Third Place at Birmingham Protects the Championship Leaders

Going into the third to last race at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Bryce Miller and Dirk Werner were hanging onto the lead for the championship title. Miller qualified the 87 car in 7th place and passed the car over to Werner in 3rd place. The hot, tortuous day made the 2 ½ hour fight even more draining. In the beginning of the race, the track was over 135 degrees, making it over 150 degrees in the cockpits. Miller and Werner have been driving without cool suits all season but used them for the first time at the Barber race. Unfortunately, Werner’s cool suit failed to work as well as his water bottle.

Werner held onto 2nd position for 54 laps until being passed by Andy Lally in the last two turns of the final lap. "The car was definitely good enough to take second place," Werner said. "We had nothing for the Pontiac; that car just kept pulling away. But the car was great. I think in the last 20 laps, we were fighting with the Mazda, but then Andy came on very strong, and unfortunately, on the last lap I bobbled, which was how he passed me. I mean, the pit strategy was right. I could have switched over to the reserve tank, but I didn't see it (the light indicating low fuel). We had enough to run at the end. For the championship, it still looks pretty good. I'm still in the lead, and if the luck comes back in the next race, then I think we can stay out front." The 3rd place finish marked their 8th podium of the 11 races as of yet, the most podiums of anyone in the series.