Robin Lee Miller (born October 27, 1949, in Anderson, Indiana)[1] is an American motorsports journalist. He was an Indy car pit crew member and drove in the USAC midget series in the 1970s. Miller is best-known for being a writer at The Indianapolis Star from 1968-2001.
He has also written for Autoweek and Car and Driver and is currently a correspondent on Speed and Versus.
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Miller first visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1957, and attended his first Indianapolis 500 in 1959.[2] In 1968, at the age of 18, he got to "stooge" for his driving hero Jim Hurtubise[3][2] 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.[2]
Miller become friends with chief mechanic Bill Finley, and driver Art Pollard. From 1971-1978 (concurrent to his work with The Star), Miller began working on pit crews at the Indianapolis 500.[2][3] 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.[2]
In 1972, he bought his first race car, from Andy Granatelli.[2] He raced a Formula Ford, and then bought a midget car from Gary Bettenhausen.[2] He then competed in USAC midgets. Miller qualified 5th for the 1980 "Hut 100", a race that featured several top Indy drivers of the time, a race that he considers a highlight of his career.[2] 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.[2]
Miller was hired at the The Indianapolis Star in 1968. His first duties included answering telephones in the sports department.[2] A year later, he was moved into the sports department as a writer. 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.[2]
Miller worked for 33 years at the The Indianapolis Star, becoming one of the nation's best known sports writers for Indy car racing.[4] 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 WIBC, WTHR, and The Bob & Tom Show.[3] 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.
In January 2001, Miller was fired from the Star.[5] The reasons given for his release were violations of the company's e-mail policy as well as the ethics policy.[5] 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).[5] He also was charged with accepting $2,500 from Kenny Brack for work on his web site,[3][5] and being paid to write promotional material for CART,[3] which violated company policy.[5]
Miller filed a grievance over the dismissal, however, it was dismissed.[5] An outside arbitrator ruled that the firing was justified due to "gross misconduct" on the job.[5] Miller contended that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway conspired to have him fired,[3] due to his ongoing bad press about the IRL,[4] and that behind the scenes, the Speedway would accept The Star as a business partner only if Miller was fired.[3]
Miller worked as a racing writer/reporter at ESPN from 2001-2004.[3] 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.[3] 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 remains at the position as of 2011. 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.[6][7]
Starting in 2011, Miller has served as an analyst for IndyCar coverage on Versus. His duties include pre-race interviews and commentary. At the 2011 Iowa Corn 250, he helped start the popular "grid walk" feature.[8]
He graduated from Southport High School[2] in Indianapolis, and flunked out of Ball State University "after two very enjoyable quarters." He also spent one semester at IUPUI.[2] His first car was a 1962 Ford Galaxie. He has never married, does not drink,[2] and currently resides in Indianapolis.
The worst moment in his career was when he lost his friend Art Pollard during practice for the Indy 500 in 1973.[1]
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