Before the final began, Hill agreed to wait several minutes in the staging lanes while Miller’s crew made last-minute repairs to their 1992 Camaro after its water pump blew the seal out between the pump and the motor plate. Upon making the change, they discovered a problem with the replacement pump and had to create one good pump from the parts of the two defective units.
“In the meantime, we had put the hood on and we think it got caught up on the carburetor linkage and let fuel down in the carburetor and when we went to start the car it blew the popoff valve out of the intake,” Miller explained. “You know Dad’s a big Miller Lite fan, but he didn’t have any left, so we got a Budweiser can, cut out the side with a pair of scissors, put it back in where the popoff plate should be and it worked fine.”
So with the King of Beers holding back the pressure, Miller finally staged for the final, where Hill left with a slight .005 advantage (.042 to .047 reaction), then powered to the win in 4.677 seconds at 161.67 mph, reinforcing the consistency he’d enjoyed all day, while Miller crossed the finish line in 4.723 seconds at 157.96 mph.
“I think we loosened up the front end just a little too much and it got on the wheelie bars started shaking a little. We both had 60-foots within one [hundredth] of each other, but then he made about a car length move on me and just sat there all the way through,” said Miller, who has finished second in both ORSCA races held so far this year. “It was a good run, but Mike had the better car today.”
With three major wins this year, Hill has already topped $67,000 in prize money.
Hill confirmed consistency was his goal for the day and he managed that with runs of 4.667, 4.684, 4.669, and 4.677, good enough to set low E.T. in three of the four elimination rounds. Still, he wasn’t taking Miller for granted. “I knew Craig would be tough and I know I saw him through the middle of the racetrack, but probably about the 330 is where I made my move. Then I just hoped I wouldn’t see him again.”