2015 Hall of Fame

The Miller Family

The Miller Family has operated MIR since 1990 and has owned it since 1999. Royce and Linda, along with their sons Jason and Chris and daughter Ashley, took a huge gamble and made it pay off through hard work, determination, and an unflinching devotion to fairness and customer service to both racers and fans. Over the past 25 years, the Miller Family has made some amazing changes to MIR and to all of drag racing. They have completely transformed this facility into the state of the art racetrack you see today and have completely transformed the sport of drag racing in numerous other ways.

Royce developed many innovations in drag racing, including the now-common practice of Re-entry, which helps to guarantee full payments to winning racers and gives racers another opportunity to win after traveling long distances to the track. Other contributions have increased fairness and efficient running of drag races and are now commonplace in the sport. These include the Compulink Auto Start System and Bogey time trial contest, developed with Bob Brockmeyer. Royce also encouraged Bob to create the Dial-in Boards now common at the top tracks around the world.

Jason and Chris were just boys when Royce and Linda took over MIR, but they themselves have become some of the best entrepreneurs in drag racing. In fact, Jason and Chris Miller were at the forefront in the late 1990’s by developing new genres like small tire drag radial racing, import drag racing, the motorcycle drag racing scene, and others. I remember that Royce wasn't completely convinced about these new forms of racing, but the boys have turned these types of events into common place that you see all over the country today. In fact, he told the boys they could hold their own event in November after the track closed at the end of October. They would have to handle all of their own promotion and reap the benefits of the event or cover the loss if it didn’t work out as they expected. It can go either way in this game. Jason and Chris came up with the World Cup Finals – Import vs Domestic event so they could target the most popular genres from just about every sanctioning body in the country and with strategic promotion that generated a lot of hype they have turned it into the biggest event on the MDIR schedule every year! This mega event draws over 25,000 fans and over 500 Heads-Up racers from over 10 different countries. It offered a new take on drag racing and has brought new racers and fans into the sport we all love.

The Miller Family has been recognized for their efforts. Although Royce often gets the accolades by name, it’s truly the entire family (and MIR staff) who lead to this recognition. In 1992, Royce was awarded the IHRA Track Operator of the Year. MIR’s outstanding track preparation led to the first all 6 second Pro Stock field in history at the 1994 President’s Cup. Thanks to Jason and Chris, MIR was also the first track on the East Coast to run an all-import event, and they also started an east coast motorcycle drag racing series called MIROCK that grew larger than any other Motorcycle Drag Racing sanctioning body in the country! In 1995, MIR was awarded the IHRA Track of the Year honors. In 1998, Royce was named the IHRA Promoter of the Year, and in 2000 was named the IHRA Man of the Year.

The Miller Family earned these accolades by having a major impact on the sport of drag racing and on the region. In 1992, Royce and Linda took another gamble and moved from the National Hot Rod Association to the International Hot Rod Association. In doing so, they brought Southern Maryland its own national event, the prestigious President's Cup Nationals. Rivaling the President's Cup is the legendary Haltech World Cup Finals - Import vs. Domestic event. This massive event is put on by Jason and Chris under the Miller Brothers Productions banner and it is now in its 20th year! It is the culmination of the domestic Outlaw Drag Racing scene and the Import Drag Racing scene put on a stage where they can destroy every sanctioning body record there is right here in Budds Creek. In addition, the MIROCK Superbike Series, now called the International Drag Bike League (IDBL) is promoted and managed by Jason, has become the largest motorcycle drag racing series in the country drawing over 800 motorcycle drag racers per event with spectator crowds that have exceeded 7,000. These showcase events -- plus many other special events throughout the year -- bring the best racers in the world to the Mid-Atlantic region and contribute millions of dollars to the local economy.

In 2014, the Miller Family sold MIR to the IRG Group, which owns the IHRA and manages five other racing facilities. The Miller family remains at MIR but in some exciting new roles.

Royce took on the role of the IRG’s Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the track division and leading the team of vice presidents and general managers from all the IRG tracks (including MIR!)

Linda who did such a fantastic job managing the spectator gate and walking up and down the staging lanes every weekend for 25 years to make sure that racers and fans were happy and treated fairly, is finally enjoying a well-deserved retirement!

And Jason and Chris have taken over the helm.

Jason is the Vice President and General Manager and continues his skillful promoting, event planning, and logistics. He also continues with the track prep that has made him and the MIR surface so well known for outstanding performance with racers around the country.

Chris, who runs one of the most efficient and friendly towers in the sport, and who develops great special programs and keeps them running like clockwork, is the Director of Administration and Operations. He oversees all of the important day-to-day operations to keep everything organized, efficient, and race day ready that racers and fans have become accustomed to at MIR.

Jason and Chris, alongside their amazing staff, will keep things running smoothly today and into the future.

Twenty-five years ago, a drag racing family who owned a race car and a Shell station in Manassas, Virginia, took an incredible gamble and turned their lives upside down in pursuit of a dream -- a state of the art racing facility that would provide the utmost in entertainment, comfort, fairness, value, and fun for both racers and fans alike. I think as we look around at the Maryland International Raceway of today, we can honestly say, “Goal Met,” and say thanks to our 2015 MIR Legends -- The Miller Family.