Vance Matthew "Vinnie" Miller (born August 16, 1997) is an American professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

driver. He last competed part-time in the

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

, driving the No. 78

Chevrolet Camaro The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro share ...

Toyota Supra is a sports car and grand tourer manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation beginning in 1978. The name "supra" is derived from the Latin prefix, meaning "above", "to surpass" or "go beyond". The initial four generations of the Supra were pr ...

for B. J. McLeod Motorsports. He has previously driven for

JD Motorsports JD Motorsports, is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It is owned and operated by Johnny Davis. It currently fields two Chevrolet Camaro SS teams: The No. 4 for Bayley Currey ...

in the Xfinity Series,

Bolen Motorsports Bolen Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team fielded the No. 66 Chevrolet Silverado for Jordan Anderson, Ross Chastain, Travis Kvapil, Trey Hutc ...

in the

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

MDM Motorsports MDM Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that most recently competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, and the ARCA Racing Series. The team also competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck ...

in the

K&N Pro Series East The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly Busch East Series, Busch North Series, Camping World East Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and ...

and the

ARCA Racing Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...

, and

Wauters Motorsports Wauters Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, fielding the No. 5 Toyota Tundra part-time. The team also competes in late models. The team is primarily owned by Wa ...

in the CARS Super Late Model Tour.

Racing career

Early years

After starting racing with

quarter midgets Quarter midget racing is a form of automobile racing. The cars are approximately one-quarter (1/4) the size of a full-size midget car. The adult-size midget being raced during the start of quarter midget racing used an oval track of one-fifth of a ...

at age five, Miller spent his formative years racing on

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

short tracks, some being the same as

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

drivers

Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...

and

Erik Jones Erik Benjamin Jones (born May 30, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS. His nicknames are EJ, his initials, and That J ...

. He focused on

Owosso Speedway Owosso Speedway is a , progressively banked oval Short track motor racing, short track located east of Ovid, Michigan, between Ovid and Owosso, Michigan, Owosso, further east. Track History In 1939 the Owosso Speedway opened as a dirt oval. The ...

, driving

late models A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.) The precise definition ...

. Miller also competed in super late models, Pro All Stars Series, New Smyrna Speedway's Speedweeks and the 602 Tour. In 2015, he signed with

to run super late models in the CARS Super Series, PASS Late Model Series and the Southern Super Series. During the CARS series, Miller split his time between Wauters and Crooks Racing, scoring a best finish of twelfth at

Concord Speedway Concord Speedway was a motorsports facility located in the town of Midland, North Carolina, southeast of Concord, North Carolina. The complex featured a -mile asphalt tri-oval and a -mile asphalt oval. The complex was built in 1982 by Henry Fu ...

with Crooks. He drove for his own team in 2016, only finishing one of his five CARS attempts.

Developmental series

Miller signed with

for a limited

schedule in 2017. The pairing came about through Miller's agent, whom he raced with in Michigan for five years. In six races he scored four top tens, two coming on short tracks and two coming on superspeedways. During his home race at

Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...

, he would start from the front row and lead laps for the first time in ARCA competition, leading six in total before being involved in an accident with

Riley Herbst Riley Dederick Kern Herbst (born February 24, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 98 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Campi ...

while the two were racing for the lead. Miller also competed in six races for MDM in the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

, scoring top tens in both races at

South Boston Speedway South Boston Speedway, or "SoBo", is a short track located just outside South Boston, Virginia. SoBo is located approximately east of another area familiar to most NASCAR fans, Martinsville. It is owned by Mattco, Inc., the Mattioli family tr ...

NASCAR

Miller signed with

for his

debut, which would come in the

Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

in the No. 0 car replacing regular driver

Garrett Smithley Garrett K. Smithley (born April 27, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro for B. J. McLeod Motorsports. He has also competed in the ARCA ...

Chicagoland Speedway Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyC ...

. He finished 29th, seven laps down. Later on, Miller signed with

to make his

Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

debut at

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...

. He avoided a last-lap wreck to score a seventh-place finish, tying the best finish for the team up to that point. On November 28, 2017, it was announced that Miller would become the full-time driver of

' No. 01 entry in 2018, inheriting the ride driven by Harrison Rhodes in 2017. On September 22, 2018, it was announced that Miller left JD Motorsports and would join the No. 78 entry for B. J. McLeod Motorsports for the remaining six races of the season and a full schedule in 2019. The deal for 2019 had been worked out during the summer, and JDM team owner Johnny Davis granted Miller a release from his team to get acclimated to the BJMM team earlier. Late in his rookie season, Miller highlighted road course racing as something he would like to improve at for his sophomore season. Miller would also drive the team's No. 5 and 99 cars over the next two years,

Personal life

Miller grew up residing in the town of

Metamora, Michigan Metamora is a village in Lapeer County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 565 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Metamora Township. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total ar ...

, and graduated from Brandon High School in the nearby town of Ortonville. He is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hunting, fishing, boating, and snowmobiling when away from the racetrack. He also enjoys golfing and diving. He has stated that, were he not a race car driver, he would like to own an aquarium shop. He credits his late grandfather Vance Weedon and his grandmother Julie Weedon for getting him involved in racing and for being the biggest influences on his life. He currently resides near the town of

Statesville, North Carolina Statesville is a city in and the county seat of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and it is part of the Charlotte metropolitan area. Statesville was established in 1789 by an act of the North Carolina Legislature. The population was r ...

, where he is opening his own Aquatics shop, under the name River & Reef Aquatics.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Xfinity Series

Camping World Truck Series

K&N Pro Series East

Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points

ARCA Racing Series

(

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Vinnie NASCAR drivers 1997 births Living people Racing drivers from Michigan ARCA Menards Series drivers People from Lapeer County, Michigan Sportspeople from Metro Detroit