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Accident Prone

Bill Milliken drives the 1932 Miller 4WD Indy car that he raced in the 1949 Watkins Glen Grand Prix, during Watkin Glen’s 1998 50th Anniversary celebration through the town’s streets. Photo: Walt Pietrowicz

I think you might call me accident prone.

I had the Miller 4WD car that Dean Butler has now, and I took it out to Pikes Peak. I was hoping to bring it back and run it in the very first Watkins Glen race, but the transfer box busted. I came back and the only car I had was this Type 35 Bugatti, which was the car I used everyday, so I decided to enter that in the first race. I managed to get up into 3rd place but that was on the last lap coming down the long hill on the original circuit. I really had to work at it and I passed one guy, but when I got into the corner, I was going much too fast. I was standing on the brakes, but I couldn’t slow the damned thing down; I went around the corner and the tail broke loose, it spun around, hit the hay bales going backwards, and then it flipped over in front of a barber shop.

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