American journalist (1949?2021)
Robin Lee Miller
(October 27, 1949 ? August 25, 2021) was an American motorsports
journalist
. Miller was best known for being a writer at
The Indianapolis Star
from 1968?2001. He also wrote for
Autoweek
,
Car and Driver
,
ESPN
and
Speed
. At the time of his death, he was a correspondent and senior writer for
RACER
magazine and website, while also reporting on
IndyCar Series
broadcasts for
NBCSN
.
Racing career
[
edit
]
Miller first visited the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
in 1957, and attended his first
Indianapolis 500
in 1959.
[3]
In 1968, at the age of 18, he got to "stooge" for his driving hero
Jim 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 driver
Art Pollard
. From 1971?78 (concurrent to his work with
The Star
), Miller began working on pit crews at the
Indianapolis 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, from
Andy Granatelli
.
[3]
He raced a
Formula Ford
in 1972, and then bought a midget car in 1974 from
Gary Bettenhausen
.
[3]
He then competed in
USAC
midgets
from 1975?83. Miller's best race came in 1980 when he qualified 5th out of 93 cars for the annual "Hut 100" at the
Terre 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]
Media career
[
edit
]
The Indianapolis Star
[
edit
]
Miller was hired at
The 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 the
Indiana Pacers
.
[5]
During his career, he became a polarizing figure. In 1981, he gained attention when he accused
A. J. Foyt
of cheating, for which Foyt punched Miller, and the paper issued a retraction.
[3]
Miller also stirred up controversy, taking on
Bobby Knight
, the
Irsay family
, girls' basketball, and female golfers.
[5]
One of his heated columns led to the girls' basketball team from
Franklin College
challenging the paper's sports department to a match, and the sportswriters won the game.
[5]
Miller worked for 33 years at
The Indianapolis Star
, becoming one of the nation's best known sports writers for
Indy car
racing.
[6]
He started covering the
Indianapolis 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
, and
The Bob & Tom Show
.
[4]
In almost every year from 1978 to 1997, he served as the emcee of the popular
Last Row Party
. Miller also wrote and reported occasionally about
NASCAR
, including extensive coverage of the
Brickyard 400
. Following the
1996 open wheel split
, Miller was highly critical of the
Indy Racing League
and
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
president
Tony George
. For this, he drew considerable ire from many locals and from various city leaders, but likewise gained a considerable following from
CART
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 from
columnist
to focus solely on auto racing.
In January 2001, Miller was fired from the
Star
.
[7]
The reasons given for his release were violations of the company's
e-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 (namely
Tony George
and
Colts
officials).
[7]
He also was charged with accepting $2,500 from
Kenny Brack
for work on his web site
[4]
[7]
(Miller claims he never received the money
[5]
), and being paid to write promotional material for
CART
,
[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 the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
president
Tony George
conspired to have him fired,
[4]
due to his ongoing bad press about the
IRL
,
[6]
and that behind the scenes, the Speedway would accept
The Star
as a business partner only if Miller was fired.
[4]
[5]
Subsequent jobs
[
edit
]
Miller worked as a racing writer/reporter at
ESPN
from 2001 to 2004.
[4]
He appeared on programs such as
RPM 2Night
and
SportsCentury
. During that time, he also wrote freelance for
Champ 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 the
IRL
.
In 2004, Miller joined
Speed
as a writer and Indy Car "insider." He became a regular contributor to SpeedTV.com,
SPEED Center
, and
WindTunnel with Dave Despain
. He remained at the position until Speed's conversion to
Fox Sports 1
in 2013. He was also a writer for
Racer
. With many trusted sources throughout the paddock, Miller has broken several big stories regarding IndyCar racing and the Indy 500, including the
2008
IRL
/
CCWS
unification.
[8]
[9]
Versus / NBC Sports Network
[
edit
]
Starting in
2011
, Miller served as an analyst for
IndyCar
coverage on
Versus/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 the
NBC
telecasts of the
Indianapolis 500
after NBC gained rights to the race in 2019.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Miller graduated from
Southport High School
in Indianapolis and flunked out of
Ball State University
"after two very enjoyable quarters."
[2]
He also spent one semester at
IUPUI
.
[3]
His first car was a 1962
Ford 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 friend
Art Pollard
during practice for the Indy 500 in 1973.
[2]
Miller announced he had terminal
leukemia
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 special
Hall of Fame
induction ceremony during the
Brickyard
weekend at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
.
[14]
Legacy
[
edit
]
Miller was inducted into the
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
as part of the class of 2021.
[15]
He was inducted in the
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame
in 2022 as a journalist.
[16]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Marshall Pruett (May 4, 2020).
"The Marshall Pruett Podcast, MP 809: Robin Miller, Who The Hell Are You?, Season 2"
(Podcast)
. Retrieved
May 6,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Robin Miller Bio"
.
Speed Channel
. Archived from
the original
on May 31, 2009
. Retrieved
February 26,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
Montieth, Mark (2011).
"Robin Miller Part 1"
.
One on One
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
Miller, Robin (March 1, 2007).
"MILLER: Fired Again"
.
Speed
. Archived from
the original
on March 14, 2012
. Retrieved
July 25,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Montieth, Mark (2011).
"Robin Miller Part 2"
.
One on One
.
- ^
a
b
"Hardcopy - Robin Miller"
. Automobile Magazine. February 2009
. Retrieved
July 25,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Knight, Dana (January 3, 2002).
"Arbitrator upholds The Star's firing of Robin Miller"
. The Indianapolis Star. Archived from
the original
on July 2, 2011
. Retrieved
July 25,
2011
.
- ^
"Tony George Makes an Offer for Unity"
. SpeedTV.com. January 23, 2008. Archived from
the original
on January 27, 2008
. Retrieved
January 23,
2008
.
- ^
"REPORT: Champ Car/IndyCar Deal Done"
. SpeedTV.com. February 19, 2008. Archived from
the original
on February 25, 2008
. Retrieved
February 19,
2008
.
- ^
Iowa Corn Indy 250 Recap
Archived
March 15, 2016, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"MILLER: A letter to the RACER nation"
. RACER. July 2021
. Retrieved
July 31,
2021
.
- ^
"Legendary Racing Journalist Miller Dies at 71"
. IndyCar. August 25, 2021.
- ^
Benbow, Dana Hunsinger.
"Robin Miller, journalist who captivated race fans with unfiltered takes, dies at 71"
.
The Indianapolis Star
. Retrieved
August 25,
2021
.
- ^
"Miller honored in special Motorsport Hall of Fame ceremony at IMS"
. RACER. August 13, 2021
. Retrieved
August 26,
2021
.
- ^
"NEWS: 2021 MSHFA Inductees Announced"
.
mshf.com
. Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
. Retrieved
August 25,
2021
.
- ^
"2022 Chili Bowl - Tuesday".
Chili Bowl Nationals
. January 11, 2022. Event occurs at 18:40.
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