Off-road driver, innovator, car builder, engine builder

Miller was a foundational figure in off-road racing, his genius extending on-road as well. Miller is credited with many firsts, including off-road's first single-seat racing buggy. He drove to a historic win in the 1970 Baja 1000 and Mint 400 and the Baja Bug that made off-road racing affordable to a much wider audience. He also was part of the team headed by Vic Hickey that created the 1967 Baja Boot, immortalized by Steve McQueen. No wonder Miller was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in its inaugural (1978) class. Later, Miller built parts and engines for motocross, Pikes Peak, Indy cars and sports cars, including race-winning engines for Andial Porsches and inductee Dan Gurney’s AAR Toyota GTP cars that won all 10 IMSA races they contested in 1993, including the Rolex 24 at Daytona. “He was the first guy,” off-road historian Marty Fiolka told the Los Angeles Times, “to elevate the sport from backyard mechanics to a true motorsports paradigm."