Wed, 22 Dec 2004, 08:25 AM Millican Earns Second Team All-America Auto Racing Honors

Courtesy of Andrea Geurin Photo copyright 2004 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Chicago --

Clay Millican

Four-time IHRA Top Fuel Champion Clay Millican of Lehman Racing was named to the 2004 Auto Racing All-America Second Team by members of the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association, a motorsports press organization.

"I am very honored to be named to the second team," said Millican. "Seeing my name next to all the other guys on the team, especially one of my favorite racers, Tommy Kendall, is really an overwhelming feeling. Some of the best drivers in motorsports are on that list, so I really appreciate being in the same category as those guys."

Other members of the second team include open wheel racers Buddy Rice and Paul Tracy, stock car racers Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne, road racers Paul Gentilozzi and Tommy Kendall, drag racer Greg Anderson, short track racers Danny Lasoski and Jay Drake, touring series racers Kyle Busch and Frank Kimmel, and at-large nominees Scott Speed and Rob MacCachren.

This marks Millican's fourth year to be nominated by the AARWBA for the All America Team, and the second time that he has been named to the Second Team. The first time was in 2002, while in 2003 and 2001 he was named to the

Honorable Mention Team. Millican has also been named a finalist for the 2004 Eastern Motorsports Press Association's Al Holbert Memorial Driver of the Year Award. The winner will be named at the EMPA's Annual Convention on January 21-23, 2005.

Millican, a native of Drummonds, Tenn., had a stellar year in both IHRA and NHRA competition. With Team Werner, Millican won a fourth consecutive IHRA Top Fuel Championship, becoming the first Top Fuel driver in IHRA history to win four in a row. Along the way Millican set numerous track records and won seven of the 12 events held in '04. He brought his career win total to 37, becoming the winningest professional driver in IHRA history, an impressive feat considering that this was just his fifth season competing in the league.

On the NHRA side, Millican and Team 104+ Performance Additives advanced to their first-ever NHRA final round at the O'Reilly Spring Nationals in Houston, and followed that up with two more consecutive final round appearances at the national events in Bristol and Atlanta. Millican finished the season in 14th position in the NHRA POWERade Top Fuel points standings after racing in just 10 of the 23 national events that took place, averaging nearly 60 points per event, the fifth highest Top Fuel average in the league.

Along with his accomplishments on the race track, Millican also made headlines in 2004 when he performed the first legal burnout on a U.S. city street in over 17 years. Millican and his team unveiled their Elvis-themed race car during Elvis Week at Graceland by performing a burnout down Elvis Presley Boulevard, a four-lane highway in Memphis, in front of thousands of fans and members of the media.