporting us and hope to do well on Friday in front of everyone.
On Saturday it will be off to Antioch Speedway for a Golden State Challenge Series event. Brett sits fifth in points heading into the tight 1/4 mile bullring. There are only a handful of GSC races left before the series finishes its season in Chico at the end of the month with a double header.
For more on Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing log onto http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Dramatic & eventful weekend ends with 4th place finish at Quincy for Brett Miller
By Gary Thomas
June 24, 2007... Chico native Brett Miller had a very long and eventful go of it this past weekend, but in the end he tied his career best Golden State Challenge Series finish during the series’ first ever visit to the American Valley Speedway in Quincy, CA. Brett and the Care Free Pools team had a lot of things working against them during the weekend, but they showed what hard work and determination will do for you.
Last weekend saw Brett and the team take some time off as GSC was dark & Chico didn’t run 410's. Everyone was excited about getting back onto the track in Chico this past Friday night, but what transpired was one of the most up and down night’s any single team has had this season.
Friday’s point race at Silver Dollar Speedway started off with Brett running really good in hot laps, but on his first lap in qualifying he slowed to a stop in turn four with an engine issue. He was pushed to the pits and after getting the problem fixed he was able to take one lap at the end of qualifying. "The Catfish" turned a lap of 12.261 aboard the Care Free Pools, Care Free Custom Graphics, Smartwebsales.com No. 1x, placing him eleventh quickest. Ironically by taking one lap at the end of qualifying, a driver can’t be placed higher than eleventh, but even though he qualified at that spot, he was forced to start from behind the inversion in his heat race due to the rules.
Starting seventh in the opening heat race, Brett looked to the inside of Chris Masters in turns one and two, but the hole closed up which resulted in he and Masters making contact. Brett nearly tipped over but luckily the car bounced and eased back on all fours. Brett was able to restart the heat and was charging forward when Andy Forsberg got sideways off of turn two and left Brett with nowhere to go and he clipped Forsberg and went for a tumble down the backstretch. The 17 year-old got out of the car unscathed, but it put and end to the heat race.
With the help of the Care Free Pools team as well as assistance from a couple other teams, the damage from the flip was repaired and Brett was able to get out for the B-main. Although Brett had to start from behind the inversion in his heat race because of the qualifying penalty, he was able to keep his time for the B-main and he started from the front row. On the start he got a tad bit loose in turn two and caught one of the infield tractor tires and stopped to bring out the caution.
The damage couldn’t be fixed before the yellow lights were turned off, but a little bit of luck shined down on the team for the first time during the night, as the pole sitter jumped the ensuing restart and the yellow was thrown to move him to the back. This gave Brett the break he needed and he was able to push out onto the speedway on the same lap as everyone else. "The Catfish" was calm, cool and collected as he methodically worked his way forward and with the help of a couple cautions he was up to a transfer with just a handful of laps left in the B-main. As if things couldn’t get any crazier, smoke started to develop from back of the JP’s Paint & Body, Wolfe Electric, Jandy Pools, Maxim Chassis No. 1x. The smoke subsided a little when he got back on the gas and he was able to bring it home in the fourth and final transfer spot at the checkered flag. Unfortunately after getting back to the pits it was discovered that the engine was blown in the 1x machine and Brett was forced to scratch from the main event. It was definitely one of weirdest night’s Brett has had in his sprint car career but he put it behind him as he and Care Free Pools Racing made the drive to Quincy on Saturday.
The night in Quincy was the first time that the Golden State Challenge Series has ever competed at the 3/8 mile American Valley Speedway. The track is long 3/8 with very tight and flat corners which makes for some very close and narrow racing. After qualifying 17th quick Brett lined up on the outside of the third row in heat race number two. The youngster began to get a hang of the track midway through the heat race and he made a couple sweet passes of both Jim Richardson and Mark Tabor Sr. within the last couple laps to bring home a nice second place finish.
Brett started the 30 lap feature in 17th and on the start he was a victim of a huge pileup created by another car that got sideways near the front of the field. He was able to restart and was on the move early. "The Catfish" carved his way up to sixth by lap eight and during a red flag on lap 10, the Al’s Concrete, BR Motorsports, Kaeding Performance, Aspire Homes No. 1x sat in fifth place. Brett kept moving forward and on lap 12 he made the move around Tyler Spath to claim fourth. Over the last half of the race he got up to as high as third before losing a spot to Brent Kaeding on lap 20. At the checkered flag he brought home a fourth place finish aboard the Country Craftsman, River City Pools, A1A Performance Muffler No. 1x.
In Brett’s last three races with the Golden State Challenge Series he has scored two fourth’s and a sixth and has moved into fifth place in the series standings. He and the team have been through a lot of adversity over the last month, but have kept on trucking and have been rewarded with some very strong runs recently.
This coming Friday will see Brett and Care Free Pools Racing return to Silver Dollar Speedway for another night of point race competition. Then on Saturday we’ll make the haul down to Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway for the seventh to last night of the Golden State Challenge Series season.
For more on Chico, California driver Brett Miller visit http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller records career best GSC finish in Medford
By Gary Thomas
Medford, OR - June 13, 2007... After a solid weekend with finishes of third and sixth, Chico youngster Brett Miller came back on Monday night and recorded his best career Golden State Challenge Series finish in his very first visit to the Southern Oregon Speedway. Brett and the Care Free Pools Racing team came into the Monday event in Medford, Oregon looking to carry the momentum from this past weekend, and did they ever.
Brett’s first time running the 1/3 mile track began with him qualifying fourth quick in the field aboard the Care Free Pools, Care Free Custom Graphics, Platinum Powder Coating, Wolfe Electric No. 1x. He then finished fifth in the opening heat to put him into the dash.
"The Catfish" started fourth in the six lap dash, but opening lap contact from another car left the 1x machine stopped on the inside of turn one. A yellow was thrown and Brett went to the work area. The Care Free Pools team took off the nose win on the JP’s Paint & Body Maxim because it was damaged in the altercation and Brett got back out onto the track where he went on to finish seventh.
Starting seventh in the 30 lap feature Brett moved up to sixth early on and ran a controlled aggressive race to move up a couple more spots to finish the contest in fourth. The 17 year-old did a great job to hold off some fast company as Willie Croft, Sean Becker and Stephen Allard were all breathing down his neck over the last few laps.
Brett’s previous best finish with the Golden State Challenge Series was a fifth which he accomplished at the Ocean Speedway in Watsonville.
The Golden State Challenge Series and 410 racing in Chico is dark this weekend, but Brett will be behind the wheel of a 360 sprint car in Calistoga on Saturday. The Golden State Challenge Series will start back up the following Saturday with its first ever visit to the American Valley Speedway in Quincy. The night before that, however, Brett and the team will compete at Silver Dollar Speedway in another evening of point race action. For more news on Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing log onto http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller gasses it up for solid Chico/Petaluma weekend
By Gary Thomas
June 10, 2007...17 year-old Brett Miller followed up a tough outing last weekend with some of his best racing of the season this past Friday and Saturday night’s. The Chico driver graduated from high school on Thursday evening before running a pair of events at two tracks where he’s seen success at in his young career. Getting the #1 engine back from the builder helped out this week and the crew gave Brett a great car both night’s as he scored a pair of solid runs.
On Friday night Silver Dollar Speedway held a 410 point race for the first time in three weeks with Ashley Furniture Stores being the night’s presenting sponsor. Brett and the team looked forward to getting back to the home track to put all the experience they’ve gained over the last few weeks to test. The evening started out well for Brett as he qualified fifth quickest aboard the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, A1A Performance Muffler, Aspire Home No. 1x. A fifth place finish in his heat race put him into the 25 lap feature where he started from the fifth position.
"The Catfish" made some nice moves in the main event and was able to nip Robert Stice at the line to give the Care Free Custom Graphics, Jandy Pools, JP’s Paint & Body Maxim a third place finish. It was Brett’s best finish at Chico since winning earlier this year and was a great points night for the team.
On Saturday Brett and Care Free Pools Racing made the drive down to Petaluma Speedway to compete with the Golden State Challenge Series. Last time in Petaluma Brett qualified second quickest in the field and finish in sixth place during the feature. This time around it went just as good and the youngster began the night by qualifying in the top eight which set him up with a second row starting spot in his heat race. Brett was up to second when a caution came out on lap one and on the restart Brett powered around leader Mark Workentine to take over the top spot. A caution came out on lap four and it saw defending King of California Jonathan Allard sitting in second. As the green flag came back out Brett continued to lead and held off the very strong challenge from Allard as the laps wound down. Coming to the white flag, however, Allard was able to get bite down low off turn four and got under Brett to take the lead. "The Catfish" remained poised and brought home a second place finish aboard the River City Pools, The Country Craftsman, RPM Racing Engines, BR Motorsports No. 1x.
Brett drew the #2 pill for the dash and sat on the front row of a GSC dash for the first time in his career. As the field came down for the green flag in the six lap contest Brett got the wheels up in the air lost a few spots as a couple cars were able to get by. When the checkered flag flew he brought home a sixth place finish to set him up with a row three starting spot in the feature.
The 30 lap main event saw Brett run solidly in the top 10 the whole way as the track was very hooked up and fast. When the final caution of the race happened on lap 23, Brett was sitting in the seventh position. The 17 year-old got his elbows up and on lap 25 he drove around veteran Willie Croft to take over the sixth position. The next time around Brett was blocked by a lap car and Croft was able to get around him.
As the laps ticked off Brett was still in seventh and when leader Brent Kaeding had a motor go south, he was able to get by the 12-time champ and finished the race with a nice sixth place finish. It was great weekend and the whole team was happy to rebound from last weekend with a pair of solid outings.
Brett and the Care Free Pools team will be back in action on Monday night with the Golden State Challenge Series at the Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford, Oregon. It will be Brett’s first night of action at the 1/3 mile track and he’ll look to carry the momentum from last weekend into the state or Oregon. Right now it looks like Brett will have the opportunity to drive for another team at the Calistoga Speedway this coming Saturday night as the Civil War 360 Series makes its way into the beautiful ½ mile track. Being able to run Calistoga on Saturday will give Brett a better chance at bringing home the track championship as most of the other 410 teams will be in Washington running the Dirt Cup.
For all the latest happenings with Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing log onto http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller suffers tough luck at Ocean/Placerville double header
By Gary Thomas
June 5, 2007... Chico youngster Brett Miller had a tough weekend filled with some hard luck during the Golden State Challenge Series double header at Ocean and Placerville Speedway’s. After hurting two motors at Calistoga the previous weekend, Care Free Pools Racing was forced to put in an engine that was down on power for the Ocean/P’ville two night event.
On Friday at Ocean Speedway Brett qualified 15th quick aboard the Care Free Pools, Wolfe Electric, Platinum Powder Coating No.1x. He then started on the front row in his heat race and held off a hard charging Willie Croft until the very last corner when Croft was able to get underneath and steal the win away. A second place finish was good enough though and it set Brett up to start the feature from the eighth row. The 30 lap contest didn’t go as planned as Brett was involved in an incident before a lap could be completed. The front end had some damage but the 1x crew as well as members from other teams were able to fix it, but race officials said that it was Brett’s second stop and he was dq’d from the race. It was pretty confusing, but everyone on the team went on to Placerville with a clear head and looked forward to another night of action.
Placerville started off with Brett being the very last driver to hit the speedway for qualifying and he timed in 17th quickest. He then finished sixth in his heat race and started the feature from the 17th position aboard the Care Free Custom Graphics, JP’s Paint & Body, Jandy Pools, Smartwebsales.com Maxim. The opening lap saw a yellow appear and during the caution Brett pitted with a flat right rear tire after another car had gotten into the side of the 1x while slowing down for the caution lights. The crew was able to get him back out, but a lap after going back green, Brett had nowhere to go as another car had flipped and another had spun in turns three and four. Brett came to a stop and was able to restart but while trying to race his way forward, looped the car in turn four a handful of laps later to put an end to the night.
One of the engines from Calistoga was brought to Placerville on Saturday by RPM Racing Engines, so this coming weekend Brett and the team will have a little more power under the hood to work with.
This Thursday night will see Brett graduate from high school at the Chico State Football Stadium. Following that he’ll be in action at the Silver Dollar Speedway on Friday night for the first time in a few weeks. "The Catfish" currently sits fifth in the Silver Dollar Speedway point standings and the whole team looks forward to getting back to the home track.
On Saturday Care Free Pools Racing will be in action at the Petaluma Speedway for Golden State Challenge Series Round #18. During the GSC event in Petaluma less than a couple weeks ago, Brett qualified second quick and finished sixth in the 30 lap feature. He goes into the night sitting seventh in the current Golden State Challenge Series point standings.
Brett and the team will only get one day off after Petaluma, however, as we’ll be in Medford, Oregon on Monday for another night of competition with the Golden State Challenge Series at the Southern Oregon Speedway. This will be Brett’s first time running in a sprint car at the 1/3 mile Southern Oregon Speedway. He has competed, however, at the go kart track located outside of turn two at the speedway.
For more info on Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing visit http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Motor problems slow Brett Miller on final night of Memorial Day weekend triple-header
By Gary Thomas
Calistoga, CA - May 30, 2007... Following two solid night’s of Golden State Challenge Series action for Chico’s Brett Miller, motor issues forced the youngster to scratch after heat race competition at the 24th annual Tribute to Gary Patterson on Sunday night. Prior to the Tribute to GP, however, Brett and Care Free Pools Racing put together a pair of very good night’s to kick off the first three day weekend that the Golden State Challenge Series has seen in a long time.
The three day Memorial Day weekend workout began on Friday at the 3/8 mile Petaluma Speedway located on the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma. As the weather started to heat up in Chico and Northern California in general, getting to the cooler climate of Petaluma was a nice change of pace.
Brett started off the weekend with scoring the best qualifying effort of his Golden State Challenge career. "The Catfish" blistered the 3/8 mile in 12.862 seconds aboard the Care Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, Care Free Custom Graphics, A1A Performance Muffler No. 1x. The time was good enough for a close second in the qualifying order behind only 12-time King of California and Nor Cal legend Brent Kaeding. The 17 year-old then lined up sixth in the second heat race and carved his way forward to collect a third place finish and put the Wolfe Electric, Aspire Homes, Jandy Pools, Smartwebsales.com No. 1x into the dash.
The dash birth was the third time Brett has gotten into a dash this season and he started fifth and finished fifth in the six lap contest, holding off a late race charge by Brent Kaeding to earn a third row starting spot in the feature. The track was very tacky and made for some very fast racing all night long and the 30 lap main event was no exception. "The Catfish" ran right around the top five for much of the feature and at the finish he brought home a solid sixth place finish.
On Saturday Brett competed in his very first 410 race at the quick and long Calistoga Speedway ½ mile during the annual Salute to Walter T Ross. Brett qualified 17th quick and finished fifth in a very stacked second heat race. He then lined up way back in the 17th position for the 25 lap main event. Brett looked much more comfortable in the car during the feature as he began to get a feel for the track
"The Catfish" had driven forward and during a yellow flag on lap 20 the BR Motorsports, Al’s Concrete, RPM Racing Engines, JP’s Paint & Body No. 1x sat in ninth place. The final lap of the feature was wild as a handful of cars ran out of gas and Brett maneuvered around them to finish the Salute to Walter T Ross main event in seventh place. It was a good end to Brett’s first night at Calistoga in a 410 and everyone looked forward to coming back on Sunday for the 24th annual Tribute to Gary Patterson.
During maintenance on the car Sunday morning the crew found a problem with the motor that was used on Saturday night, so it was decided to swap the engine to not risk further damage. The team was forced to use the small track motor and were unfortunately underpowered for the super fast Calistoga Speedway on Sunday night. Brett qualified 18th quickest in the field aboard the Maxim Chassis, Country Craftsman No. 1x and in the heat race he heard a pop in the engine. "The Catfish" pulled to a stop on the track and was a scratch for the rest of the night.
On Monday Brett’s grandpa and team owner Bill Bell brought both engines up to Steve at RPM to check them over.
As of now Brett and Care Free Pools Racing are planning on running both night’s this coming weekend with the Golden State Challenge Series. On Friday GSC is in Watsonville for a night of action at Ocean Speedway. Brett earned his career best GSC finish the last time the series was at the track and will look for more good things this time around. On Saturday the series shifts over to the Placerville Speedway bullring for the final time this season at the red clay 1/4 mile.
For more news and info on 17 year-old Brett Miller visit http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller earns hard-charger award in Chico
By Gary Thomas
May 21, 2007...Chico’s Brett Miller put on a great charge Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway Point Race #8 and scored a nice seventh place finish after starting from deep in the field. The good run helped Brett move up one spot to fifth in the Silver Dollar Speedway point standings as the battle for the track championship takes a couple weekends off to allow the teams to compete with the State Challenge Series which will run the next two Friday’s out of town.
Silver Dollar Speedway Point Race #8 began with Brett qualifying ninth fastest aboard the Care Free Pools, Care Free Custom Graphics, Platinum Powder Coating, Wolfe Electric No. 1x. The heat race saw Brett lose a few spots to finish sixth and it forced him to start way back in the 18th position for the night’s 25 lap main event sponsored by Wittmeier Auto Center. The 17 year-old ran a smart race and progressively moved his way forward as the laps clicked off. By lap 13 he was up to eighth and after 25 laps he brought the Jandy Pools, A1A Performance Muffler, Al’s Concrete, SmartWebSales.com, Maxim Chassis No. 1x home in seventh. It was a solid run for Brett and the team as Saturday night’s Golden State Challenge Series event in Tulare loomed ahead.
Brett came into the Chris & Brian Faria Memorial in Tulare looking to conquer the track where he got upside down at last month. Brett’s qualifying lap of 14.550 put him on the front row of the third heat race where he held off good friend Sean Becker for the fifth and final transfer spot. The track was totally different on this night than it had been the past couple GSC races at the Thunderbowl as the track surface remained hooked up all night. Brett ran around 17th for most of the race and after 30 laps be brought home a 16th place finish in the River City Pool Plastering, JP’s Paint & Body, Kaeding Performance, RPM Racing Engines No. 1x. It wasn’t a finish that Brett and the team were hoping for, but "The Catfish" made it all 30 laps and brought the car home in one piece and he remains seventh in GSC points. He was also able to get some confidence back at the track and the next time he'll get a shot to tackle the 1/3 mile oval again will be on June 30.
This coming weekend will see Brett and the rest of the Golden State Challenge competitors get their racing fix with three straight night’s of racing beginning on Friday in Petaluma. Friday’s event at the Petaluma Speedway is a make up date from the rain out on April 21 and will be the 13th Round of action for the Golden State Challenge Series. Last September Brett and the Care Free Pools team competed with the California Sprint Car Civil War Series at the 3/8 mile Petaluma Speedway and set quick time and scored a sixth place finish in the feature.
On Saturday and Sunday it will off to the super fast Calistoga Speedway ½ mile for the annual Golden State Challenge Series Memorial Day weekend double header.
On Saturday it will be the annual Salute to Walter T. Ross, a night paying respect to the former Northern Auto Racing Club President and long time car owner. His famous #56 graced victory lane at Calistoga Speedway on 11 occasions and was one of the most recognizable sprint cars of its era. Ross passed away in 1987 from ALS and this race recognizing him has become a tradition on Memorial Day weekend at Calistoga.
On Sunday it will be the 24th annual Tribute to Gary Patterson. Also known as the Dancing Phantom, the Preacher, the Hostile Hipee or just simply GP, Patterson was one of the most colorful characters of his time and considered Calistoga Speedway to be one his favorite tracks. GP was taken from us in an accident at Calistoga Speedway on Memorial Day weekend 1983, but his memory lives on and Calistoga has payed tribute to him on Memorial Day weekend every year since his death. This will be Brett’s first time in a 410 at Calistoga Speedway and it will be a fun weekend so we hope to see everyone come out and support Brett at the world’s most beautiful dirt track.
For more news and info on Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing log onto http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller Bradway Memorial weekend recap
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - May 13, 2007... Chico’s Brett Miller came into the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial weekend on the heels of a career best Golden State Challenge Series finish last Saturday, and looked to use the momentum as the series made its way into his hometown track.
The weekend was kicked off on Friday night with Silver Dollar Speedway Point Race #7. With the Golden State Challenge Series racing on Saturday in Chico, it brought a few more cars than usual for the Friday night show and a nice field of 39 410 sprint cars were on hand for the night before the Bradway Memorial. Brett came into the race sixth in Silver Dollar Speedway points and he began the night by qualifying 21st quick aboard the Care Free Pools, Care Free Custom Graphics, Platinum Powder Coating No. 1x. "The Catfish" started from the pole in heat one and he jumped out to the lead as the green flag came out. He led four laps before Jonathan Allard was able to get by for the lead. Brett kept his composure and hung on for a second place finish to transfer the Wolfe Electric, Jandy Pools, JP’s Paint & Body, Maxim Chassis No. 1x into the main event.
Brett lined up back in the 15th position for the 25 lap main event. The track had become very slick and was very different in each set of corners. Turns one and two had two grooves to race on but three and four had become one lane right on the bottom. The 17 year-old ran a patient race and after 25 laps he brought home an eighth place finish.
Saturday brought about the biggest one night race of the season for the Golden State Challenge Series with the 17th annual Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial. Big money was on the line all night and 47 cars signed into the pit gate for the prestigious race. Brett sat seventh in GSC points to begin the night and came out 19th in the qualifying order. His fastest lap of 13.018 placed him 20th quickest. He started on the front row in the night’s fourth heat race and settled into second on the start. Brett battled in the top three the whole way as he ran the tip top of the speedway and brought home a third place finish to put himself into the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial main event.
The 1/4 mile bullring had become rubber down in the 40 lap feature and it made passing difficult. Brett had his work cut out for him starting from the 17th position in the A1A Performance Muffler, The Country Craftsman, Aspire Homes No. 1x. "The Catfish" had made his way up to near the top 10 at one point, but the car became very tight the last part of the race as Brett fought a severe handling problem. After 40 laps Brett maneuvered the car to a 16th place finish.
Next weekend will see Brett and Care Free Pools Racing run at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico on Friday night and the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway on Saturday. Friday night’s race will serve as Point Race #8 and Brett goes into the night once again sitting sixth in points.
Saturday’s event in Tulare will be Golden State Challenge Series Round #12 and is known as the Chris Faria Memorial. Chris Faria was an up and coming racer from the Central Valley who was killed during a freak farming accident in 1993. Thunderbowl Raceway has held a race in his memory ever since and it’s always one of the biggest races of the season at 1/3 mile clay oval located on the Tulare County Fairgrounds. Brett continues to rank seventh in Golden State Challenge Series points as we head into the Chris Faria Memorial.
For more news and info on Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing log onto http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller scores career best GSC finish in Watsonville
By Gary Thomas
Watsonville, CA - May 6, 2007...After getting upside down in Chico on Friday night, Brett Miller and the Care Free Pools Racing team showed strength and toughness as they came back on Saturday and recorded a top five with the Golden State Challenge Series for the very first time. Brett and the team have been working very hard this season and to see it pay off with a top five after a rough last couple races is very sweet. Brett came into the weekend after suffering a hard flip last Saturday night in Tulare and looked to rebound as he and the team hit Silver Dollar Speedway on Friday night to kick off the weekend.
Remarkably, the team was using the exact same car that went through the flip in Tulare. Brett and family would like to thank the hard working crew of the 1x for their continued dedication including: Keith Berge, Scot Clarke, David Peterson and Bobby Bumgarner. They didn’t get home from Tulare last weekend until 4:30 am Sunday morning, but still had the car stripped down and ready for the frame shop by Sunday night. Also special thanks to Heath Hall who had the car fixed up and back by noon on Thursday so the 1x team could utilize the car in Chico prior to next weekend’s Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial.
Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway served as Point Race #6 and Brett started off the night by qualifying 18th quickest with a lap of 12.235 aboard the Care Free Pools, Care Free Custom Graphics, Platinum Powder Coating, Wolfe Electric No. 1x. He then started from the outside of the front row in the night’s second heat race. "The Catfish" jumped into the lead as the green flag waved and he began to walk away from the field. Brett was out front comfortably until a few laps left when defending GSC champ Jonathan Allard closed in. Allard put some extremely heavy pressure on the back of Brett, but it didn’t faze the 17 year-old Chico native and he held off the No. 0 car to pick up an exciting heat race win.
Brett lined up way back in the 14th starting position for the night’s 25 lap main event. Early on he ran steady as the track was hooked up and as fast as it had been all year. After a handful of laps he began to pick off cars and as the race had reached the midway point, Brett was flying around the 1/4 mile clay oval. The crew had given him a great car as the RPM Racing Engines powered Maxim Chassis No. 1x was on a roll. "The Catfish" went by drivers like Jason Statler and Trevor Green and had nearly made his way up to the top five when disaster struck with just a handful of laps to go. As Brett was chasing down the top runners, another car heading to the pits cut across the groove and knocked Brett off the track in turn one which ended with the Aspire Homes, JP’s Paint & Body, Al’s Concrete, A1A Performance Muffler No. 1x getting upside off the turn. It put a very disappointing end to the main event that had gone very well and saw Brett look extremely sharp behind the wheel as he made some of his best moves all season.
Friday night was put behind Brett and the team however, as Golden State Challenge Series Round #10 was on tap for Saturday at the Ocean Speedway in Watsonville. This was Brett’s first time running the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds 1/4 mile bullring. He started off the night by qualifying the Jandy Pools, Smartwebsales.com, Kaeding Performance, River City Pools No. 1x 10th quickest overall with a lap of 13.151. He lined up in the second row during the night’s opening heat race and ran strong to put himself in the fifth position as the laps wound down. Jason Statler applied heavy pressure to the back of Brett, but for the second night in a row the "Catfish" was able to hold off a former GSC champ in his heat race and brought home a fifth place finish to transfer out of the heat.
With a couple of the faster qualifiers not making it through their heats, it put Brett into his second dash of the season. He started the dash in eighth place and finished seventh to set him up with an inside row number four starting position for the 30 lap feature.
Strong winds took their toll on the track surface and it had become dry and one lane on the bottom for the feature. Brett’s nickname of the "Catfish" came in handy as he drove the bottom to perfection and had his best run of the season with the Golden State Challenge Series. Brett was sitting in sixth when a caution came out on lap four and on the restart he made the move under Jonathan Allard off turn four to take over the fifth position. Allard was able to get back by on lap nine, but the 17 year-old stayed close to him the rest of the race and continued to hound the 0 machine as the laps wound down.
Lap 17 saw Allard and Brett get by Jim Skinner on consecutive laps and after that Brett made a bid on Allard. The youngster had good grip around the bottom and with a handful of laps left Brett was nearly able to get side by side with Allard going down the front straightaway, but he ran Allard very clean and continued on in fifth where he would go on and finish. Whenever you can battle with a driver like Jonathan Allard it’s a thing to be happy of and Brett gave him everything he could handle during the feature.
This coming weekend will see the biggest night of racing this season for the Golden State Challenge Series as the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial takes place on Saturday at Silver Dollar Speedway. The event pays honor to racing star Dave Bradway Jr. who was taken from us in a crash at the Skagit Speedway in 1987. The race has been going on since 1991 and is always the most prestigious event to win during the GSC season.
The action gets underway on Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway with Point Race #7. The night will feature the highest paying Point Race of the season as extra sponsors have boosted the winning payday up to $2,350. Then on Saturday night it will be the 17th Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial, which also serves as Golden State Challenge Series Round #11. We hope everybody can make it out to Saturday’s race as this is always one of the best night’s of the season as we pay tribute to a driver that gave his life to the sport we love.
For more news and info on Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing log onto http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Crash in Tulare ends weekend for Brett Miller
By Gary Thomas
April 29, 2007... Chico’s Brett Miller continued his 2007 racing campaign this past weekend at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway and Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway. It turned out to be a tough weekend, but was another one where Brett and the Care Free Pools Racing team gained valuable experience that they can take with them as the season goes on. All young drivers go through a learning curve and Brett’s done a great job early this year as he’s gained a lot of knowledge throughout the first month and a half of the season.
The weekend began on Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway’s Point Race #5. Brett qualified 12th quickest with a lap of 12.743 aboard the Care Free Pools, Care Free Custom Graphics, Platinum Powder Coating Maxim.
"The Catfish" then lined up on the inside of the second row in the third and final heat race. Brett was running in fourth when he got the wheels up in the air and came down awkwardly which resulted in him slipping off turn three on lap six to bring out a caution. He restarted at the rear of the field and only had two laps to try and get back up to the fifth and final transfer spot. As the green flag came back out Brett powered to the inside of the two cars in front of him and moved to sixth. The car running in the second spot had a wing issue on the start and he slipped off the track so Brett now found himself in the fifth and final transfer spot. The 17 year-old brought ‘er home in fifth to transfer the Jandy Pools, JP’s Paint & Body, Al’s Concrete, River City Pool Plastering No. 1x into the main event.
The 25 lap main saw Brett start from the inside of row six in the 11th position. Brett sat in 13th when a caution came out on lap three. After that he began to find his groove and moved forward a few spots as the race went on and at the checkered flag Brett brought home a ninth place finish in the Wolfe Electric, A1A Performance Muffler, The Country Craftsman, RPM Racing Engines No. 1x.
Saturday saw Brett and Care Free Pools Racing make the haul South to Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway to compete with the Golden State Challenge Series in the annual Pombo/Sargent Classic. The past two GSC races have been rained out so it nice to get the season back underway as warm temps greeted the team in the Central Valley.
Brett came out dead last in the qualifying order and turned a fastest lap of 14.290 placing the Aspire Homes, Smartwebsales.com, BR Motorsports, Kaeding Performance Maxim 19th quickest overall.
The youngster started from the outside of the front row in the night’s third 10 lap heat race alongside Ken Fredenburg. As they came out of turn four Fredenburg got the jump but Brett gassed it up on the top side and made a wild move to take the lead going down the backstretch. "The Catfish" was flying around the 1/3 mile as he was holding off Willie Croft, but it all came to a halt midway through as Brett biked in turns one and two and went for a scary flip in-between the corner. The 1x machine suffered frame damage near the front of the car and it put an end to the night for the Care Free Pools team. Brett suffered a sprained wrist, but was otherwise unscathed.
This coming Friday will see Brett and Care Free Pools Racing compete in Chico at Silver Dollar Speedway Point Race #5. Brett goes into night sitting sixth in points. The front gate on Friday night will open an hour earlier as an autograph session featuring many of the sprint car drivers will take place. Silver Dollar Speedway held a similar event last August and it turned out pretty well so hopefully everybody can make it out to support it this Friday.
Saturday we’ll be on down to Watsonville to compete with the Golden State Challenge Series at the Ocean Speedway. This will be Brett’s first night of ever racing at 1/4 mile bullring as the first GSC race scheduled for the track was rained out a few weeks back. "The Catfish" goes into the race eighth in GSC points, two behind Brad Sweet for seventh.
For more news on Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing visit http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller back on track at Silver Dollar Speedway Point Race #4
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - April 21, 2007... Last Friday at Silver Dollar Speedway saw Chico’s Brett Miller suffer through one of his roughest night’s of the season as the bad luck bug got a hold of him. This was a new week however, and Point Race #4 was a totally different story as Brett and the Care Free Pools team put together a strong night of competition which ended with a solid sixth place finish.
"The Catfish" was the 18th driver to hit the track in qualifying and he turned a fastest lap 12.740 which put the Care Free Pools, Care Free Custom Graphics, Platinum Powder Coating No. 1x 12th quickest overall. Brett then lined up on the inside of the second row alongside veteran Jason Statler in the night’s third and final heat race. The 17 year-old powered into second by the time a lap was completed and gave chase after leader Jason Botsford. Brett gave Botsford a look or two and then backed up to feel the car out and spent the rest of heat fending off Statler to score a second place finish aboard the Jandy Pools, Al’s Concrete, JP’s Paint & Body Works Maxim.
The main event saw Brett start in the eleventh position and he moved forward quickly. Brett ran the whole feature solidly in the top 10 and after 20 laps he brought home a sixth place finish. Brett was patient and did a great job to hang in there with some absolutely fantastic talent up front. A sixth place finish is definitely good when you’re up their with names like Sean Becker, Stephen Allard, Andy Forsberg, Jason Statler and Jonathan Allard. Four of those drivers are former Silver Dollar Speedway track champions and three of them are former Golden State Challenge King of California’s.
Saturday’s Golden State Challenge Series event scheduled at Petaluma Speedway was postponed until Friday night May 25 due to inclement weather. It now makes Memorial Day weekend a three nighter with Calistoga on Saturday and Sunday.
New Sponsor:
Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing are pleased to announce Smartwebsales.com as a new sponsor who has come on board for the team. Smartwebsales.com will have a booth at this coming Wednesday’s Business Expo at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds in Chico which is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. The 1x machine will be on display and Brett will head over to the Expo after school and will be available for autographs. The expo runs from 9 am to 6pm. Visit http://www.smartwebsales.com for more info on our new sponsor.
The Week Ahead:
This coming weekend will see Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing run in a pair of races at two different tracks. On Friday night it will be the fifth point race of the season at Silver Dollar Speedway and on Saturday it will be Golden State Challenge Series Round #10 at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway. With the weather forecast looking good for next week, it will hopefully allow the Golden State Challenge Series to get back underway following two consecutive rain outs.
The event on Saturday at the Thunderbowl is the annual Pombo/Sargent Classic, which is being held in April for the first time ever. The race honors California racing legends Al Pombo and Marshall Sargent. The Pombo/Sargent Classic had traditionally been a two day event in the past, but this season it will be just a one day affair and will hopefully begin a new tradition for one of Northern California’s biggest and longest running sprint car races. This will be Brett’s fourth night of ever racing at the 1/3 mile Thunderbowl Raceway. In the GSC event held at the track on March 31 he won a heat race and finished 15th in the feature. "The Catfish" will go into Tulare sitting sixth in GSC points.
For more news and info on Brett Miller visit http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Tough end to Point Race #3 for Brett Miller
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - April 14, 2007... Brett Miller and the Care Free Pools Racing team came into Silver Dollar Speedway Points Race #3 looking to keep the momentum going following the victory last Friday night in Chico. Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be as Brett was a victim of misfortune in the feature and ended with him getting upside down to put an end to the night.
Brett came out 28th in the qualifying order and turned a fastest lap of 12.078 to place the Care Free Pools, Care Free Custom Graphics, Platinum Powder Coating No. 1x 13th quickest in the field of 30 cars.
The 17 year-old Chico native lined up on the inside of the second row for the night’s opening heat race. The youngster powered his way to second on the start before a yellow came out after a lap was completed. Brett gave leader Matt Shelton a few looks at the lead after the restart, but an engine issue slowed the 1x machine a bit and Sean Becker was able to get by late in the going. Brett was able to hang on and score a third place finish to transfer the Jandy Pools, JP’s Paint and Body Works, Aspire Homes Maxim into the feature event.
Brett originally lined up 12th in the 25 laps feature, but a red flag happened on the start, jamming everybody up and the "Catfish" brought the 1x to the work area during the red flag period. Brett was pushed back out, but had to start from the rear of the field. The track had developed some rough spots and had slicked off in places, which made the it very treacherous. Brett was patient as he marched back forward and began to pick off cars a couple laps after the race got officially underway. A red flag occurred on lap 11 and Brett had made it up to 10th from the rear of the field.
When the green flag came out again he looked to move up further, but a lap after the restart disaster struck. Another car got loose in turn four and came down on Brett, which resulted in the 1x machine getting upside down and flipping on the front stretch. Damage was too much to continue and Brett was scored with a finish of 15th.
The team was ready for Saturday’s Golden State Challenge Series event in Watsonville, but mother nature had different ideas as rain forced officials to cancel the night’s festivities.
Next up for Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing will be Silver Dollar Speedway Points Race #4 in Chico on Friday and Golden State Challenge Series Round #9 in Petaluma on Saturday.
Last September Brett and the Care Free Pools team competed with the California Sprint Car Civil War Series at the 3/8 mile Petaluma Speedway and set quick time and scored sixth in the feature.
"The Catfish" continues to sit sixth in the Golden State Challenge Series point standings and will look to gain some ground at Petaluma if the weather cooperates. For more news and info on Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing, visit http://www.brettmillerracing.net
17-year-old Brett Miller picks up second career sprint car win in Chico
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - April 7, 2007... A little luck mixed in with a fast race car helped propel Chico’s Brett Miller to his second career victory Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway’s Point Race #2. Last August Brett became the youngest driver to ever win a 410 sprint car main event at Silver Dollar Speedway and at the end of the season received the co-rookie of the year award for the track. This year he came back looking once again to compete for the track championship, but in addition to that he’s also competing full time with the traveling stars of the Golden State Challenge Series. Each week you can see Brett’s confidence building as he and the team are working extremely well together running at tracks for just the first or second time. The added experience early in the season has been paying off and on Friday night everything came together with a little luck added, which is always a huge part of racing.
The Care Free Pools, Care Free Custom Graphics, Aspire Homes No. 1x team came into the night on the strength of a seventh place finish last Friday in the Silver Dollar Speedway opener, and came into the second round looking to improve upon that. Brett was the 24th driver to hit the speedway for qualifying and his fastest lap 12.723 placed the Jandy Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, JP’s Paint & Body Works Maxim, seventh quickest overall in of the 30 car field.
The track was very fast for the heats and with only the top four transferring out, getting a good start was key. Brett started from the inside of the third row in heat three and made a sweet move in the first set of corners to place the Country Craftsman, RPM powered No. 1x into fourth. It was an intense heat race as he hounded third place running Matt Shelton every step of the way. However, fifth place running Kevin Sharrah was right on Brett’s tail for the majority of the contest as well, but Sharrah was driving into the turns extremely hard and Brett was able to beat him off exit every time. The final lap saw Sharrah try hard, but the "Catfish" stood his ground and claimed the fourth and final transfer spot into the night’s main event.
The number six pill was pulled for the inversion and it placed the Wolfe Electric, Al’s Concrete, A1A Performance Muffler No. 1x inside the second row. The track remained fast for the feature and had started to develop a few ruts like it did last Friday. It wasn’t as choppy as last week, but there were still some areas that bounced you around and forced the drivers to get up on the wheel. As the green flag came out, Brett fell into fifth and remained there until a red flag was unveiled for Matt Shelton who was running in second. Seven laps were completed and it moved Brett up to fourth for the restart. He ran smoothly in fourth until the two cars battling for second, Jonathan Allard and Brandon Wimmer, made contact in turn three which sent both of them flipping off the turn.
"The Catfish" steered clear of the mayhem and was set to move up to second for the restart. As cars were getting pushed back off, leader Sean Becker came to a stop in turn three. This changed the whole complexion of the race as Becker was pushed off the speedway back to the pits with mechanical gremlins. Brett now found himself in the lead but he had a some hard charging drivers breathing down his neck. Running in second was former King of California Jason Statler and third was former Silver Dollar Speedway track champion Stephen Allard. Statler looked to the top in turn two as the green flag came back out, but Brett powered off the corner and charged out to a commanding lead within a couple laps. As the white flag waved Brett had pulled away from the field and drove a flawless last lap to pick up his second career sprint car win.
The very happy 17-year-old did a couple of victory laps and pulled a huge wheelie down the front stretch in celebration. After the races in the pits Brett didn’t know what to say except for, "I knew we’d at least get a top five!" Silver Dollar Speedway PR guru and announcer Troy Hennig stated over the loud speaker that it was one of the wildest races he’d seen in nine years!" The Care Free Pools team also received some nice ink from Hennig in the race recap, which stated, "The whole Miller racing crew and family are a big part of Silver Dollar Speedway and it was nice to see the youngster get another win under his belt."
Tonight Brett and the Care Free Pools No. 1x team will be in action with the Golden State Challenge Series at the Antioch Speedway. Brett comes into the night sixth in GSC points in what will be his first night of ever racing at the Antioch bullring.
Brett Miller finishes 12th in Antioch
By Gary Thomas
Antioch, CA - April 8, 2007... Fresh off the win Friday night in Chico, Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing competed for the very first time at the Antioch Speedway on Saturday in what was Golden State Challenge Series Round #7. The 1/4 bullring is one of the tougher tracks on tour as it usually becomes tough to pass on late in the program and it was no different on this night.
Brett was the very first driver to take to the speedway in qualifying and his fastest lap of 12.308 placed the Care Free Pools, Care Free Custom Graphics, Platinum Powder Coating No. 1x 13th quickest overall in the field of 25 cars. Brett then saw himself starting on the outside of the front row in the night’s opening heat race. At the waving of the green flag he settled into second aboard the Wolfe Electric, JP’s Paint & Body Works, Jandy Pools Maxim. A red flag occurred around lap six and Bret was running in second. On the restart he had a great run on leader Jason Botsford, but it was so good that he had to get slightly out of the gas and when he did the car biked and he got upside down in the second corner. He just about had it saved initially, but it biked again and he was along for the ride.
The crew got the damage fixed and got Brett out for the B-main where he started on the outside of the front row. Brett settled into second on the start and ran in second the whole distance to transfer into the main event.
The 30 lap GSC main event saw Brett start from the inside of row seven in the 13th position. On lap five Brett got hooked up so good in turn three that the car started bouncing and he spun sideways to bring out a caution. Jason Botsford had nowhere to go and contacted Brett, but the 1x machine was still able to restart. The track was difficult, but Brett was able to drive forward near the end of the race and brought home a 12th place finish.
This coming weekend will see Brett compete at Silver Dollar Speedway on Friday and the Ocean Speedway on Saturday. After the win last Friday, Brett sits in a tie for third place in the Silver Dollar Speedway point standings. Saturday’s event at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville will be Brett’s first time of ever racing at Santa Cruz County Fairground 1/4 mile. The 17-year-old goes into the night sixth in GSC points.
For more news on Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing visit http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Seventh place finish in Chico and heat race win in Tulare highlight weekend for Brett Miller
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - April 1, 2007... Chico’s Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing came into the weekend looking to gain more laps and experience, and they did it on a pair of very challenging race tracks. Both surfaces were nearly complete opposites, but the 17-year-old completed every lap of the feature both night’s and as the season goes on that will pay huge dividends.
Friday night kicked off the battle for the 2007 Silver Dollar Speedway track championship. 27 cars were hand for Point Race #1 and Brett began the night by qualifying the Care Free Pools, Care Free Custom Graphics, Jandy Pools No. 1x, seventh quick overall with a 12.885. He then lined up fourth in the opening heat race and scored a third place finish to transfer into the main event.
The 25 lap feature saw Brett starting on the outside of the third row. The Silver Dollar Speedway surface remained hooked up and fast all night, but had developed ruts in certain places which made it very treacherous. The competition at the first point race was extremely stout and Brett remained right around the top five for the whole race. "The Catfish" was hauling the mail into the turns and was up on the wheel of the Wolfe Electric, Aspire Homes, Al’s Concrete Maxim. Most competitors fought a tight condition as the track had so much grip and Brett was doing the same as he wrestled the 1x machine to a seventh place finish. Completing the race was a feat in itself as the demanding track took its toll on a number of drivers.
On Saturday Care Free Pools Racing made the five hour drive south to Tulare for Golden State Challenge Series Round #6 at the Thunderbowl Raceway. This was Brett’s second time running the 1/3 mile speed plant but this was his first time competing at the Thunderbowl with a 410. Last October he competed at the Trophy Cup and finished just a few spots shy of making the 40 lap Saturday night feature in his very first attempt at the track.
Brett began the night by turning a fastest lap 13.894 in qualifying, placing him 18th quickest.
He then started on the front row of the second heat race and took the lead at the waving of the green flag. Brandon Wimmer, last weeks winner in Placerville, moved into second and began to hound Brett for the lead. Every lap the two were nose to tail and Brett kept his cool running his own race. Wimmer tried everything to get by Brett but "The Catfish" kept with his nickname and ran the bottom to perfection as he held off the former World of Outlaw regular to pick up the heat race win aboard the Platinum Powder Coating, JP’s Paint & Body Works, A1A Performance Muffler No. 1x. The victory gave Brett his third heat race win of the season, which is more than any other driver so far this year with the Golden State Challenge Series.
The track for the 30 main event was a tough one as it had dried out and the bottom was the only place to be. Brett started way back in the 15th position and after 30 laps he brought the Care Free Pools machine home in 15th. Thunderbowl Raceway doesn’t become one lane very often so it was odd that the track didn’t develop a high side for the feature. Still, Brett was able to complete every lap and gained the experience of running with the 410 at the track, which will make him and the team even better prepared when GSC makes the trip back down to Tulare later this month for the Pombo/Sargent Classic.
This coming weekend will be another double header of action for Brett and the Care Free Racing team. Friday night we’ll be at Silver Dollar Speedway for Point Race #2 and on Saturday it will be off to the Antioch Speedway for Golden State Challenge Series Round #7.
It will be Brett’s first time running the Antioch Speedway bullring. Track prep is always a thing to watch for in Antioch as it usually becomes a tough track pass on come feature time. Starting up front in Antioch is big and the team has been doing a great job so we’ll see how it goes.
For more info on Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing visit http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Race Recap, Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing
For Immediate Release
Brett Miller finishes 16th in Placerville
By Gary Thomas
Placerville, CA - March 25, 2007... If there was one track last season that Brett Miller wasn’t the biggest fan of, it was Placerville Speedway. For some reason bad luck seemed to find the 17-year-old Chico driver every night he raced at the high-banked, super fast 1/4 mile track last year.
The goal of the night at GSC Round #5 was to just get through the evening in one piece and he pretty much did that and brought the car home after 30 laps of action. Coming into the night Brett sat seventh in the Golden State Challenge Series point standings and a big key at Placerville is always to stay out of trouble as the tight track has a reputation of being one that sees a lot of attrition. So far this year Brett has been running at the end of three of the first four races, which is a big key for a driver looking to gain as much experience as possible running with some of the best drivers on west coast.
Brett began the night by qualifying 12th quick out of 27 cars in the Care Free Pools, Care Free Custom Graphics, Wolfe Electric No. 1x. He lined-up third in the final heat race and got jammed up on the start, falling back to around sixth. When GSC runs three heat races they transfer five out and the driver running in front of Brett was 12 time King of California Brent Kaeding. If there’s a driver to learn from it’s BK and Brett kept up with him for much of the heat race, but with the track being so fast it made passing nearly impossible, and Brett had to settle for a sixth place finish which put the Jandy Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, JP’s Paint & Body Works Maxim into the B-main.
For the 12 lap B-main Brett lined up on the outside of fellow youngster Brad Sweet. Brett got the jump on Sweet but a red flag in turn one forced a complete restart. When the green came back out Brett pushed the Aspire Homes, Al’s Concrete, A1A Performance Muffler No. 1x into the lead again. The Care Free Pools crew had the car flying and Brett looked the best he ever has at Placerville as he drove a smooth & solid 12 laps to pick up the win and transfer into the feature. Brett had to deal with traffic a couple times during the B-main but picked his spots and did a great job.
Brett started 12th in the 30 lap main event and about seven laps in, was involved in an incident in turn four. He was able to restart and finished the rest of the event bringing home a 16th place finish.
Brett continues to sit seventh in the current Golden State Challenge Series point standings following Round #5 in Placerville.
Up next for Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing will be a double header of action at two of California’s premier dirt tracks. On Friday Brett will be at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway for the first 410 points race of the season at his home track. Last year Brett shared Rookie of the Year at Silver Dollar Speedway with Brett Rollag and ended up seventh in the final standings. This season the "Catfish" will look to improve on last years point placing as he and Care Free Pools Racing are planning once again to run for the track championship.
On Saturday Brett and the team will make the five hour drive south to Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway for Golden State Challenge Series Round #6. Brett competed at the Thunderbowl for the very first time last November at the season ending Trophy Cup and had a great time. This will be Brett’s first time on the track with a 410 and he’s really looking forward to the night of action.
Looking for Dirt Cup ride- Due to financing Brett Miller’s family won’t be able to bring the car up to Washington to compete in this year’s Dirt Cup at the Skagit Speedway. Since the Dirt Cup is one of the premier sprint car events on the West Coast, Brett would really like to run it so if there are any owners out there who need a driver, please contact Brett at fenderplaya1x@yahoo.com
Brett is easy on equipment and has a good head on his shoulders so he would be an asset for any owner out there needing a driver for the Super Dirt Cup.
For more info on Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing log onto www.brettmillerracing.net
Race Recap, Brett Miller & Care Free Pools Racing
For Immediate Release
Brett Miller has solid weekend with GSC at Kings Speedway
By Gary Thomas
Hanford, CA - March 18, 2007... Chico’s Brett Miller had never been to the Kings Speedway before this past weekend, but you couldn’t tell as the 17-year-old Golden State Challenge Series Rookie of the Year contender took a quick liking to the 3/8 mile oval. The youngster got up to speed very quickly on the Hanford clay as the Care Free Pools crew had the car working well right off the bat.
Brett’s first qualifying session on the track produced an eighth quick effort out of the 29 cars that took times. He started fifth in his heat race and ran a smooth first part of the heat in fifth before leader Craig Stidham came to a stop, which bumped Brett up to the fourth and final transfer spot. He then had to hold off fellow youngster Evan Suggs the last few laps and at the checkered flag the Care Free Custom Graphics, Platinum Powder Coating, A1A Performance Muffler No. 1x sat in fourth to transfer out of the heat.
The Golden State Challenge Series runs a dash, which is comprised of the top eight quickest qualifiers who make it out of the heats. With Brett qualifying eighth quick it put him in his first dash of the season. Unfortunately, a drive line failure put him out of contention in the dash after a couple laps and he had to settle for an eighth place finish.
Brett started eighth in the 30 lap main event and the Kings Speedway clay remained fast all night but had developed some rough spots, which made it treacherous in certain areas. Brett ran smooth and solid right from the get go and had the Jandy Pool Products, Wolfe Electric, Al’s Concrete Maxim in the top 10 for the entire race. It certainly didn’t look as if it were Brett’s first time running Kings Speedway and he began to gain speed as the laps wore on. The last couple laps were frantic as Jonathan Allard ran out of fuel, which jumbled everybody up who was running fifth through 10th. Brett carved his way around a couple cars and then nipped Allard at the line to score a terrific sixth place finish. It was Brett’s best ever finish with the Golden State Challenge Series and came at one of the most competitive tracks on the tour. It was a long, draining race that took nearly an hour and a half to complete. After the races Brett was visibly worn out and jokingly commented, "I need to go the gym."
Saturday brought another night of GSC action at the Kings Speedway and track conditions were drastically different right from the get go. Temperatures during the day reached nearly 90 degrees and three support classes were included on the card, which dried out the track considerably.
Dry spots around the Kings Speedway surface had already started to appear in hot laps and Brett drew a late number for qualifying. Turns one and two had gotten extremely slick by the time Brett hit the track and Kings Speedway is a tricky track to navigate when it gets that icy. He timed in 24th quickest but it did give him a front row starting spot for his heat.
Heat races with GSC pay five points to the winner and as the season goes on those points add up so racking up as many as possible is big. Brett jumped out into the lead as the green flag waved and looked good as he finessed the extremely slick and hard packed Kings Speedway surface. Throttle control was very important with the way the track was and Brett had it down as he went on to pick up the win in the Aspire Homes, River City Pool Plastering, JP’s Paint & Body Works No. 1x.
For the 30 lap main event Brett started way back in the 19th position and the track had gotten even more slicker as the night wore on. For the second night in a row cautions plagued the flow of the race as the track conditions were extremely tough. Brett once again ran an extremely smooth race and kept the Country Crafter’s Cabinet Shop Maxim on the track and gained a bunch of experience by making it through a clean 30 laps. You can’t learn unless you’re out on the track and finishing races is what it takes to grow as driver and Brett did just that by bringing the Care Free Pools machine home in 12th place.
Brett and the whole team did an exceptional job their first time out at Kings Speedway and it helped them move up to seventh in the Golden State Challenge Series point standings. Brett currently has 255 points and only sits 10 points out of fifth.
Up next for Brett and Care Free Pools Racing will be a trip to the red clay bullring of Placerville Speedway, which is the fifth round of competition for the Golden State Challenge Series. Placerville is a super high-banked and fast track, where Brett has a handful of starts at.
For more info on Chico driver Brett Miller visit the official website of Brett Miller and Care Free Pools Racing located at http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Race Recap, Brett Miller and Care-Free Pools Racing
For Immediate Release
Brett Miller caps off Mini Gold Cup with strong run
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - March 12, 2007... 17-year-old Brett Miller kicked off his rookie season with the Golden State Challenge Series at Silver Dollar Speedway’s 21st annual Mini Gold Cup and had an impressive run in Saturday night’s 40 lap main event to finish off the weekend.
It all began on Friday night with 44 cars on hand to begin the 2007 Golden State Challenge King of California Series season. Brett drew an early number and was the ninth driver to hit the speedway for timed qualifications. The Chico native turned a 12.440 on his second lap to put the Care-Free Pools, Platinum Powder Coating, Care-Free Custom Graphics No. 1x, second out of the first nine cars and his lap held up for 19th overall out of the 44 cars that took time.
Brett lined-up on the outside of the front row in heat race number three alongside veteran Craig Stidham. As the green flag waved Brett powered into the lead and began to pull away the field. With the cool night time temperatures, the track remained super tacky and hooked up in the heat races. Brett was on the hammer and picked up the front end doing a major wheelie midway through the heat race off of turn two. He wrestled the JP’s Paint and Body Works, A1A Performance Muffler Maxim back down and continued to lead. "The Catfish" was untouchable as he went on to dominate the rest of the distance and pick up the win, which also gave him five points towards the GSC championship.
Brett started the 30 lap GSC season opening main event outside row seven but was involved in a pair of cautions before a couple laps were completed and it put an early end to feature.
Saturday brought about a new night as no drivers were locked in from the previous night’s races and everyone started off with clean slate.
Once again Brett drew an early number and he was the second car out in qualifying. His first lap of 12.307 was his fastest and at the end of qualifying it placed the Wolfe Electric, Jandy Pool Products, Al’s Concrete No. 1x 18th quick out 45 cars. He then started outside the front row in the second heat race and settled into fourth after a couple laps. Brett then got a little loose and slid sideways as turn four had began to slick off a tick. He fell back to sixth but did a nice job to straighten the car back out and continue on without bringing out a caution. He finished sixth to put himself in the B-main.
The B-main saw Brett line-up inside row four and the track had developed some rough spots, which made it very treacherous. Brett ran right around the sixth and final transfer spot the whole race and when the checkered flag flew he was sitting in the sixth position to put himself into the main event.
Brett started in the 22nd position for 40 lap $6,000 to win Mini Gold Cup main event. The crew hit the set-up and Brett looked impressive early on as he passed a number of cars within the first five laps. The track was extremely challenging as turns three and four were one groove on the bottom and turns one and two were rutted up and hooky like old school Silver Dollar Speedway. A number of cautions came out during the first 10 laps and the pace of the race was slowed in its early stages. In three laps Brett had already made it up to 12th and he wasn’t done there. When we finally got some successive green flag laps in, Brett continued the charge and by lap 10 he had made it up to ninth. Brett was doing a magnificent job in a field that saw some of the best drivers around, but he was involved in a red flag incident with fellow youngster Kyle Hirst and Jason Botsford with less than 15 laps left, which forced him to go to the pits for repairs.
The 1x pit crew completed repairs and got the Aspire Homes, River City Pool Plastering, Country Crafters Cabinet Shop machine back out on the track for the restart. Brett recovered and finished the 40 lap contest with a respectful 11th place finish.
For Brett and the team it was a weekend where they showed that they have lots of speed, and as Brett continues to run with the Golden State Challenge Series he’s only going to get that much more confident and comfortable racing with some of the best drivers in the Western United States. If the first weekend was any example, it should be an outstanding rookie season with GSC for the 17 year old driver and ending up in victory lane sometime during season isn’t out of the question. Brett currently sits 12th in GSC points after the first two rounds of competition, 33 out of the lead.
Next Friday and Saturday it will be off to Hanford’s Kings Speedway for Brett and the Care-Free Pools Racing team as they compete in a double-header weekend of Golden State Challenge Series action. This will be Brett’s first time running the 3/8 mile speedway but he has commented that he’s seen it on film and can’t wait to tackle the track.
Along with Calistoga and Tulare, Kings Speedway is one of the three largest tracks that the Golden State Challenge Series will go to this year and its always had the characteristic of being one of the raciest dirt ovals in California. This will be the first time since July of 2005 that GSC has gone to Kings Speedway however, as the track changed management a couple different times last season and the series didn’t compete at the track.
Both night’s will be capped off with 30 lap features and each will pay $3,000 to win. Brett has limited starts on the larger high-speed tracks, but when he has run them, he has done quite well and it will be a great learning experience for him this weekend.
For more info on Brett Miller and Care-Free Pools Racing visit http://www.brettmillerracing.net
Brett Miller nominated for 2006 360 Rookie of the Year by the NSCHOF
By Gary Thomas
December 4, 2006... Chico, Ca’s Brett Miller caught the attention of the Northern California sprint car community in 2006 with him becoming the youngest 410 winner in Silver Dollar Speedway history as well as having several other spectacular runs. Now he has gained some national recognition by being named as a nominee for the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame 360 Rookie of the Year for North America. The winner of the award will be announced on Wednesday December 13th, the night before the PRI Trade Show in Orlando, Fl begins. Miller and his Grandpa Bill Bell had already planned on attending the PRI show, but now this will make it even more special.
Miller, who didn’t turn 17 until July 21st of this year, began racing in the ever growing Kart Class in Northern, Ca and was able to run a couple sprint car races at the end of last season, actually winning the C-main during his prelim night of the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway. This year was his first full season behind the wheel of a sprint car, however, as he competed in both the Silver Dollar Speedway 410 track championship Series and the touring 360 Civil War Series.
Early in the season he got a lot of laps at Silver Dollar Speedway, as well as a few other tracks gaining experience and once Summer came around, he began to show some serious speed. During Point Race action on July 4 at Silver Dollar Speedway he brought the capacity crowd to its feet as he won his first heat race and later in the night scored his first top 10 by finishing ninth in the feature. In another Point Race at Silver Dollar three days later on Friday night he would win another heat race and the following week would be his coming out party.
Once again the scene was his home track Silver Dollar Speedway. The driver known as "Catfish" set the fourth fastest time of night out of 23 cars, transferred through his heat and when the line-ups for the feature were posted, Miller found himself on the front row alongside Iowa star Dennis Moore Jr. As the green flag came out and the field went into the first set of the corners Miller jumped to lead and pulled away impressively from the rest of the field. He held the field at bay until lap traffic allowed this years Golden State Challenge Series champ Jonathan Allard to get by and take the lead midway through. Miller stayed with Allard but a caution a few laps later allowed Allard a clear track to pull away and take the win. Miller hung on for a very solid second place finish and created a lot of buzz around the Chico area and had many saying, "Wow that 16 year old is getting fast!"
One week later on July 21st Miller celebrated his 17th birthday at Silver Dollar Speedway as the traveling Civil War Series came to town. He qualified 13th out of 42 cars, won his heat race from the third starting position and once again found himself on the front row of the feature. "The Catfish" settled into second as the green came out and after doing battle with the front runners for 30 laps he brought home a third place finish. Just a week after scoring his first top five in Chico Point Race competition, he now had his first top five with Civil War.
Silver Dollar Speedway showcased the ultra tough Golden State Challenge 410 sprint car Series the following weekend and Miller’s highlight for the two days was qualifying fourth quick out of 37 cars during the series season finale on Saturday evening. It made the traveling stars of series take notice and the following week when Point Race action resumed at Silver Dollar, Miller made history.
The night was August 4 and it started off with Miller setting the seventh quickest time of the night in qualifying. He scored a runner-up finish in his heat race and when the line-ups were posted, he once again found himself on the front row. Miller jumped into the lead and just like on July 14, he appeared to be the fastest car on the track. Traffic came into play though and when Miller hopped through a hole it gave fellow Kart graduate Sean Becker a chance to take the lead. Becker would lead one lap, but on this night lady luck was staring down on Miller. As Becker was trying to lap a car in turn one contact was made which resulted in Becker being parked in the infield. Miller re-inherited the lead and led the last four laps to pick up his first career sprint car victory. At just 17 years & two weeks old he became the youngest driver to win a 410 sprint car race at Silver Dollar Speedway. The next Friday at Silver Dollar he turned in another great performance as he led until four laps left in the feature. He was then passed by Sean Becker and had to settle for a second place finish behind the ‘05 GSC and Silver Dollar Speedway champ.
As the year wound down Miller found much success in the 360 ranks. He out qualified 50 other sprint cars and set fast time in the Civil War Series race at Petaluma Speedway on September 16 and backed up the fast time with a sixth place finish in the feature.
The season’s biggest 360 sprint car event at Silver Dollar Speedway happened on October 5-7 and featured 86 cars competing over three days. The field’s were split over two prelim night’s and Miller competed on Thursday evening with 41 other talented drivers. He came out 35th in the qualifying order and ripped off a 12.002 which earned him another fast time award. The track was super fast, making passing nearly impossible and Miller was unable to score a transfer in his heat race, but finished second in the B-main putting him in the 13th starting spot for the feature. In 25 laps Miller was able to finish in ninth place. The line-ups for Saturday at the Fall Nationals are based on points and Miller found himself 13th overall which put him in the seventh row for the 40 lap A-main event. The track had taken rubber considerably and officials cut the race back to 30 laps. Still many drivers had tire issues but Miller drove like a veteran saving his tires and scored a sixth place finish.
Miller and the Care Free Pools team ended the season with their first trip to the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway competing at the prestigious Trophy Cup which is one of the top 360 events in the Nation and had several national stars in attendance. Miller took a liking to the super fast 1/3 mile clay oval and began turning some quick laps early on. Miller ended the weekend just four spots shy of making the Saturday night Trophy Cup A-main in his very first try at the competitive track.
After having such a fine rookie season, Miller was awarded with Rookie of the Year in the Civil War Series and co-rookie of the year for Silver Dollar Speedway at the John Padjen Motorsports award banquet at Feather Falls Casino on November 25. The final season stats for Miller at Silver Dollar Speedway show 1 win, 3 top fives, 4 top 10's and 2 heat race wins. His final Civil War tallies show 1 top five, 2 top 10's, 1 heat win and 1 fast time.
Next season Miller plans to run with the Golden State Challenge King of California Series and also at Silver Dollar Speedway on Friday night’s. For more information on Brett Miller visit his website at http://brettmillerracing.net/
November 18. 2006
Brett recently got the opportunity to drive a Bondurant Formula car at Phoenix International Raceway. "I was extremely excited to finally get the chance to run pavement. Those things carry so much speed all around the track – it was a blast!" Brett hopes to someday be able to race an Indy car full time. " That is one of my dreams, to someday race Indy or Champ cars for a living. I would be absolutely content staying in dirt for the rest of my life, because I just love racing, but in the long run, I would like to try to get as far as I want to go. I know the chances are slim, but I'm not going to put my dreams aside. I will try my hardest to get there!"
"The second I started that thing up and revved the engine, I got chills down my spine, because I've been wanting to drive an Indy car so bad, and now it was finally happening! The only thing that was hard to get use to at first was being so laid back in the car, but once I got going around the track, I realized why. The wind was whipping my helmet around like crazy! "Overall it was an extremely fun trip, and I hope to be in an Indy car again someday!"
"Overall I had an amazing season. I never could have dreamed of winning an A main or getting 2 fast times my ROOKIE YEAR so I'm pretty excited about that."
On September 16th Brett and the Care Free Pools Racing team showed up ready to race at the Civil War Show in Petaluma. Out of a field of 51 cars we drew a very high pill which put us out as the last car to qualify. Not knowing what to expect, Brett went on the track with the hammer down. "I honestly had no idea what that track was going to feel like. After watching a few cars, it seemed like that track was keeping moisture pretty well, so that was a good sign. The car felt kind of tight, but I'd always rather be too tight than too loose!" Brett ran 2 great laps and we heard the announcer say “Brett Miller fast time!” We started in the third row of the first heat race, and battled up to 3rd for the transfer! "Man there were a lot of crashes in the A main, and my plan was to keep my nose clean and finish top ten. If that were to happen, I would have had an AWESOME night!” Brett did JUST THAT! He was running 5th for almost the whole race when Brent Kaeding passed him on the top in turns one and two directly after the restart. "Well I knew he was back there, and I admit, seeing that black nose poppin' under me every lap isn't the MOST comfortable of positions. But I know I can learn from people that have been racing longer than me, and it's a lot more fun to race with them than someone at my same level, ya know? I'm just out there to have a good time and win races, and racing with Brent Kaeding helps me with both of those things.” We ended up 6th in the A, which was an awesome finish out of 51 cars.
On September 30th, we traveled to Placerville for the final Civil War race of the season. “I drew an early draw for qualifying, and the track was still really wet. I just missed the inversion, and so it was a struggle all night. I was still able to finish top ten in the Civil War Series for the season though, and ended up leading in rookie points.”
“Going into the Fall Nationals, I had a feeling we were going to be up against A LOT of cars, but I never expected 86! I mean it was Gold Cup all over again!” Brett had his bar raised because it was the last race of the season. "Boy o boy did I want the win. Winning with a field of that many cars would have been amazing!” We went out to qualify on Thursday night, and out of 41 cars running that night we ran a 12.022 – which ended up to be another fast time! "The second I hit that first corner on the warm up lap, I said to myself -this thing is perfect. I never even had to think about letting off the gas. She was stable as can be." Brett started third row outside of the first heat race and hit a rut on the start in turn one. He was able to keep from flipping, but had to go to the back of the pack. “I just missed the transfer by one spot, so I had to go through the B main, finishing 2nd. We finished 9th in the A that night, which locked us into the show for Saturday night. "I love being locked into the A. I don't have to get suited up until later and I have time to watch other drivers and the track for a long time, so I know what it's going to do." The A main hot laps rolled around, "That car felt amazing. The track laid rubber, which I love! We were one of the fastest cars on the track during hot laps. But one problem was that we were starting in the 7th row of the A!!" That's right, Brett had to start 13th!! But that didn't stop him. Brett was hard on the throttle, but was easy in the corners. "I was trying so hard to save my tires. I knew that would pay off in the end," and it did. Brett passed and battled cars to end up in 6th place! He was 5th for a long time, but his right rear started going low the last 2 laps. He was able to hang on though for a good finish.
The last race for us this season will be the Trophy Cup in Tulare on November 3rd and 4th. Since we are planning to run the Golden State Series next year, it will be great to get some laps in on that track. Come see us there & get an autograph and check out our new t-shirts and sweatshirts!!
From The Grandstand
by Ron Rodda (8/30/06)
One story from Chico this season has been the emergence of Brett Miller as a notable driver in his first season. The 17 year old Chico High School senior raced outlaw winged karts since age 8, running Cycleland and Red Bluff and earned 8 wins during that time. Being friends with former driver, Ryan Flynn, got him into a sprint car for the first time late last season for 3 nights and he was able to claim a C main victory during Gold Cup.
He has dramatically improved as this season progressed and earned his 1st win while I was traveling the Midwest. His 4 top five finishes this year speak volumes of the growth he has shown running with full talented fields at Chico. Bill Bell owns the 2004 Maxim chassis with Dave Riolo built engine with sponsorship from Carefree Pools, owned by his grandparents, Carefree Custom Graphics, owned by his mother, JP’s Paint and Body, Platinum Powder Coating, and Kaeding Performance. Brett was very appreciated how much Kaeding Performance has helped him get started.
Miller plans to race the Golden State Challenge circuit next year with an eye on running a national series in year ahead. He credits kart racing as preparing him for sprints as much of the setup and handling aspects of the two classes are similar. Miller has had a very successful first year racing at Chico and benefits from the support of family. His mother, Beth, regularly sings the National Anthem at Chico.
Miller Races into the Record Books at Silver Dollar Speedway
by Troy Hennig
CHICO , CA (8-4-06) - It was a carefree night at Silver Dollar Speedway last night. History was made when Chico’s Brett Miller became the youngest driver to win a 410-sprint car main event during the Friday night championship series. Miller just turned 17 years old two weeks ago. His rise to the top had seen him score two top five finishes during the last four races at the speedway. However, tonight was his night and when Sean Becker crashed into a slower car, it gave the lead back to Miller. He held off a charging Mike Henry at the finish to get the popular win. A packed house gave the youngster a much-deserved standing ovation. When he pulled his Care Free Pools #1x into victory lane the youngster was caught up in the moment as he rejoiced with his family and crew on the front stretch. “I led for so long and then when Becker got by me late in the race I thought it was over,” said Miller in a post race phone conversation. “But once he crashed I felt that tonight was meant to be, I mean how often does something like that happed to Sean.” With the win Miller earned the $2,000 payday offered from John Padjen Motorsports and GP Development of Sacramento for the 25-lap win.
The sprint car main event started off with Miller grabbing the lead over Mike Monahan. However, the first start was called back when Colby Weisz flipped off turn three. While that happened, championship contender Stephen Allard flipped in turn one. Both drivers were fine but unable to continue. On the restart it was Miller with the advantage. Sean Becker quickly moved into second. As laps counted off it was clear that Miller was the fastest driver on the track as he pulled to a four-car length lead over Becker. A few cautions slowed the event but Miller continued to be the dominant car. That would change once he caught slower traffic. Give Miller credit, he actually handled the traffic very well. But when you have a King of California champion breathing down your neck it can get tough. On lap 19 Miller bounced up the track in turn one allowing Becker a chance to dive below him and take the lead. Becker is credited with leading lap 20 and 21 but his night was about to end. Trying to pass a slower car in turn one, Becker made contact causing him to veer into the infield and stop. The caution was displayed and Miller was back into the lead. With four laps to go Miller drive as hard as he could. Mike Henry charged and caught to rookie driver on the final lap. But it was Miller who had the speed and momentum to carry him into the record books. The crowd loved every minute of it as the teenager made a few extra victory laps and wheelies after the race. Henry finished a strong second. Earning his best finish of the year was Mike Monahan who took home third place honors. Johnny Gray finished fourth. Andy Forsberg has an off night but in the big picture of championship racing it was a good points night for the title leader.
July 21 , 2006
Despite the heat & humidity (well over 100 degrees) the July 21 st Civil War show at Silver Dollar speedway marked Brett’s 17 th birthday and proved once again to be a great night for the Care Free Pools racing team! We drew a 22 pill for qualifying and ended up in 13 th place. This put us on the 2 nd row inside of the first heat race.
Despite the heat & humidity (well over 100 degrees) the July 21 st Civil War show at Silver Dollar speedway marked Brett’s 17 th birthday and proved once again to be a great night for the Care Free Pools racing team! We drew a 22 pill for qualifying and ended up in 13 th place. This put us on the 2 nd row inside of the first heat race.
“I was disappointed after qualifying because I felt the motor wasn’t pulling as hard as it should, but still felt it was pretty good”. Brett got a great start taking over second going into turn 3. “We just found some good moisture that the other guys couldn’t on the start. My plan for the race was just to sit back in 2 nd and relax for a transfer, but when I started reeling in the leader I figured why not make this an interesting race?!” That’s exactly what he did too, dropping the hammer on the white flag lap to pass the leader on the outside. “Man, I didn’t know if it would stick on the top! The scary thing was, I knew I was either winning that race or spinning out!” Luckily for him and his team he drove it in hard in 1 & 2, it stuck and he claimed the victory!
“I was walking the track when they drew the pill for the A main line up. They drew a 6 and I didn’t think much of it because I didn’t think it would put me anywhere towards the front. Then I heard Troy Hennig say STEPHAN ALLARD & BRETT MILLER ON THE FRONT ROW! My face immediately lit up as I walked back to the trailer to share the news with my team.”
The A main started with the traditional 4-wide salute to the crowd. “I personally think we should do the 4-wide for every race because it shows the crowd just how much we drivers appreciate what they do for the sport by supporting us. We wouldn’t be anywhere without them and they need to know that.”
Stephan Allard got the initial jump on the start, Brett took second and Willie Croft began to challenge. “We had a 3 car battle going for the lead – Willie on the inside, Steven on the outside and ME stuck in between them!” After a couple of laps the cars began to space out and Brett settled in for a comfortable third – for awhile anyway! “Both corners were packed with holes, which made the car really tight and extremely hard to handle!” When Brett got passed by Andy Forsberg “I knew it was time to saddle up and make things happen!” Brett was able to catch and pass him to regain the 3 rd position – holding it the rest of the race. It was Brett’s first time to show his car and team in the winner’s circle (the top 3 get pushed to the front stretch and the driver’s are interviewed).
“Thanks to my whole crew for hooking my car up all night and sending me forward!” We’d also like to again thank the other drivers who are consistently supporting Brett before and after the races. Their positive comments and advice are so much appreciated and it’s a pleasure to share the track with them!
June 14 , 2006
On July 14 th – after a couple of heat race wins the Care-Free Pools team showed up at Silverdollar ready to race – despite the heat! We drew a 30 th pill for qualifying and qualified 4 th out of 23 cars. The Catfish ran his fastest time yet – a 12.166! Since we didn’t make the inversion we had to start in the back of our heat race, but Brett was able to pass the Shark Sean Becker on the last lap to grab the final transfer spot to the A main.
The draw for the A main line up was a 4 – putting the Care-Free Pools 1x car on the front row with Dennis Moore Jr. "When I saw the line up on the pit board I didn’t know what to expect! I knew our car had been fast all night after qualifying 4th but being surrounded by the top drivers of Silverdollar and the Golden State Challenge was a little scary! Our previous two heat race wins from the week before were definitely a confidence booster and I knew we had the car figured out, so we just decided to go for it and see where we ended up!”
“DMJ got the original jump on me coming out of turn 4 but thanks to Steve and Don from RPM racing engines we launched off the corner and got the lead going into turn 1! My car was extremely comfortable, it would wingover beautifully in both corners and was very smooth coming off, so thank you to Scot Clarke and the boys for a very fast race car!" In the fifth lap we began catching lapped traffic – that’s when Jonathan Allard began closing in on us. Brett caught a rut on lap 13, allowing Allard to take the lead. Allard earned his first win of the year – but the Catfish posted an impressive second place finish followed by points leader Andy Forsberg of Auburn, Dennis Moore Jr. of Grinnell, Iowa and Shain Matthews of Marysville.
“Special thanks to all of these drivers for great racing and for all of their positive comments after the race. It’s an honor to share the track with them and I am grateful for their support!” Brett’s 17 th birthday is this Friday, July 21 so look for us at the Civil War race Friday night and the Golden State Race at Tulare Saturday! New t-shirts coming soon!!
June 9 , 2006
Friday June 9 th at Silverdollar the word of the night was DRY! Going out for mud-in we realized the track was already starting to dry out – usually Brett has trouble staying out of the in-field because it’s so muddy! This proved to be the theme for the entire night.
Dry track conditions are tricky and it’s difficult to keep the car from spinning out, let alone pass cars. We drew a 40 pill, putting us in the middle of the pack of 28 cars. When we went out for qualifying the track was in the middle – very unusual. The top had already slicked off and the bottom was too greasy to stick. We ended up running a 12.6 and a 12.7. This put is 20 th in the field and we made the inversion.
Brett started on the front row outside of the 4 th heat race, the track was completely gone at this point. He got the jump and lead for a few laps when Stephen Allard drove around him. “I was struggling so bad because this was my first time on an extremely dry track!” Shortly after Bret Rollag also passed him, but the Catfish was able to hold onto 3 rd place to make the A main.
We started 7 th row outside of the main, over all nothing extraordinary happened. Due to the dry track conditions the race was pretty much single file, follow-the-leader – not very much fun at all! Brett ended up placing 17 th in the main. Calistoga on the 17 th – big ½ mile – see ya there!
June 3 , 2006
On June 3rd, the Care Free Pools Racing team traveled to Placerville Speedway to race with The “Golden State Challenge” series.
The track was very muddy which resulted in lots of mudding in time. We finally got to hot lap and Brett “felt the car was generally good, though I couldn’t get a real feel for it because of how muddy the track still was”. We drew a 12 pill – which ended up being a pretty good draw. Brett went out for qualifying and felt “the car was good all the way around the track, except for a little bit of tire spin coming off the corners. I didn’t have the forward bite I wanted coming off the corner, but other than that the motor & car ran great!” We qualified with an 11.2, putting us midway through the 33 car field. We made the inversion, which put us front row outside of heat 4, next to the #73 car of Jim Skinner.
Skinner got the jump off the start, but Brett drove it in “as hard as I could on him going into turn 1”. He was going for the lead when Skinner slid up the track and fed him the right rear. Brett’s car tire hopped once, hooked up and flipped. He ended up rolling over nose-to-tail a couple of times, landing on his side against the wall in turn 1. “When I got out and looked at the car I saw the fuel cell was smashed, the top and front wings were junked and the left front and all of my bumpers were trashed. I figured there was no way we would get the car back out on the track for the B main. When my car was towed back to the pits I was amazed at how many people gathered around to help get the car in running condition”. With the help of the Care Free Pools racing team, Brent Kaeding & his crew and a couple of Johnny Gray’s team members – including Randy V, we were able to repair the fuel cell and replace the damaged body parts in time to push out for the B main.
Brett started the B main 8th with a battle-scarred car and impressed everyone by moving into a transfer spot. He started in the last row of the A with the wing stuck all the way forward, making it extremely loose, because of a damaged wing slider from the wreck. He ended up leaving the track after 2 spins, but placed 19th.
On Sunday, the Care Free Pools racing team was already at the shop getting the car ready for this Friday’s race at Silverdollar Speedway. Brett was happy to learn from his car owner (and Grandpa) that he is going to be able to race the full Civil War Series (which he is currently leading rookie points for). “See you at Calistoga in 2 weeks!”
“I want to personally thank my team (Scoty, David, Bobby & Keith), my good friend & fellow racer Mikey T., Brent Kaeding and his crew, and Randy V. for helping me get my car back together enough to finish the night. It meant a lot to me to have that kind of support and I won’t forget it!”
May 28, 2006
The Civil War race at Silverdollar Speedway on May 28th had an impressive – and record breaking – show of 66 sprint cars! A little shocking for a 16-year-old rookie, but Brett welcomed the challenge and impressed everyone!
Beginning in hot laps he felt the car was running strong. We drew a 15 pill, which put us up for qualifying quickly – and that proved to be a great thing when the track started to slick off. Brett ran 2 solid laps – both 13.1’s – placing him 12th in the 66-car field. He started in the 2nd row of his heat race, but the car wasn’t handling as well as he wanted so he finished 6th. This placed him 3rd row outside to start the B main. Being surrounded by skillful drivers he didn’t know what to expect, but knew he needed to place in the top 4 to transfer. After the green flag dropped he quickly began passing cars! In the words of the catfish himself “with the track beginning to lay rubber, I pulled the wing all the way back hoping to reel in the 2nd place car, which I did! When I saw the checkered flag drop I knew I’d made the A!”
Starting in the back of the A main at a big race is an “extremely difficult task, considering all of the top drivers starting up in front of you”. Brett was honored to participate in the Civil War 4-wide solute to the crowd. Seeing all of the fans standing and cheering “is one of the most amazing feelings ever!” The green flag dropped, Brett got a good start and quickly began passing cars and moving through the field. He got pinched off by another car, hopped his right rear and made an awesome save to only lose a couple of spots. After that “I pulled the wing all the way back, stood on the hammer and finished 12th!”
