Mike Miller, a respected Midwest short-track racer with about 116 feature wins, died on September 29 after battling cancer. He was 80. Miller built his name through local paved ovals, the ARTGO Challenge Series and the American Speed Association.
He also made two NASCAR Cup Series starts in 1980. News of Miller’s death spread through the short-track racing community, where fans and drivers remembered his long career and his time racing against Wisconsin stars such as Dick Trickle, Tom Reffner and Joe Shear.
Kenny Wallace paid tribute to Miller on X, writing: “Like sand through a hour glass, these are the days of our lives. I didn’t think I could ever comprehend ALL my heroes dying. Dick Trickle then Tom Reffner and now Mike Miller. One by one all the Wisconsin greats are leaving us. May the Lord be with everyone.”
Mike Miller Built His Name in NASCAR Short-Track Racing
Miller started stock car racing as a hobby while living in New Prague, Minnesota, in the early 1970s. He raced at Shakopee Raceway Park and Elko Speedway before entering the Oktoberfest 200 at Interstate Speedway in West Salem, Wisconsin, in late 1971.
By 1972, Miller became a regular late-model driver. He first raced a 1969 Mercury before switching to a 1970 Mustang the following year. In May 1973, he won NASCAR late-model features at Raceway Park and Elko.
Later that year, Miller competed in the National Short Track Championship at Rockford Speedway. He defeated six-time track champion Joe Shear by half a lap on the banked quarter-mile track.
Miller later moved to Wisconsin Rapids to stay closer to the state’s late-model racing scene.
He raced against drivers including Dick Trickle, Tom Reffner, Larry Detjens, Jim Back and Dave Watson.
In 1976, Miller won track championships at Dells Motor Speedway and Golden Sands Speedway. He later added two more Golden Sands titles, two at State Park Speedway and one at Capital Super Speedway.
His feature totals included 27 wins at Golden Sands, 25 at State Park, 23 at Dells Raceway Park, 18 at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway and nine at Capital.
Mike Miller and the “World’s Ugliest Racecar”
Miller entered the ARTGO Challenge Series in 1978. He worked with Bob Uhlir to build a 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass under Mil-Lir Engineering.
The car became one of the most remembered parts of Miller’s racing career. Its long, unusual nose led Bobby Allison to call it “The World’s Ugliest Racecar.”
Miller earned his first ARTGO win in the Wayne Carter Classic at Grundy County Speedway in Illinois. He finished his ARTGO career with five wins and won the Wayne Carter Classic twice.
Miller also raced in the American Speed Association during the 1970s and 1980s before becoming a full-time ASA competitor from 1993 through 2001. He recorded 16 ASA wins.
His strongest ASA season came in 1999. Miller won five races and finished second in the championship standings, only six points behind the title winner.
Miller also made two NASCAR Cup Series starts in 1980. He drove a Ford at Charlotte and Atlanta.
NASCAR Drivers Remember Mike Miller After His Death
Miller’s death brought tributes from people who raced with him and followed his career.
“A fan on X wrote, ‘ Sad to hear of Mike Miller’s passing. If u ever watched the old ARTGO & ASA Series. Mike was a legend there. He will be truly missed. He was 80 years old. Georgia’s own. He was a good one,” while tagging Mark Martin.
Martin replied, “I sure do. This one hits hard.”
Kenny Wallace also remembered Miller alongside other Wisconsin racing names who died before him.
Tributes on the All Pro and NASCAR All Pro Racing Series Reunion Facebook page also focused on Miller’s impact away from the national spotlight.
Greg Campbell, a machinist at Werner Machine, wrote: “I’m so sorry to hear this. Mike taught me so much about racing, and there’s no way to ever repay him. Working for Mike Miller opened up so many doors throughout my racing career. All you had to say was, ‘I worked for Mike Miller,’ and the doors opened up. Race In Peace, Mike.”
NASCAR Community Mourns the Loss of Respected Stock Car Legend