Three-time American Speed Association champion Butch Miller hasn’t won a race this season … yet.
Miller, who leads the ASA championship standings by 72 points over Mike Garvey, has two poles and four Top 5 finishes in seven races. Luckily for Miller, the series returns to Nashville Speedway this weekend, a perfect place for that first victory.
A short track veteran, Miller won the ASA championship in 1987, 1988 and 1994. He returned to the series last year with a full time ride at Throop Motorsports. With three victories in 2000, Miller finished 3rd in the season championship standings.
His ASA career began in 1976, when his only two starts resulted in two top-10 finishes. Between 1985 and 1989, Miller amassed 28 wins and 23 top-five finishes.
After making brief attempts at the Winston Cup and Busch Grand National series, the Coopersville, Mich. native returned to ASA in 1993. One year later he claimed his third national championship.
It’s only appropriate that a driver with so much history will be seeking his first win of the season at an historic speedway like Nashville.
Nashville Speedway USA will host its 21st ASA event Saturday and Miller is one of several past winners entered in the race, which includes Mike Eddy, Gary St. Amant, and Garvey.
Originally a one-mile dirt track designed for harness racing and stock cars, Nashville Speedway was converted to a half-mile paved facility in 1957. In 1969, the track was lengthened to .596-mile and the 35-degree turns were taken down to the current 18-degree mark.
Of the twenty ASA events held in Nashville, one of the most memorable races involved Miller. Last season Miller and Dave Sensiba were part of an early race accident that saw both cars burn to the ground. Current NASCAR Busch series driver Tim Sauter won the event beating pole sitter Gary St. Amant to the checkered flag.
This year’s race weekend kicks off Friday, June 1 with qualifying at 5:30 p.m.(ET). The 100-lap qualifier race goes green at 8:30 p.m. On Saturday, ASA's exclusive on-track autograph session is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., with pre-race ceremonies starting at 8:15. The Luxaire 300 is scheduled to begin at 9:00 p.m. (ET) and will be broadcast live on TNN.
