Hilltop Has become known for it's side by side and often 3-4 wide action, and this week showed us why. Each week it looks like these drivers are fighting over a million dollar payout or something. A few may stand out in each class, but in many cases, there are several drivers that could pull off the wins. The Late Models may often be thought of as the most exciting class to watch, but no class out there has a shortage of action. It's great to see the car count rising in the Pure Stock class lately, and with it some fresh faces throughout the field. I know there's been a recent debate on clamping down the rules in the Pure Stock Class, and you certainly know I'm a huge supporter of that. I only hope that things can be worked out so that those that are stretching the rules are able to make their cars fit within the rules and continue to compete. This class didn't get this far out of hand overnight, and it sure as hell won't be fixed that soon either, but it does need to be done. Maybe it's time to start fresh with clear rules that truly level the playing field. This class has always put on a great show at all the tracks, and it would be a shame to see it either gone or drastically changed towards a Cruiser class. I'm not saying that those things are being discussed by any means at this time, but either could happen when the area tracks decide that this class is too far gone. That has been discussed at other tracks over the years already. Long live the Pure Stocks!
Now for the asphalt news. Saturday night was "Old Timers Night" at Midvale, and Mike Miller was honored along with many others, although most of the others are now retired. Now I'm not saying Mike is getting old, but I've heard rumors that he started his racing career on wooden wheels. ;-) Seriously though, I think it's great to see a guy that they call an "old timer" still out there running with the best of the young guys every week. Hats off to ya Mike! For you dirt guys, it's like seeing Dean Alexander out there, not just running strong, but fighting for the win every week, as well as holding the track record and defending the track championship. He may be suffering one of his worst seasons this year, but he's proven that he's not quite ready to give up even after 2 nasty wrecks lately. After 2 long weeks, the Miller Missile was finally ready to hit the track again. Amazingly, after all the rebuilding we did, the car ended up right where it was before the wreck. That doesn't mean any of us wants to do it again though. ;-) Anyway, the numbers might have come out just fine, but the on track results were a bit off early in the night. Qualifying didn't go as well as planned, and being blocked in during the heat race didn't really give Mike a great idea of what changes the car might need for the feature. It would be up to him alone to make the best of things in the feature, and Mike is the guy for that job. He was able to avoid a couple very ugly incidents that surely would have lead to 2 more long weeks, and recovered nicely from being boxed in and dragged backwards early in the race. When the checkers flew, Mike was able to hold off a strong charge from Tedesco to finish second. Not too damn shabby for an "old timer" in an old patched up race car. See,,, it doesn't have to be purrrrty to be fast! ;-) Perhaps the best news is that there's only minor body damage to fix this week after a good night of racing. Let's hope it stays that way the rest of the season!!!
