"It takes running the dial-in and hitting the tree," Miller says. "But to do that, you need a consistent combination, plus a little bit of luck on any given day, and with that, you can win one of those deals. I have one of those $60,000 cars myself." (Yes, we know.)

No, Miller hasn't won one of those $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000 two- or three-day bracket races that are so common in the south and up around NHRA Division 1 territory. But he has come close. How close?

"I've been in five finals this year and haven't won any of them, and each was a $5,000 race," he says.

As we pointed out to Molly Brown, it takes more than just a good reaction time and a close run on a dial-in. Miller says it takes doing that round after round, and with everyone in Pro or Super Pro able to hit a good tree nowadays, it takes something else that every bracket racer is searching for -- "It takes a consistent combination."

"That means that in a dragster like mine, your converter, your carburetor, your tires, are all your friends. Plus the camshaft and the motor have to work together as well: the whole package. 'Together' is the key word. If you can get a car and its combination together that can repeat the number and not vary as much as the car in the other lane, you'll win. When you're running from two to three hours apart, you're going to have some change in the track conditions, the weather. If you get a car that doesn't vary as much as the car in the other lane, chances are you'll win the round and maybe the race," Miller said.

Other factors also figure in.

Weather stations are handy, he says, but when he bracket races, Miller doesn't use a weather station as much as he does when he goes 8.90 class racing. Instead, he will look at the track conditions, the weather, the heat or the cold, the sun, where it is in the sky in relation to the Christmas tree, how long the sun has been shining on the track, "things like that. And that comes from experience," Miller said.

(Okay, let me deviate here for a moment. What Miller said about the weather is something that every bracket racer is interested in, and I'll make a prediction here: within five years, at most of the "big" drag strips across the country you'll see more and more weather information printed out on your run ticket or displayed somewhere at the track or on the tower. Already, Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania has a weather monitoring system in place that shows the racer what the ambient temperature is and what the barometric pressure is doing, displayed on the side of its four-story tower for all to see and make use of. Good idea, George Case and crew!)

Now let's pick up where we left off with Mr. Miller.

He likes to chase. Hence the dragster, which he, of course, built himself. And hence the "big" elapsed times in the 4.70-second range on the eighth-mile. "I like the opportunity for my opponent to go red first, so I like a fast dragster," he said. His car is powered by a big-block Chevrolet built by Dwan's Automotive of Clearwater, a 555-incher on alcohol with a 1.80-geared straight-cut ATI Powerglide, a Rupert converter (!) that stalls at 5,400 rpm, a Strange-equipped 4.10 rear end, and a 2032 Goodyear alcohol dragster tire.

But all this talk about a dragster being the ultimate bracket car doesn't necessarily make it so, Ray says. "Look at (Tennessee bracket shoe) Chad McKee. He does a great job in that Camaro, and he has won some big-money races recently. I don't want to call him 'low-dollar,' but he does a heck of a good job in beating the dragsters with something that most people would count out," Miller said.

And here is another case in point. Remember last year's winner at Memphis Motorsports Park at the B&M Million? It was Joel Reynolds of Birmingham, Alabama, who won in his mid-era Pontiac two-door, a car that regularly runs in the high 6's and low 7's. Reynolds' engine of choice in his muffled, un-decaled, un-tricked-out paint job Poncho is a small-block Chevy, and Reynolds took home enough money from the Memphis race to pay for a new house.

Want to know something else? Reynolds got runner-up at the second annual B&M Million a few years ago. He did so in the same Pontiac that he showed up in Memphis with last year. Want to know something more? Reynolds also races another car, a late-model Camaro that isn't trick either.

Just as Molly Brown told us that day at Paradise several years ago, all it takes to win a bracket race is to hit the Christmas tree hard and run hard on the top end. But as Ray Miller so eloquently added, it takes that plus consistency plus the right combination plus experience plus luck. And even that isn't guaranteed to put you in the winner's circle today.

But all that may. And that's why myself, wife Fran, Kenny Brown, Joel Reynolds, Ray Miller, and even hard-core spectator Molly Brown keep returning to the bracket racing wars week after week.

Because we CAN win. Heck, ANYBODY can win on any given day in a bracket race. Chad McKee has shown us that, and so has Joel Reynolds, and so has Jeff Strickland (Stock Eliminator/bracket car), Doug Simmons (Camaro), Shelby White (Chevy II), Preacher Artie Fulcher (Rambler), A.J. Ashe (Corvette), Danny McGee (Chevy truck), and the list goes on. And yes, you too, Ray Miller. Your day is coming.

Racing promoter and manufacturer John Spar says it best: "Anybody can win on any given day driving anything they desire. . .period." That's the beauty of bracket racing. That's why bracket racing was invented by Ron Leek of Byron Dragway some 30 years ago.

There is one thing that Leek didn't automatically build into bracket racing, but it came about nonetheless: bracket racing is just plain fun. Just ask all those names I mentioned in this story.