June 13, 2001

Trans-am Points Leader Johnny Miller To Test Nascar Winston Cup Car

Click here for a photo journal of Johnny and NASCAR at Road Atlanta!

Lansing, Mich. – Trans-Am Series points leader Johnny Miller, driver of the No. 64 AutomationDirect/Cutler-Hammer Jaguar XKR, will participate in a two-day test session on June 12-13 at Road Atlanta with Morgan-McClure Motorsports. The Morgan-McClure team campaigns the No. 4 Kodak Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Kevin LePage. Miller will perform the test session in the No. 4 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. This marks Miller's first outing in a Winston Cup car.

"The purpose of this test session is to drive and coach Kevin on the finer elements of road racing to prepare for the Sears Point and Watkins Glen races," explained Miller who assumed the lead in the Drivers' Championship points standings following his recent third place finish at Mosport. "This really is a mutually beneficial situation in that I can share my experience and knowledge of production-based sedan road racing while having this great opportunity to get behind the wheel of a Cup car.

"We drive big cars in the Trans-Am Series that are a bit like the Winston Cup cars," continued Miller, who scored his first career Trans-Am win at the 2000 season finale in San Diego. "The Cup cars are heavier, have about 150 more horsepower, and smaller tires than the Trans-Am cars. But because I come into this test with no bias about the Cup cars, I think we can all learn something during the two days.

"I think Road Atlanta is a great place to conduct a NASCAR road race test," revealed Miller, who has 22 top-five finishes to his credit. "The information gained here is very transferable to both Sears Point and Watkins Glen in that they're both very demanding, high speed courses. Road Atlanta will no doubt prove a valuable training ground," said Miller.

Prior to this season, Miller owned his own team. In 2001, he joined Rocketsports Racing as a teammate of two-time Trans-Am champion Paul Gentilozzi. To date, Miller has scored two top-three and one fourth-place finish in Trans-Am competition. He was voted the series' "Most Improved Driver" in 1998 and won the "Rookie of the Year" title in 1996.

Following the test, Miller heads directly to Detroit for the Motor City 100 presented by Johnson Controls on June 16th during the Tenneco Automotive Detroit Grand Prix weekend.