Well, Boris is running in this weekend's race after all. That is great! He is running the same car he used last year, with a Ford body on it instead. Since Boris is a slightly larger fellow than the other drivers that car was built especially for his body length so he bought the car from MB2 and was able to land a Roush/Yates motor deal and a good sponsor in No Fear. I now change my prediction from last post - Boris Said is a contender to win this race. No offence to Ron Fellows, but Boris has got this covered as long as he doesn't get too aggressive, as he has done in the past, and his car holds up mechanically. Ron Fellows and Scott Pruett will run well and be in the contention for a top 10, but I don't think they will have as a good of a shot to winning the race as Boris does. Although, the car that Fellows is driving was built especially for him and he had a lot of input into the building of the car as well, so I guess I shouldn't really count him out of it just yet.
Sadly, Johnny Miller (see picture) missed the race by just one position. I'm sorry to see that he didn't make it, I think he is an awesome driver and a real nice guy to boot. Check out his web site at http://www.milleracing.com to learn more about him. I actually got a chance to meet Johnny in 2003 at the Trans Am race at Mosport, Ont., just outside of Toronto. He finished second to teammate Scott Pruett that day. If you check out the pictures on his site from that day I'm in a few of them. The following is taken from Johnny's site before he failed to qualify for the race and I think it says more about Johnny and his character than I can:
Johnny To Run Nascar Dodge Save Mart 350 In #34 Oak Glove / Front Row Motorsports Monte Carlo
Johnny Miller will be competing as a "hired gun" road racing specialist in the NASCAR Dodge Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway on June 25th. Miller noted, "It was good to get the call and vote of confidence from Bob Jenkins, owner of Front Row Motorsports, to pilot the #34 Oak Glove Monte Carlo on this challenging road course. I'm thankful for getting such an elite opportunity and I can't wait to get to Sonoma." Entering into the weekend with zero testing or seat time, Miller, an engineering graduate from the University of Tennessee with over 20 years of racing experience, is up the challenge like the one facing him and the team. Miller acknowledges, "There are only seven slots available, so we will have to utilize all the driving and engineering resources the team and I can find in order to get up to speed quickly. I am looking forward to working with Mike Steurer and the Front Row Motorsports team. We are going to have to build that most important driver/crew chief/team relationship in about 45 minutes total...should be fun!"
This will be Miller's fourth NASCAR event since his debut at Infineon Raceway in June 2003 with Morgan-McClure Motorsports. In that event, he finished 24th place and on the lead lap. Later in the 2003 season at Watkins Glen, he ran as high as 4th position before a mechanical failure relegated him to a 36th place finish. Miller's recent NASCAR appearance was with Front Row Motorsports in 2005 at Watkins Glen where he earned a lead lap 29th place finish after running as high as 3rd. During the race he struggled with carburetor problems which severely affected his track position following all restarts.
Most recently, Johnny Miller has been developing Daytona Prototype and GT cars in Grand-Am competition, and is also working as a development driver for several international tire manufacturers. Miller finished second in the 2003 Trans-Am Series Championship, after earning a Trans-Am victory, two poles and scoring eight podium finishes in 10 starts. Miller won the 1996 Trans-Am Rookie of the Year award, and was voted BBS Most Improved Driver by his fellow competitors in 1998. Miller was the 1984 Chrysler-Dodge National Collegiate Driving champion and has had more than 100 career victories, numerous poles, podiums and track records in several race series, including Trans-Am, Grand-Am, IMSA, ALMS, GT-America and SCCA.
All I can say now is that I hope Boris wins, and if he doesn't I hope it is either Fellows or Pruett that does. Hopefully if one of them wins it will open some of the team owners' eyes about their driving skills. As I have said before, Boris is the best driver not in NASCAR right now, and he is going to prove it to them on Sunday. Maybe he will end up in a Toyota next year, wouldn't that look good on the other owners?