Butch Miller ended his long wait by winning the All-American 400 at
Nashville Motor Raceway. Making the trophy presentation are country singers Shelly Mangrum and Ric Steel. – Don Thies Photo
Nashville, Tenn. (October 16, 1988) – After posting six consecutive top five finishes in the annual event, Butch Miller scored his first All-American 400 triumph Sunday afternoon at Nashville Motor Raceway.
Miller, who earned $13,575 from the event’s $150,528 purse, averaged 84.796 miles per hour in winning the 400-lap contest which featured many of the top ASA, All-Pro, and American Canadian Tour (ACT) drivers.
“This is like winning the Daytona 500 for me,” Miller said. “We’ve been close so many times before I was expecting something to go wrong even on the last lap.”
Miller was 1.74 seconds ahead of runner-up Harold Fair at the finish. Scott Hansen came in third, giving ASA pilots a sweep of the podium positions. Darrell Brown and Junior Hanley completed the top-five.
A mid-morning shower delayed the start for more than two hours. Once the action got underway, Dick Trickle led the first 17 laps and polesitter Fair the next 18 before Miller moved on top. The event’s third caution triggered the first round of pit stops, resulting Bill Bigley pacing the field on lap 63, and Rick Craven leading on the 64th round.
When Craven pitted during the next yellow on lap 76, Ted Musgrave inherited the lead, a position he maintained until Fair took over on lap 114. Bobby dotter gained control on lap 119 but surrendered it to Trickle on the 139th circuit.
A series of yellow flag pit stops on lap 162 gave Russ Urlin the lead but 10 rounds later, Miller assumed control. A chain reaction mishap triggered another amber during which Miller pitted, allowing Brown to claim the top spot on lap 215.
Miller came back to rule circuits 224-2444 before Rick Crawford led 17 revolutions. Trickle ousted Crawford from the top spot on lap 262, but encountered differential issues moments later, opening the door for Fair to take charge on the 279th circuit. When the problem worsened, Trickle called it a day on lap 293.
Miller took over the final time on lap 295. A few laps later, a flat tire caused Fair to bump the wall, accounting for the final caution.
After the final yellow, Miller was challenged briefly by Hansen. However, stripped lug nuts had prevented Hansen from taking on left-side tires late in the battle and the worn rubber slowed the Wisconsin pilot, short-circuiting his bid to unseat Miller.
Capitalizing on Hansen’s plight, Fair came on strong to claim second place in the waning laps but was unable to run down Miller.
Results –
1. Butch Miller
2. Harold Fair
3. Scott Hansen
4. Darrell Brown
5. Junior Hanley
6. Rick Crawford
7. Denny Wallace
8. Bob Senneker
9. Steve Burgess
10.Bobby Gill
11.Daniel Keene
12.Bobby Hamilton
13.Dennis Vogel
14.Rick Craven
15.Clifford Allison
16.Glenn Allen Jr.
17.Gary St. Amant
18.Kent Stauffer
19.Don Bickford
20.Scott Lovelady
.jpg)
Butch Miller en route to winning the All-American 400 - Todd Healy Photo
No comments:
Post a Comment