Congratulations to GaryM05!
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Joined: May 2002
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From: Aurora, Colorado
Congratulations to GaryM05!
May 1, 2006- LaJunta, CO- Transplanted Texan Gary Miller first began coming to Colorado 350Z track days as far back as 2003. He never expected to put his Silverstone 350Z in harm's way, but over the years he found he had the interest and aptitude to both enjoy motorsports and to learn. Progressing from student to instructor in these informal HPDEs was a natural move and many Colorado 350Z pilots have commented positively on his teaching skills. Miller began to move on to both open track days and the SCCA Time Trial program, where he learned (to his horror) that his front BBK moved him to the dreaded OSP class. Holy overmatched, Batman!
But his efforts and growth as a driver did not go unnoticed. It was rumored that both Williams GP Engineering (prior to Nico Rosberg's arrival) and Ferrari (after Felipe Massa's arrival), were mulling over whether to offer Miller a test. Before either equipe could commit, a surprise announcement was made when Miller was scooped up by the American Nissan team, Illusion Motorsports Ltd. Miller was offered the opportunity to qualify for his SCCA road racing novice permit through the SCCA school held the last weekend in April at the famed LaJunta Raceway in SW Colorado. He would have to cope with unexpected challenges and dangers in the team's backup ITA 200SX Se-R racecar. Would he be able to raise the level of his game?
The Friday orientation found the team traveling through rain, ice and sleet to reach the track. An ambitious and tight schedule would test both man and machine from the start and some students found themselves missing the orientation session. But Miller managed the keep his head up and was even ready on the grid the following morning. As his group moved to the track, high winds and rapidly moving clouds quickly gave way to rain and hail on differing parts of the 1.4 mile circuit. A Mazda RX-7 skidded on the slick surface and was unfortunate enough to collect the front straightway wall. Miller kept his cool, responded to the flags and ducked into the pits.
The next sessions found Miller adjusting to the FWD ITA racer and running with more experienced drivers in door-to-door running. He never missed a beat throughout the morning and early afternoon sessions, while exhibiting both consistency and speed. "I saw a lot of promise in Gary's abilities with the 350Z", said team principal David Muramoto. "But this is quite impressive. Eddie Jordon keeps saying it's like the day they tested Schumi at Spa!" Other students ran into mechanical difficulties and cars were rented in an attempt to complete the first of the two mandated SCCA schools. The climax of the day was for students to perform practice starts and 'live fire' racing with other experienced and licensed racers. Miller's need for speed was undeniable as he lined up on pole position for the first start. Holding the inside line, he was quickly overtaken on the outside by a Acura RSX type S and WRX STI! The field quickly reformed and Miller found himself on the outside pole for the second restart. Making a brilliant start, he managed to hold off the playful Regional field (no way is 140 HP going to hold up against 300 turbo ponies) for the second practice. The final start would feature a 10 lap race and the SCCA drivers turned in a spectacular display of side-to-side driving thoughout the track. While dazzled by the skills of experienced racers, Miller did not let up and was rewarded by the sight of the checkered flag signaling his victory.
After receiving the traditional trophy and champagne on the podium, Miller was elated to learn that his performance had earned him a waiver through his second SCCA school. His background and performance had earned his SCCA Novice permit in one weekend! He is now free to begin entering SCCA Regional races and begin his move up the motorsports ladder. Miller's self-depreciating comments only served to highlight his performance that day. "I can't wait to get out and spend ALL my money on racing", he said with a certain wistfulness. Others took note of how quickly this 350Z driver had moved so quickly into the ranks of amateur racing. Patrick Head (Williams GP Engineering): "It's daft how quickly a driver's performance will send his value skyrocketing! He'll probably want five, six million to start, when all we give Nico is some yak butter in comparison." Jean Todt was rumored to have asked if Miller smoked Marlboros (he doesn't) and would like to learn Italian. Miller is taking the time to mull his options and Illusion Motorsports continues to focus on completing and testing a tubeframe GT3 350Z for a debut this season. Will there be a connection? Only time and money will tell.
But his efforts and growth as a driver did not go unnoticed. It was rumored that both Williams GP Engineering (prior to Nico Rosberg's arrival) and Ferrari (after Felipe Massa's arrival), were mulling over whether to offer Miller a test. Before either equipe could commit, a surprise announcement was made when Miller was scooped up by the American Nissan team, Illusion Motorsports Ltd. Miller was offered the opportunity to qualify for his SCCA road racing novice permit through the SCCA school held the last weekend in April at the famed LaJunta Raceway in SW Colorado. He would have to cope with unexpected challenges and dangers in the team's backup ITA 200SX Se-R racecar. Would he be able to raise the level of his game?
The Friday orientation found the team traveling through rain, ice and sleet to reach the track. An ambitious and tight schedule would test both man and machine from the start and some students found themselves missing the orientation session. But Miller managed the keep his head up and was even ready on the grid the following morning. As his group moved to the track, high winds and rapidly moving clouds quickly gave way to rain and hail on differing parts of the 1.4 mile circuit. A Mazda RX-7 skidded on the slick surface and was unfortunate enough to collect the front straightway wall. Miller kept his cool, responded to the flags and ducked into the pits.
The next sessions found Miller adjusting to the FWD ITA racer and running with more experienced drivers in door-to-door running. He never missed a beat throughout the morning and early afternoon sessions, while exhibiting both consistency and speed. "I saw a lot of promise in Gary's abilities with the 350Z", said team principal David Muramoto. "But this is quite impressive. Eddie Jordon keeps saying it's like the day they tested Schumi at Spa!" Other students ran into mechanical difficulties and cars were rented in an attempt to complete the first of the two mandated SCCA schools. The climax of the day was for students to perform practice starts and 'live fire' racing with other experienced and licensed racers. Miller's need for speed was undeniable as he lined up on pole position for the first start. Holding the inside line, he was quickly overtaken on the outside by a Acura RSX type S and WRX STI! The field quickly reformed and Miller found himself on the outside pole for the second restart. Making a brilliant start, he managed to hold off the playful Regional field (no way is 140 HP going to hold up against 300 turbo ponies) for the second practice. The final start would feature a 10 lap race and the SCCA drivers turned in a spectacular display of side-to-side driving thoughout the track. While dazzled by the skills of experienced racers, Miller did not let up and was rewarded by the sight of the checkered flag signaling his victory.
After receiving the traditional trophy and champagne on the podium, Miller was elated to learn that his performance had earned him a waiver through his second SCCA school. His background and performance had earned his SCCA Novice permit in one weekend! He is now free to begin entering SCCA Regional races and begin his move up the motorsports ladder. Miller's self-depreciating comments only served to highlight his performance that day. "I can't wait to get out and spend ALL my money on racing", he said with a certain wistfulness. Others took note of how quickly this 350Z driver had moved so quickly into the ranks of amateur racing. Patrick Head (Williams GP Engineering): "It's daft how quickly a driver's performance will send his value skyrocketing! He'll probably want five, six million to start, when all we give Nico is some yak butter in comparison." Jean Todt was rumored to have asked if Miller smoked Marlboros (he doesn't) and would like to learn Italian. Miller is taking the time to mull his options and Illusion Motorsports continues to focus on completing and testing a tubeframe GT3 350Z for a debut this season. Will there be a connection? Only time and money will tell.
Wow!!! CONGRATS GARY!!! I've always wonder if I could start like I hear about on SpeedTV from something as small as a weekend racer into something big. I now know that the stories I hear are true. I hope you have a very safe and successfull motorsports career!!!
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,258
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From: Golden, CO
Thanks guys, and a HUGE thanks to dkmura for making all of this possible and for putting together that write-up (I particularly liked the F1 comments thrown in there...but I'm afraid that the only way that Jean Todt will ever know my name is if I get caught stealing one of Schumy's cast-off hamburger wrappers at the USGP!) What a weekend!
From the rain, hail, and bent cars in the first session to the 10-lap shootout at the end, it was definitely an event to remember. Of all the moments that a student encounters during an SCCA driving school, one of the more memorable ones for me came when our chief instructor mentioned in a classroom session, almost as an afterthought, that when the green flag flies in our on-track sessions, 'there are no restrictions on passing'. To someone who has been attending a variety of HPDE events where most of the emphasis is (rightly) on the large number of passing restrictions, this moment stands out as one of those where the switch gets flipped, and emphasizes that this is the ultimate level of the performance car and racing fan 'hobby' (although I think that hobby doesn't adequately describe what this is).
In no particular order, here are several other moments of interest from the weekend:
- Being out on track all by myself during one of the sessions, as all the other students in my group were experiencing mechanical difficulties of one kind or another, while there were 4 racing groups in the paddock just itching to get on track for their own sessions. Like David said afterwards, it was like I was
out there for my own personal F1-style qualifying session!
- Meeting a ton of great people, who all seem to want nothing more than to help a new racer like myself get started...offering everything from advice on cars and classes to the opportunity to try on a couple of cars for size, just for asking!
- The extremely high level of professionalism exhibited by the SCCA club racing officials, from the pit and grid marshals to the flaggers to the stewards to the instructors to the registrars to the tech inspectors to the race organizers and everyone else involved in putting on an event like this...you'd never know that these people are volunteers, as they act like world-class professionals at the top of their game.
- Accelerating hard through a dry turn 1 and turn 2 in the first session of the morning, only to crest the hill into the braking zone for turn 3 and be greeted by the sight of an absolute downpour of rain and hail onto that slick concrete. You haven't lived until you've encountered THAT little gem on racing tires. (Fortunately, every other session of the day was dry.)
- Dicing with some of the instructors during the school race. These guys had the talent and the horsepower to just completely blow me into the weeds, but they restrained all that to instead give the students a variety of real-world racing scenarios on track at speed. Everything from leaving the line open to invite (and allow) a pass at speed into T3, to taking a defensive line through there on the next lap to show you what that looks like, to going side-by-side through 3, 4, and 5, to showing a nose into T7 but leaving me just enough room to close the door and take the line, I feel like I've got a pretty good idea of what those situations look like when experienced in anger.
- The realization that all the car control and lapping experience that you gain on a track day is just the price of entry into racing. When you're out there racing, you almost have to take car control and track navigation skills for granted, because now you've also got to worry about all those cars around you, what the flaggers are doing, where you can set up this car in front of you for a pass, how you can keep that car behind you from passing, how hard you can run your tires to not run them off before the end of the race, etc. The words 'information overload' don't even begin to describe it.
- Taking the checkered flag and P1 in the school race. When you approach the start/finish stand at speed coming out of the last turn in the lead on the final lap, and the flagger has a furled checker in each hand pointing emphatically at YOU to signify that you're the first to take them, then snaps her wrists to unfurl the flags and treat you to a 2-handed, Indy 500-style flag-crossing checker, you get an adrenaline rush that I just can't describe.
I really can't thank David enough, for everything from offering a fully-sponsored ride for the event (the first and probably last time in my racing career that THAT will ever happen), to lots of time spent before the weekend helping me prepare, to tirelessly giving me a ton of solid instruction and feedback during the event. It's more than anyone has the right to expect, and is more than I can even begin to repay. David is the perfect example of the type of high quality people that we have in our 350Z group.
Now, where's that SCCA Club Racing calendar? Gotta figure out what races I want to enter!
From the rain, hail, and bent cars in the first session to the 10-lap shootout at the end, it was definitely an event to remember. Of all the moments that a student encounters during an SCCA driving school, one of the more memorable ones for me came when our chief instructor mentioned in a classroom session, almost as an afterthought, that when the green flag flies in our on-track sessions, 'there are no restrictions on passing'. To someone who has been attending a variety of HPDE events where most of the emphasis is (rightly) on the large number of passing restrictions, this moment stands out as one of those where the switch gets flipped, and emphasizes that this is the ultimate level of the performance car and racing fan 'hobby' (although I think that hobby doesn't adequately describe what this is).
In no particular order, here are several other moments of interest from the weekend:
- Being out on track all by myself during one of the sessions, as all the other students in my group were experiencing mechanical difficulties of one kind or another, while there were 4 racing groups in the paddock just itching to get on track for their own sessions. Like David said afterwards, it was like I was
out there for my own personal F1-style qualifying session!
- Meeting a ton of great people, who all seem to want nothing more than to help a new racer like myself get started...offering everything from advice on cars and classes to the opportunity to try on a couple of cars for size, just for asking!
- The extremely high level of professionalism exhibited by the SCCA club racing officials, from the pit and grid marshals to the flaggers to the stewards to the instructors to the registrars to the tech inspectors to the race organizers and everyone else involved in putting on an event like this...you'd never know that these people are volunteers, as they act like world-class professionals at the top of their game.
- Accelerating hard through a dry turn 1 and turn 2 in the first session of the morning, only to crest the hill into the braking zone for turn 3 and be greeted by the sight of an absolute downpour of rain and hail onto that slick concrete. You haven't lived until you've encountered THAT little gem on racing tires. (Fortunately, every other session of the day was dry.)
- Dicing with some of the instructors during the school race. These guys had the talent and the horsepower to just completely blow me into the weeds, but they restrained all that to instead give the students a variety of real-world racing scenarios on track at speed. Everything from leaving the line open to invite (and allow) a pass at speed into T3, to taking a defensive line through there on the next lap to show you what that looks like, to going side-by-side through 3, 4, and 5, to showing a nose into T7 but leaving me just enough room to close the door and take the line, I feel like I've got a pretty good idea of what those situations look like when experienced in anger.
- The realization that all the car control and lapping experience that you gain on a track day is just the price of entry into racing. When you're out there racing, you almost have to take car control and track navigation skills for granted, because now you've also got to worry about all those cars around you, what the flaggers are doing, where you can set up this car in front of you for a pass, how you can keep that car behind you from passing, how hard you can run your tires to not run them off before the end of the race, etc. The words 'information overload' don't even begin to describe it.
- Taking the checkered flag and P1 in the school race. When you approach the start/finish stand at speed coming out of the last turn in the lead on the final lap, and the flagger has a furled checker in each hand pointing emphatically at YOU to signify that you're the first to take them, then snaps her wrists to unfurl the flags and treat you to a 2-handed, Indy 500-style flag-crossing checker, you get an adrenaline rush that I just can't describe.
I really can't thank David enough, for everything from offering a fully-sponsored ride for the event (the first and probably last time in my racing career that THAT will ever happen), to lots of time spent before the weekend helping me prepare, to tirelessly giving me a ton of solid instruction and feedback during the event. It's more than anyone has the right to expect, and is more than I can even begin to repay. David is the perfect example of the type of high quality people that we have in our 350Z group.
Now, where's that SCCA Club Racing calendar? Gotta figure out what races I want to enter!
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Joined: Apr 2003
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From: Parker, CO
Congratulations Gary!!!All those of us who've ever seen you drive, or have you instruct one of many HPDE outings, knew this was where you'd be happiest. You are very generous and magnanimous in your success, however you forget one thing: You, and only you, are in the car now... take a bow, kiss a girl, and shake that bottle!!
Best of Luck Gary,
Don...
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Thread Starter
Joined: May 2002
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From: Aurora, Colorado
Don brings up a good point that I neglected in the story. Gary's beautiful wife JoAnn joined us for the weekend and was trying to take pictures at the trophy presentation. I tried to position her for the first gush of bubbly as Gary got the champagne fountain going... but he WHIFFED. What's up with THAT?
In any case, he not only got to kiss the girl, he took her home that evening...
Gotta get off, Ross Brawn is on the cell again. Man, is that guy persistant, or what!? That little-known release clause in the contract means BIG $$$...if you know what I mean.
In any case, he not only got to kiss the girl, he took her home that evening...
Gotta get off, Ross Brawn is on the cell again. Man, is that guy persistant, or what!? That little-known release clause in the contract means BIG $$$...if you know what I mean.
Good stuff to be sure. Congrats Gary, well done. I saw the post in the racing forum and responded there, but I'll ask here-
Where are you going from here? Are you going to drive David's own Sentra dog car or are you two going to race the Z together? Or are you finally going to give in to peer pressure and go the spec miata route?
Man, I wish i had stolen something from your house, so in the future I can tell people, "I took this from THE Gary Miller's house when I taught him everything there is to know about racing." Yeah, that would be e-bay gold
Will
Where are you going from here? Are you going to drive David's own Sentra dog car or are you two going to race the Z together? Or are you finally going to give in to peer pressure and go the spec miata route?
Man, I wish i had stolen something from your house, so in the future I can tell people, "I took this from THE Gary Miller's house when I taught him everything there is to know about racing." Yeah, that would be e-bay gold
Will
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,258
Likes: 4
From: Golden, CO
Yeah, that champagne-spraying thing is a lot tougher than it looks. I guess when you're Michael Schumacher, you've had lots of practice and can make it look easy. Here's hoping I have more opportunities in the future to work on that skill!
Will - I'm still trying to figure out what to race from here. I'll probably run David's 200SX for some races when he's not running it, but the GT Z car is his own show for his national Runoffs campaign. If you can guess how nervous I am that I'll bend his 350Z street car on those occasions when I'm lucky enough to drive it, then ratchet that up by an order of magnitude, and that would my level of terror about harming that GT car in any way after all of the work that's gone into it!
I'll probably rent a variety of cars for some races (Spec Racer, Spec Miata, small formula car, maybe a T2 car or IT RX-7) to get a feel for the cars and various levels of competition before I make any long term commitments. Do you have any suggestions or recommendations?
Will - I'm still trying to figure out what to race from here. I'll probably run David's 200SX for some races when he's not running it, but the GT Z car is his own show for his national Runoffs campaign. If you can guess how nervous I am that I'll bend his 350Z street car on those occasions when I'm lucky enough to drive it, then ratchet that up by an order of magnitude, and that would my level of terror about harming that GT car in any way after all of the work that's gone into it!
I'll probably rent a variety of cars for some races (Spec Racer, Spec Miata, small formula car, maybe a T2 car or IT RX-7) to get a feel for the cars and various levels of competition before I make any long term commitments. Do you have any suggestions or recommendations?
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Joined: May 2002
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From: Aurora, Colorado
Wait- "Sentra dog car"- why that's SO insulting! It may not be as pretty as those 350Zs (sniff, sniff), but it's pretty to me (boo hoo)!
Actually, it was a lot prettier than the Miata I beat on Sunday for the ITA win. To be fair, he did hold me off on Saturday after I came from the back of the grid (no qualifying time due to the school) to within eight seconds. But he made no mistakes and kept me out of his draft. The 200SX is also rugged, dependable, easy to drive and relatively quick on R-compound tires. Gary certainly enjoyed all those qualities! My 200SX is also notable for having won enough National races in the past that it earned enough contingency money to pay for itself! That is a rare feat. While it's been surpassed by newer models, it remains a competent Regional and race school car.
Sounds like Will likes the Spec Miatas, but I think Gary's plan to rent-a-ride in several different cars and classes has merit. However, my suggestion of a Formula Atlantic rental seems to be falling on deaf ears...
Actually, it was a lot prettier than the Miata I beat on Sunday for the ITA win. To be fair, he did hold me off on Saturday after I came from the back of the grid (no qualifying time due to the school) to within eight seconds. But he made no mistakes and kept me out of his draft. The 200SX is also rugged, dependable, easy to drive and relatively quick on R-compound tires. Gary certainly enjoyed all those qualities! My 200SX is also notable for having won enough National races in the past that it earned enough contingency money to pay for itself! That is a rare feat. While it's been surpassed by newer models, it remains a competent Regional and race school car.
Sounds like Will likes the Spec Miatas, but I think Gary's plan to rent-a-ride in several different cars and classes has merit. However, my suggestion of a Formula Atlantic rental seems to be falling on deaf ears...
I meant it as a compliment David, really. I figure if Kojima has been successful with his 200sx dog car, then it would be good luck to christen yours as such. Or something like that 
Formula Atlantic! Hell ya, don't listen to me Gary, I haven't been thinking big enough. You should def go that route and I'll see you in Champ Car two years from now racing the streets of Denver. I might even have my masters in motorsport engineering done by then and we could work together for Newman/Haas
I only like spec Miata because it's "affordable" and a well established series for the weekend racer. Any route you go will be a blast for sure, and if you go into a formula car, you'll be the envy of everyone. I know you'll do well whatever you decide Gary.
Will
Formula Atlantic! Hell ya, don't listen to me Gary, I haven't been thinking big enough. You should def go that route and I'll see you in Champ Car two years from now racing the streets of Denver. I might even have my masters in motorsport engineering done by then and we could work together for Newman/Haas
I only like spec Miata because it's "affordable" and a well established series for the weekend racer. Any route you go will be a blast for sure, and if you go into a formula car, you'll be the envy of everyone. I know you'll do well whatever you decide Gary.
Will
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From: Golden, CO
That 200SX is actually a LOT of fun to drive. It's responsive and forgiving, which I found let me push it a lot harder than I'm sometimes comfortable pushing the Z, and the reliability turned out to be a major factor...you really appreciate that when your fellow students are dropping like flies due to mechanical problems, and all you have to do on your car is check fluids and swap tires.
I also learned the value of a well-fitting seat and harness - you really can feel the slightest twitch in the car, which provides more reaction time to slides and a generally better feel for what the car is doing. Driving the Z feels like I'm sliding around on a park bench by comparison.
Formula Atlantic sure would be fun...who's paying? Those cars cost me money just to look at, and I'm sure they would spoil me for any other type of car. I do get the feeling that I could end up in a Spec Miata. Fun to drive, relatively low maintainenance, low relative cost to run at all but the highest national levels, and (currently) plenty of competition throughout the pack. There are those who say that the SM class will implode under it's own weight, and if so, the Miata is a car that can run in different classes with different levels of prep and mods, so there are future options other than just the SM class with that type of car.
I also learned the value of a well-fitting seat and harness - you really can feel the slightest twitch in the car, which provides more reaction time to slides and a generally better feel for what the car is doing. Driving the Z feels like I'm sliding around on a park bench by comparison.
Formula Atlantic sure would be fun...who's paying? Those cars cost me money just to look at, and I'm sure they would spoil me for any other type of car. I do get the feeling that I could end up in a Spec Miata. Fun to drive, relatively low maintainenance, low relative cost to run at all but the highest national levels, and (currently) plenty of competition throughout the pack. There are those who say that the SM class will implode under it's own weight, and if so, the Miata is a car that can run in different classes with different levels of prep and mods, so there are future options other than just the SM class with that type of car.
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Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Colorado Springs, CO
I'm really excited for you Gary. I'm also so jealous I could puke! You're very fortunate to have such a great mentor. I'd say go Spec Miata or if you can afford it, open wheel anything.
Joel
Joel
A HUGE congrats Gary and we all wish you the best of success.
I'm setting my Tivo for the Le Mans series You will be there right?
Wait, I thought we all did that? Sorry Gary, I'll return your garage door opener later tonight at 3AM. I'll be wearing all black so don't call the cops.
I'm setting my Tivo for the Le Mans series
You will be there right?
Originally Posted by Resolute
Man, I wish i had stolen something from your house, so in the future I can tell people, "I took this from THE Gary Miller's house when I taught him everything there is to know about racing." Yeah, that would be e-bay gold
Will
Will
Last edited by bamyi; May 4, 2006 at 11:56 AM.
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 8,621
Likes: 1,392
From: Aurora, Colorado
Originally Posted by Resolute
I meant it as a compliment David, really. I figure if Kojima has been successful with his 200sx dog car, then it would be good luck to christen yours as such. Or something like that
Formula Atlantic! Hell ya, don't listen to me Gary, I haven't been thinking big enough. You should def go that route and I'll see you in Champ Car two years from now racing the streets of Denver. I might even have my masters in motorsport engineering done by then and we could work together for Newman/Haas
I only like spec Miata because it's "affordable" and a well established series for the weekend racer. Any route you go will be a blast for sure, and if you go into a formula car, you'll be the envy of everyone. I know you'll do well whatever you decide Gary.
Will
Formula Atlantic! Hell ya, don't listen to me Gary, I haven't been thinking big enough. You should def go that route and I'll see you in Champ Car two years from now racing the streets of Denver. I might even have my masters in motorsport engineering done by then and we could work together for Newman/Haas
I only like spec Miata because it's "affordable" and a well established series for the weekend racer. Any route you go will be a blast for sure, and if you go into a formula car, you'll be the envy of everyone. I know you'll do well whatever you decide Gary.
Will
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,258
Likes: 4
From: Golden, CO
Originally Posted by jgray
I'm really excited for you Gary. I'm also so jealous I could puke! You're very fortunate to have such a great mentor. I'd say go Spec Miata or if you can afford it, open wheel anything.
Joel
Joel
