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| Features |
| EKN One-on-One: ICA National Champion Joel Miller |
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 | Joel Miller earned the ICA national championship for Tony Kart USA
(Photo: Todd McCall - otp.ca) |
Last fall, in Toronto, Joel Miller capped off a stellar season with a big win at the Stars of Karting National Finals to win the ICA national championship. It’s been a long trek between that victory and the pro driver’s first laps. Miller began karting at the age of seven when his grandfather Bob Burns got him into the driver’s seat in 1997. Joel’s uncles, Mark and Mike Burns, ran karts in the 70’s, so the family was familiar with the sport. After getting adjusted, Miller quickly went to the front of the field and earned his first championship in the Junior 1 category in the IKF Region 7 Series. Joel and his father Jack ran as the father/son team up and down the West Coast and hit the big time at the 1999 SKUSA SuperNationals with victory in 60cc Novice aboard the Energy Kart. It was the beginning of big things for this personable Californian.
Moving to the Junior division in 2000, Miller competed both on the national SKUSA ProMoto Tour circuit and regionally in California, gaining valuable experience, a few wins and a couple of championships along the way. Beginning first on the Gillard chassis, Miller moved to a Margay mid-way through his Junior years before hooking up with Dave’s Performance Karting and the Birel chassis. In 2002, aboard the Birel, Miller earned the runner-up honors in the 80cc Junior category in the Stars of Tomorrow series (now Stars of Karting) behind champion Alan Sciuto. The following year, Joel graduated to the Senior category and the tough ICA division. Over the two years, Miller gained more knowledge and solid finishes, including a third place result at the Stars Finals in Orlando in 2004.
The 2005 season was a breakout year for Miller as he finished as the runner-up in the Stars of Karting ICA standings behind veteran Philip Giebler after making the switch to join Tony Kart USA. Miller then carried that momentum into 2006 to score five victories, the Stars Eastern Division championship and the ICA national crown.
Along with karting, Miller has been active in the open wheel world, earning many invites to tests, development programs, and driver searches. At the end of 2006, Stars awarded Miller a full season scholarship to compete in the 2007 Skip Barber National Championship. EKN was able to track down Miller after he scored a pair of podium finishes in the opening rounds of the Skip Barber program in Sebring just a week ago.
 | 2006 Stars of Karting ICA National Champion Joel Miller
(Photo: EKN) |
Name: Joel Miller
Born: May 10, 1988
Hometown: Hesperia, CA
Team: Tony Kart USA
Chassis/Engine: Tony Kart/Vortex
Helmet/Painter: Arai / Lucky Design & Savage Design
Years racing karts: 10
EKN: First off, congratulations on the 2006 Stars of Karting ICA National
Championship.
Joel Miller: Thank you, it was a great year for me in ICA with the Tony Kart USA racing team.
EKN: Let's start things off by looking back at the championship-winning season. When did you first realize you were a definite title contender?
JM: Well, it did not start off well for me at Oklahoma and then Tucson. I would say that I realized the championship was still possible after winning in New Castle and then backing it up by winning both finals in Las Vegas (Buffalo Bills). This gave me and the Tony Kart team momentum to go after the championship.
EKN: What were your thoughts after not making the final at the Race of the Americas in Norman? Did you think you had to go out and win every race you were in from then on?
JM: After not making the final at the Race of the Americas, my thoughts were definitely that I was out of the championship. However, in ICA, things can always turn around in a race weekend. After the Norman event, our only goal was to win as many races as possible, which is always the goal no matter what. By winning the races that I did, it brought us back into the championship race.
 | One of Miller's most famous photos from the pages of SKI, the 1999 SKUSA SuperNationals podium
(Photo: SKI) |
EKN: Of your five wins, including the Stars National Finals, which victory was the toughest one to earn?
JM: Of the five wins this season, the toughest one to win would have been the Saturday final at Shawano. I started the final in second and fell back a little bit at the start. The Tony Kart chassis always gets better as the race progresses, so I knew that I would be OK in the end. I was patient at the beginning and after regaining the lead; I went on to win. This race was a big win for us because it set us up to win the Eastern championship and then to go on to win the national championship.
EKN: At the Stars National Finals, you would have swept the entire weekend, had it not been for a broken throttle component. Was it momentum that helped you through the weekend or was there another factor?
JM: It was definitely interesting when the throttle broke and I had to finish the race manually operating the carburetor. I did not let finishing third get me down after the incident because we had always been the quickest car. I knew that with that finish I would still start on the pole for the final. My mechanic Seth Nash and I set our focus on winning the final and the championship the next day.
EKN: You now join Robbie Pecorari, Jordy Vorrath, and Phil Giebler as a Stars ICA National Champion, what does it mean to you to be on that list?
JM: These are some of the best 100cc direct drive drivers in North America, and I am very happy to be apart of that list now. The 100cc direct drive class is difficult to drive, and establishing myself as one of its national champions gives me a great drive to move forward in racing.
 | After a tough start to the 2006 season, everything came together for Miller in Woodbine
(Photo: Cody Schindel) |
EKN: Speaking of moving forward, what are your plans for 2007 season? Will you be defending your ICA National Championship?
JM: As for the 2007 season, I will be using the Skip Barber Scholarship that I received from Stars of Karting to race in the Skip Barber National Series. I am also hoping to race in some other forms of racing, different formula cars, midgets, and stock cars, sponsorship permitting. As for defending the ICA National Championship, I am planning on doing selected ICA races with Tony Kart USA in the States.
EKN: What are your expectations in 2007, what are your goals?
JM: My goals for 2007 are to win the Skip Barber National Series Championship and win in other forms of the sport, possible midget races, circle track events, and other formula car races. I have teams wanting me to run for them at events that have a lot of exposure, but sponsorship is the problem right now.
EKN: What are your long term goals in racing? Do want to race for a living or do you have something else planned as you work on your first year in college?
JM: My long term goals are to progress to the high point of the sport, and be a professional driver. However, with motorsports these days it is getting tougher each year to get a brake and actually make it. I am attending college for a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California-Riverside. This will prepare me for a career in racing technically, whether it is on the driving side of the wall or the engineering side of the wall.
EKN: When you’re not at the race track or in class, what do you like to do?
JM: Well, the race track and college take up 95% of my time, so there is little that I can do. However, I love water sports such as wakeboarding and waterskiing. When I can’t go to the river, I play golf with my Dad on the off-weekends.
EKN: Is it very competitive between you and your Dad on the links?
JM: At the beginning of the game we joke around a little bit, but when it gets to the end we start getting serious. He has been playing since he was a kid, and I have only been playing for a few years. I am at the point where I can beat him, so you can say that in the last few holes it gets intense on every stroke. We still have a good laugh on the way home though.
EKN: Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, Joel, and good luck in 2007.
JM: My pleasure. |
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