Robin Miller | |
|---|---|
 Robin Miller at theIndianapolis Motor Speedway in 2018 | |
| Born | (1949-10-27)October 27, 1949[1] Anderson, Indiana, U.S.[2] |
| Died | August 25, 2021(2021-08-25) (aged 71) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 1968–2021 |
| Employer(s) | RACER NBCSN The Indianapolis Star (former) |
| Awards | 2021Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inductee 2022National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee |
Robin Lee Miller (October 27, 1949 – August 25, 2021) was an American motorsportsjournalist. Miller was best known for being a writer atThe Indianapolis Star from 1968–2001. He also wrote forAutoweek,Car and Driver,ESPN andSpeed. At the time of his death, he was a correspondent and senior writer forRACER magazine and website, while also reporting onIndyCar Series broadcasts forNBCSN.
Miller first visited theIndianapolis Motor Speedway in 1957, and attended his firstIndianapolis 500 in 1959.[3] In 1968, at the age of 18, he got to "stooge" for his driving heroJim Hurtubise[3][4] at Indy. Miller was hired for free to do odd jobs with the pit crew, but was fired before the end of the month after he ruined the paint job on Hurtubise's car.[3]
Miller became friends with chief mechanic Bill Finley, and driverArt Pollard. From 1971–78 (concurrent to his work withThe Star), Miller began working on pit crews at theIndianapolis 500.[3][4] It was common during that time for racing teams to hire extra freelance help for the Indy 500 due to the extended (month-long) work commitment. He was assigned to various jobs, such as the pit board and vent man, but never worked mechanically on the cars.[3] Finley, one of the last true chief mechanics at Indianapolis, described Miller as "without a mechanical bone in his body."[citation needed]
In 1972, he bought his first race car, fromAndy Granatelli.[3] He raced aFormula Ford in 1972, and then bought a midget car in 1974 fromGary Bettenhausen.[3] He then competed inUSACmidgets from 1975–83. Miller's best race came in 1980 when he qualified 5th out of 93 cars for the annual "Hut 100" at theTerre Haute Action Track, a dirt race that featured 33 starters in 11 rows of three like Indy and also sported several top Indy drivers of the time. He considered that race the highlight of his career,[3] however, he blew his engine and dropped out.
After about ten years, he quit driving due to his lack of mechanical knowledge, and massive debts.[3]
Miller was hired atThe Indianapolis Star in 1968. His first duties included answering telephones in the sports department.[3] A year later, he was moved into the sports department as a writer. One of his early assignments was a traveling reporter following theIndiana Pacers.[5] During his career, he became a polarizing figure. In 1981, he gained attention when he accusedA. J. Foyt ofcheating, for which Foyt punched Miller, and the paper issued a retraction.[3] Miller also stirred up controversy, taking onBobby Knight, theIrsay family, girls' basketball, and female golfers.[5] One of his heated columns led to the girls' basketball team fromFranklin College challenging the paper's sports department to a match, and the sportswriters won the game.[5]
Miller worked for 33 years atThe Indianapolis Star, becoming one of the nation's best known sports writers forIndy car racing.[6] He started covering theIndianapolis 500 in 1969. During the month of May for the Indy 500, in addition to his daily columns, Miller would have side gigs on WNAP-FM,WIBC,WTHR, andThe Bob & Tom Show.[4] In almost every year from 1978 to 1997, he served as the emcee of the popularLast Row Party. Miller also wrote and reported occasionally aboutNASCAR, including extensive coverage of theBrickyard 400. Following the1996 open wheel split, Miller was highly critical of theIndy Racing League andIndianapolis Motor Speedway presidentTony George. For this, he drew considerable ire from many locals and from various city leaders, but likewise gained a considerable following fromCART supporters.[citation needed] However, he typically stopped short of directly criticizing most of the actual IRL drivers and crew members, explaining that most were hard-working and passionate about their sport, and merely intermixed in a political situation that was largely out of their control.[citation needed] He lost his radio show on WIBC and television job at Channel 13 for his anti-George stance.[citation needed] Eventually, after the department reorganized, Miller's duties shifted fromcolumnist to focus solely on auto racing.
In January 2001, Miller was fired from theStar.[7] The reasons given for his release were violations of the company'se-mail policy as well as the ethics policy.[7] He reportedly sent abusive e-mails to readers, sent pornographic material to co-workers, and sent defamatory e-mails about local community leaders (namelyTony George andColts officials).[7] He also was charged with accepting $2,500 fromKenny Bräck for work on his web site[4][7] (Miller claims he never received the money[5]), and being paid to write promotional material forCART,[4] which violated company policy.[7] Miller filed a grievance over the dismissal, however, it was dismissed.[7] An outside arbitrator ruled that the firing was justified due to "gross misconduct" on the job.[7] Miller contended that theIndianapolis Motor Speedway presidentTony George conspired to have him fired,[4] due to his ongoing bad press about theIRL,[6] and that behind the scenes, the Speedway would acceptThe Star as a business partner only if Miller was fired.[4][5]
Miller worked as a racing writer/reporter atESPN from 2001 to 2004.[4] He appeared on programs such asRPM 2Night andSportsCentury. During that time, he also wrote freelance forChamp Car's website. He was fired in March 2007 from Champ Car after he wrote a critical column that was perceived as undue criticism.[4] The series eventually collapsed and merged with theIRL.
In 2004, Miller joinedSpeed as a writer and Indy Car "insider." He became a regular contributor to SpeedTV.com,SPEED Center, andWindTunnel with Dave Despain. He remained at the position until Speed's conversion toFox Sports 1 in 2013. He was also a writer forRacer. With many trusted sources throughout the paddock, Miller has broken several big stories regarding IndyCar racing and the Indy 500, including the2008IRL/CCWS unification.[8][9]
Even though his main focus was IndyCar. Miller also would break big news in the NASCAR world. Through a high source within the sport. Miller was told that RJ Reynolds was leaving NASCAR at the end of 2003. Which meant that Winston would no longer be the title sponsor for NASCAR. Miller would also break the news that Brian France would replace Mike Helton the following year.
When asked later on by one of his colleagues in Marty Smith, who mainly did NASCAR at that time. How Miller, who doesn’t make NASCAR his priority of writing in racing. Yet, he broke the biggest two stories NASCAR has had in a decade. Miller responded by saying,”I’m an old guy Marty, I have friends.” Miller would never say who that source was.
Starting in2011, Miller served as an analyst forIndyCar coverage onVersus/NBC Sports Network. His duties included pre-race interviews, commentary, and various pit/garage area reports. At the 2011 Iowa Corn 250, he helped start the popular "grid walk" feature.[10] He later served on theNBC telecasts of theIndianapolis 500 after NBC gained rights to the race in 2019.
Miller graduated fromSouthport High School in Indianapolis and flunked out ofBall State University "after two very enjoyable quarters."[2] He also spent one semester atIUPUI.[3] His first car was a 1962Ford Galaxie.
Miller never married.[3]
He claimed to have lost over $250,000 in gambling[5] and stated that the worst moment in his career was when he lost his friendArt Pollard during practice for the Indy 500 in 1973.[2]
Miller announced he had terminalleukemia in July 2021.[11] He died in Indianapolis on August 25, 2021, at age 71.[12][13] His death came twelve days after he was honored at a specialHall of Fame induction ceremony during theBrickyard weekend at theIndianapolis Motor Speedway.[14]
Miller was inducted into theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America as part of the class of 2021.[15] He was inducted in theNational Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2022 as a journalist.[16]
After his death, Miller was awarded theSagamore of the Wabash award by GovernorEric Holcomb, the highest honor presented to a citizen of Indiana by the governor.[17]
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