By T.J. Buffenbarger
• Friday was one of the nights where after hot laps who would win the feature seemed inevitable Parker-Price Miller’s car just had the look about it during warm ups that sent a message that it was going to be difficult to deny him a victory on Friday.
Much like the couple people knew in high school that break up and get back together again, Price-Miller and car owner/crew chief/successful businessman Bernie Stuebgen have the kind of chemistry that full time racers and car owners across the country would love to have for their operations, and wrenching on his #71 car is not even Stuebgen’s actual job.
The team doesn’t have a full-time crew member hired to assist Price-Miller and Stuegben. They are going down the road with whomever they can con… err, ask to assist on a given night.
With Stuebgen’s commitments to his business, Indy Race Parts, he often talks of how he can’t race as much as a car owner/crew chief. Obviously racing with PPM is worthwhile though as they have raced a considerable amount in 2025.
Most of all, they are having fun. Yes, winning makes things a lot more enjoyable. It also is more enjoyable when things go your way like having a caution flag come out just slower cars racing side by side were directly ahead of Price-Miller.
How much fun they are having is evident in other ways such as when I was doing the post-race interview with Price-Miller and Stuebgen leaned in to let Price-Miller know there was a hole in the left rear tire they had just won the feature with.
In an era where everyone searches for the right chemistry for their race teams, it’s obvious that Stuebgen and Price-Miller have that going for them.
• It was a rough night for some of the All Star Circuit of Champions top point contenders with Kalib Henry having a driveline issue that took him out of the race and Cale Thomas suffering front end damage while racing for position and having to charge back through the field to salvage a ninth place finish.
When we get to the end of the 2025 season and Thomas can surpass Henry for the point lead (he is currently down 55 points in the standings), we could point out the feature at I-96 as a key moment.
Thomas appeared to be stuck in the work area as the caution lines were extinguished so the field could go back racing. Thomas caught a break as another caution flag appeared that allowed him to rejoin the field.
Making the most of the opportunity I was fixated watching Thomas race back through the field. Had the incident not happened, Thomas could have been in contention to win on Friday based on Price-Miller saying post-race his car was not as good in traffic while Thomas stormed through the field.
• The person I would keep an eye on as the season winds down for the All Star Circuit of Champions as the top challenge for Henry’s lead is Devault. After having a brutal stretch of races that included finishes of 16th and three 20th place finishes in a row, Devault was assertive in route to a second-place finish on Friday.
Sometimes flying under the radar with not a lot of regional or national praise, Devault has caught regional car owners attention including with his current employer Brett Lane.
Devault has the vibe going on Friday that this could be the start of a luck going the opposite direction than the past four races and could be key to closing the gap in the standings between himself and Henry.
• My biggest objection to the creation of the High Limit Sprint Car Series was the absence of the All Star Circuit of Champions last season. Even if High Limit needed to pillage the series of key dates to help launch their product, I argued there was still a place for the All Stars and their existence was important for the sprint car ecosystem in this region.
Friday was more proof this latest incarnation of the All Stars has a place in the sprint car world. While not stocked with household names, the All Stars are carrying a roster this year with tremendous upside in the future with several young drivers that I feel have high ceilings for what they could accomplish in the sport.
Friday proved the series can travel well into places with some competition for cars. 26 cars showing up at I-96 during a week where the Great Lakes Super Sprints have a point race in Canada, taking away a few of the key teams that double dip in 360 and 410 racing proves there is till value in the series.
• In closing, it was great to see a near capacity crowd at I-96 for the All Star/Late Model double header on Friday. I believe the new promotion group at I-96 hit on something Friday night with this rare double header of the two top classes of cars in dirt racing today.
I couldn’t remember the last time I saw spectators parked across the road and lined alongside Portland Rd. due to the main parking lot being at capacity.
Three years ago I left I-96 Speedway, the track where I started my media career writing the post race press releases and operating the scoreboard thinking it was a final goodbye. Thankfully if the trend continues with large crowds I’ve seen the past two weeks we should see racing for years to come at the Lake Odessa, Michigan oval.