Johnny Miller Has Banner Day At Cleveland

July 4, 2003 

Trans-Am on the Tarmac – Johnny Miller Has a "Banner" Day? 

Cleveland, Ohio – July 4, 2003- Johnny Miller, driver of the no. 64 Eaton Cutler-Hammer Jaguar XKR, finished 9th in the Trans-Am on the Tarmac 100 mile event held at Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport. The race was held in conjunction with the CART series U.S. Bank Grand Prix to be held under the lights on Saturday night July 5th. 

Scott Pruett began the race on the pole with Miller beside on the outside of row one. The field took the green flag, and made it cleanly through the treacherous first turn on the airport runway. Following the start, there was a long green flag run allowing the top three or four cars to gain an advantage on the rest of the field. Miller battled a loose condition through this period, while Bobby Sak in his Revolution Motorsports Corvette had a fast and well-behaved race car allowing him to power his way around Johnny to take second. Stu Hayner was also able to get around the Eaton Cutler-Hammer #64 before the first caution flag of the race. After the restart, Miller continued to battle a very loose handling car and eventually slid off the track in the chicane, picking up grass in the grill. The debris caused an engine overheating condition that forced Johnny to pit. 

Miller re-entered the race still in a top-10 position and on the lead lap. He was able to catch up with the field and had seventh position in his sights when a second caution flag of the day was displayed. The field was bunched up for an eight-lap shootout to decide the race. An unfortunate situation developed for Miller in the #64 Jaguar XKR with six laps to go. An advertising banner mounted on a wall had been pulled loose and got caught in Johnny’s grill. Miller ran about two laps with the banner blocking any airflow into the Rocketsports power plant before being forced to pit again to remove the debris. The second visit to pit lane ended Johnny’s run toward the front and left him to finish as the last car on the lead lap in 9th position. 

Johnny noted, "We had a top two or three car today even with the loose condition. A few situations that blocked much needed cool air on a hot day caused us to pit and took away any chance of a win." He continued, "My main sponsor, Eaton Cutler-Hammer had about several invited guests at the event. We believe they had a good time and got to see some great Trans-Am action from their premium seats in turn one. They will be back tomorrow for the CART series race and I’ll be here too. We really appreciate all their enthusiasm and support for the racing program."

Even with the so called "banner day", Johnny Miller continues to maintain second position in the BF Goodrich Cup Driver’s Championship points behind teammate Scott Pruett. 

Eaton's Cutler-Hammer business is a full-line manufacturer of electrical distribution and control products that meet all global standards including UL, ANSI, IEC, and CSA. The four Cutler-Hammer business drivers include : Commercial Controls Division, Electrical Distribution Products Operation Power, Control Systems Operations, and Engineering Services and Systems. For more information, please visit them on the Web at www. cutler-hammer. eaton.com . 

Next up for the Trans-Am Series, The Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres on the temporary street circuit in Trois-Riveres, Quebec, Canada on August 2, 2003. For more information on Johnny Miller, visit www.milleracing.com.