September 6, 2001

Johnny Miller Looks For A Win To Close In On The Championship Hunt At Laguna Seca

Salinas, Calif. - Johnny Miller, driver of the No.64 AutomationDirect/EATON Cutler-Hammer Jaguar XKR, is looking for a strong finish to keep his championship hopes alive as the Trans-Am 125 for the BFGoodrich Tires Cup returns to Laguna Seca for the Monterey Sports Car Championship Presented by Mazda on September 7-8. His teammate, two-time Trans-Am champion Paul Gentilozzi, can clinch the title this weekend if he finishes 34 points ahead of Miller. Gentilozzi enters the weekend with a 33-point edge.

Miller took the points lead after the third race at Mosport and maintained it until the fifth race at Cleveland. A ninth place finish at Sears Point dropped him to third in the standings. But his strong fourth place at Portland put him back in second place while a second place finish at Road America and sixth place at Mid-Ohio have now given him a 20-point edge over third place held by 2000 Trans-Am champion Brian Simo.

"I've said all year long that it will take consistent podium finishes to win this championship," said Miller, who has collected five top-three finishes this season. "So far, we’ve been pretty much on the mark. But so has Paul.

How I'll run this race depends a whole lot on how qualifying goes," revealed Miller, who scored his first Trans-Am win at the 2000 season finale at San Diego. "I'm going to give 150% in both practice and qualifying, running as fast as I can and do my best to be up front.

"But we'll strategize as the race unfolds," continued Miller, who has 26 top-five finishes. "So much depends on where both Paul and Brian are relative to our track position. Plus, this is a pit stop race which adds an additional twist to the strategy.

"I'm comfortable at this track," continued Miller, who finished fifth last year. "Top speed is only about 150 mph, but you’re running it all the time. It's a very busy, athletic-type of track. It's as challenging as Mid-Ohio from the driving perspective, but with a lot more places to pass.

"We're at a critical part of the season where absolutely every point counts," said Miller, the series' Most Improved Driver in 1998. "But I won't throw away the whole season. The most important thing is to finish, but having said that, I still want to win a race this year."