This place has been pretty quiet lately and partly because I was biting my tongue about some of the bullshit going on at Midvale. I know, it's not like me to play nice like that but I figured we didn't need any more obstacles thrown in our path to the championship. They were doing fine on their own at that already. Then Mother Nature helped drag out the drama for another week by dumping on the place after our heat race last week. That gave us another week to stew over the bullshit games going on. Last week Miller gave them something to think about with his lap times in practice and qualifying. For the first time all season somebody spanked "the kid" in qualifying and it took an old veteran to do it. I'll bet they're still scratching their heads over that one. ;-) Their games stepped up a notch in the heat race though as one brother let the other one go then went into blocking mode. This cost us 6 very valuable points, leaving us with just a 15 point lead going into the feature this Friday night. That meant Mike would have to finish no worse than 3 positions behind the kid to take home the big trophy for the year. Starting in 12th behind both brothers this wasn't going to be easy. Well, that's what I thought anyway. At the drop of the green it was finally time to settle this thing one way or another. I swear Miller had both feet on the loud pedal at the first sign of green. A caution would take away his first great start but not the next one where he instantly put both brothers in his mirror and went to hunting down the front of the pack. It took just a few laps to secure the safety zone of 4th place but the old fella wasn't done yet. Running second behind Tedesco looked like a great place to finish the race to me but not to Mike. He tried the high side on the leader for a couple laps but he just couldn't close the door cleanly on Tedesco so he settled in for a few laps. A last lap caution would set up a one lap dash to the checkers and another chance at the lead. This time there was no stopping Miller and I'm certain he had three fuggin feet on the throttle coming to the start. Before Friday night I can't remember the last time I saw somebody pass Tedesco in the open and using the outside but by turn 2 this race and the championship was in the bag for Mike. DAMN that was just plain purrrty! Two of the best around gave each other plenty of room and Miller came out on top. That's damn good racing and something we haven't always enjoyed this season. It's been a pretty long and sometimes ugly season but this race made it all worth while. Miller didn't just "hang on" to this championship. He went out and "won" this one in a big way almost like he wanted to make statement. Most of you know I love nothing more than seeing a racer that does things the old fashioned way by working harder and spending less coming out on top. That's what makes a career like Mike's even more special and I'm damn proud to be part of it. He's raced against more money and more equipment all his life, yet you'd be very hard pressed to find somebody with the success he's enjoyed all these years. He's one of those folks that proves that money doesn't buy success, respect, or class. The crowd seemed to agree too by the sound of things in victory lane. Hats off to ya Mike and once again,, YOU DA MAN!!!

After wrapping up the championship on Friday it was time for a much less stressful night of racing at Midvale on Saturday. Twin 25 lap features would give us a chance to just go racing without a thought of points and the crap that whole thing involves. It became clear in the second feature that points weren't an issue when one brother took out the other for the lead and was actually sent to the tail for bringing out the caution. Hmmmm,,, that exact same scenario during the points chase resulted in the flagman being blamed for throwing the yellow and both brothers getting their spots back. Damn, it must seem confusing to be the sons of the track owners huh?
Anyway, other than some torn up race cars it was a pretty fun night of racing. Miller took 5th in the first feature and the second feature looked like it might bring another last lap victory for him with another late caution. This time there would be a two lap dash to the checkers with Miller poised on the outside of the youngest brother on the start. It quickly became very clear that not everybody races as cleanly as guys like Tedesco and the result was tire marks on the left side of the car and a second place finish for Miller. Not bad for an " old fart" in an "old car" I guess. ;-) That's it for our season but we'll have plenty of memories to get us through the winter months for sure.

Not everybody's season is over yet though. The 15th annual Ohio Dirt Blowout will bring plenty of action to Lakeville this coming weekend. Seven divisions will take to the track this year to chase some nice payouts and braggin' rights. It's never easy to win the Blowout event in any class so they'll have to earn those braggin' rights. Get your asses to Lakeville for the party/racing event of the season!!