Joel Miller's Blog

Testing an Indy Lights car

Hesperia, Calif. (November 12, 2008) - I got my first taste of an Indy Lights car two weeks ago at Sebring, Fla., with Andersen Racing. After going to the team's shop in Palmetto, Fla., I met with the engineers, Walt Preston and Mike Reggio, on Wednesday to go over data before the test.The morning sessions went well as I learned many characteristics of the new car. Working with driver coach Michael Zimicki was great because he helped me bridge the gap from the Star Mazda car to the Indy Lights car. The car is a lot different than I expected. With the weight and the amount of power under your right foot it makes a driver be really patient. Even though the Sebring short course had low rubber I was able to keep pace with the other driver testing during that day. With that I am pleased on how things went being my first time in a car of that size. It was a huge learning curve, and now I have that in mind for future opportunities.

I have to thank Dan Andersen for giving me the chance to drive his car, and I am looking forward to hopefully driving one again soon. As of right now my plans remain open but with a focus of moving forward.

Second in the championship

Hesperia, Calif. (October 19, 2008) – I just got home from the final round of the season in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear Championship at Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. It was a roller-coaster weekend. We held the top spot on the charts at the end of each test day leading up to Saturday’s race. However, during qualifying a balance issue came up which resulted in a fourth-place starting position. Looking at the championship, I had to win and hope my rivals didn’t finish among the top three. The race started behind the pace car when the standing start was waved off due to an on track incident. Once the race went green, it soon became clear the win was not going to be possible. I pushed the car to its limit but could only cross the finish line in fourth, so my championship hopes were gone.

I tried driving around the issue the car had today, but it wasn’t enough. We needed to be perfect to win with the close competition this weekend, but it was not meant to be. My engineer Rick Cameron and I worked hard and showed that we could run at the top spot during testing, but we lost balance for some reason in qualifying and the race.

Still, this season has been one to remember for me. With the help from Mazda and the MAZDASPEED Driver Development Program I was able to compete this year. The people behind the program are remarkable, and I thank them for the opportunity they gave me. Also, I was able to learn so much from Rick Cameron and the JDC Motorsports crew which allowed me to raise my performance to the next level. I also have to personally thank my sponsors for believing in me this season which include Mazda, K&N Air Filters, Mockett Company, Classic Stone Distributors, Sparco, Sportsdrink+, DreamCars, Burns Truck and Trailer, Oakley, as well as the HSUS program which was so fun to be involved in.
 

On the Podium in New Jersey

Hesperia, Calif. (September 17, 2008) – Joel Miller finished second and fourth this past weekend to keep himself in contention for the Star Mazda Championship. However, the showing did not reveal his full potential as Miller's car was the one to beat all weekend. He topped the time sheets in every session except one, which was due to a mechanical issue, and then went onto qualify on the pole by half a second for race one.

When the lights went green Miller did not waste any time and pulled out to a 2.7-second lead over the field. He was able to keep the lead for the first 21 laps of the 32-lap race, but when overtaking some lapped slower traffic was forced off the track to avoid a collision. “The one section of track that I did not want to catch traffic is where it all happened. The track offers very little passing opportunities so most of the overtaking is higher risk; if I sat behind the lap traffic I would have lost my lead over second at the time.

"It is really frustrating coming up with a second when we had a large lead and only 11 laps left until the checkered,” Miller commented after the race.
This weekend was a double header for the Star Mazda Championship which meant another race Sunday afternoon. Starting second, Miller got off the line without any drama. He ran in third for the first quarter of the race keeping close to the leaders to not overuse the tires. However, just before halfway his front wing flap collapsed giving the car very little front downforce resulting in a major understeer. It was only a matter of time before the left front tire gave up total grip. Managing the issue, Miller was able to bring the car home in fourth to stay in the championship battle.

“Disappointed is the word I would use to describe my thoughts from the weekend and today’s race. The team gave me a car capable of P1 all weekend. On the positive side, I have to say that we are still in the championship and the car is really strong right now. The team and I need to continue our hard work into Atlanta to again be the car to beat,” Miller said Sunday afternoon. He currently sits third in the championship going into the final two races.

The team conducted a successful test on Tuesday at Road Atlanta in which Miller was again quickest over his rivals.

he next round in the Star Mazda Championship Series will be at Road Atlanta for the support of the American LeMans Series for the Petit Le Mans weekend. Joel would like to thank all his supporters MAZDASPEED, K&N Air Filters, Mockett Company, Classic Stone Distributors, Sportsdrink+, Sparco, DreamCars, Oakley and all the crew at JDC Motorsports for their continued support during this race season.

For more information on Joel Miller please visit http://www.teamusascholarship.org/admin/pages/www.joelmillerracing.net for up to date information.

A Great Experience

Attleborough, England (November 5, 2007) – Snetterton was the site of this weekend’s final round of the FPA Autumn Trophy. Going into the weekend Pat and I knew that the competition was going to greatly increase. The addition of the McLaren/Autosport BRDC award this weekend has brought many more top names to the grid. As for the Team USA drivers, we had to start fresh again on learning the circuit come Friday morning. Throughout the day I improved with every session, just like Brands last weekend. I finished up the day just outside the top 10 going into qualifying on Saturday.

In the first part of Q1 I wasfifth on the grid, and decided to pit for a bleed down on tire pressures. However, while I was in the pits, the fast times were laid down as I was bumped to 13th position. I was a bit frustrated after this session due to the position on the grid that resulted when the session closed. However, I had gained over a second to the leaders in overall lap times. I would credit this speed to new tires as well as my driving improving. After the next two qualifying runs my results were 12th and 13th. At the end of the day I had gained on the leaders, but the grid became really close. I was only .459 tenths off the pole which gave me a starting position right outside the top ten.

I had a decent start in race one, and was able to get my nose inside Richard Plant going into Turn One. However, I was pinched down to the curb and had to check up which caused me to lose positions. In the end I worked my way back to 12th. I fell back a few positions at the start of race two, as I am still coming to grips with the standing starts. Working my way back to the top 10, I found myself behind series front runner Luciano Bacheta. However, pushing hard as the laps ran down, I locked a front tire going into Turn Two which leads to the longest straight on the track. I lost a few car lengths and finished race two in eighth. In catching Bacheta I was able to record the fourth fastest race lap which was a great improvement in my overall speed. I was happy with this performance from race 2 as we headed into the final round. Again, in race three, I lost many positions on the start. Aggressive driving here in the UK makes for interesting driving and overtaking. In race three most of my passes were on the outside as other drivers defended their position. Again, my battle was with Luciano, but got the job done to finish eighth again in the final tally. The key was saving the over boost for the end of the race to make a move. My race lap times were consistently competitive during the three races today which showed that I was coming to grips with the overall package.

This has been a great experience overall. Learning to drive in the wet, stiff competition over the entire field and standing starts are all new tools that I will bring back to the States. I have to thank everybody that has been a part of the Team USA Scholarship this year for their continued support.

A Steep Learning Curve

Dartford, Kent, England (October 28, 2007) – When arriving back at Brands Hatch Sunday morning it was evident that rain was going to be an issue most of the day. Also, it was getting colder with the increase of moisture in the air. In my mind, it was an easy decision that rain tires were going to go on the car because of the damp circuit. However, to my surprise, when I walked into the pit garage slicks were the current decision. In England, unless rain is falling from the sky and the track is not 100 percent wet then slicks it is. Just a small bit of information that I thought I would pass onto you!

Anyways, rain did start to fall heavily before the first race. Rain tires went on the car while Pat and I talked with our driver coach about racing in the wet at Brands. We went over as much as possible in the time given. Standing starts (this was going to be my first time), how and when to use the boost, and in general how to drive these cars in the wet. For me, this was going to be my second start ever driving in the rain. This past year in the Barber Championship we were fortunate to have all dry races, but looking back at it now I wish we had some wet outings to bring up my wet weather driving.

I got off the line successfully when the lights went out for race one which was a goal of mine. Every corner had something new for me to learn. Control the turbo coming off the turns; the dry line had a good amount of grip; braking capacity of the car; and not to mention no visibility from the spray. A few laps in, a caution came out for a car in the gravel trap. This bunched the field together again for the restart. Making a good start and pass into Paddock Hill Bend gave me good confidence to move forward. I was running right behind normal series championship names, but underestimated the grip going into Turn One. I had the car saved on the last bit of pavement, but at Brands Hatch there is a large section of painted roadway on the exit. When the car hit the paint it was game over as I went off into the gravel trap. Unfortunately, that was the end of race 1.

The start of race 2 did not go as planned as I got too much wheel-spin off the line. Falling back a few places from my 8th place starting position, I fell in line to begin making my way forward. The contact in race one gave the car a massive front end vibration that only intensified during braking. It was a difficult problem to have in the rain when the car was jumping around in the brake zones. Making sure to keep it on the track I ended up finishing 12th.

Race 3 presented a total restart after a red flag appeared due to a driver crashing hard going down paddock hill. I started 9th on the complete restart, my first time on the inside. Coming off the line in decent fashion and getting through turn 1, I found myself alongside my team mate going to Druids (turn 2). I tried holding the outside but was pushed wide and could not put the power down. This resulted in losing a few positions. Feeling more comfortable with each lap completed, I continued to push and caught the group in front of me. I made a few overtaking maneuvers going into the hairpin, and when the checkered came out I had worked my way up to 8th with my teammate recovering from a spin to finish 9th.

I have to take this weekend as valuable training to wet weather driving/racing. I really wanted to be in the top 5, but will take everything I learned this weekend and apply it to next weekend at Snetterton. The competition this year is top notch with British drivers going toward the McLaren/Autosport award. This makes Pat and I bring our game up to a higher level, which will be another tool for us in our U.S. competition next year. Thanks to all of our supporters back home for their continued support!
 

The Autumn Trophy is Under Way

Dartford, England (October 27, 2007) - The Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Trophy officially started today with 3 rounds of practice at Brands Hatch. My goal was to progress every time I went out on the circuit. I knew the Indy circuit at Brands Hatch was going to be tough, but I did not let that stand in my way. Every session was progress, and by the end of the day I was happy where I finished up.

Saturday morning came early with a short warm up. New tires went on the cars this morning which would remain the only set for the whole weekend. With all of this in mind Pat and I only did a few laps to warm the cars up before the first round of qualifying. The key to a fast time was trying to get a clear lap. With a fast lap being in the 44-second range, circuit length at 1.2 miles, and 22 cars gives a very congested qualifying session. In Q1, I had a lot of traffic and my fast lap was done avoiding another car at the apex of a corner. During Q2, I was right on pace with series champion Tim Bridgman. A small handling issue hampered my overall speed, and I ended up 8th when the session ended. Temperatures cooled down for Q3, and I made a small set up change trying to improve the handling. In the end, the change was not what I hoped for and came into the pits to put the set up back to the original position. When I went back out on the circuit, a red flag appeared due to a car in the sand trap. This ended up being the conclusion of the session and the day.

Both Pat and I qualified in the top ten only a few positions apart from each other. I gained a whole second today in my overall lap time which showed that I am coming to grips with the circuit and car. Tomorrow’s races are looking to be under wet conditions and will present a new challenge. Even with that, this has been a great learning experience so far because the situation makes a driver go out and get the job done right away. Since the program got under way, I have to thank all the supporters of the Team USA Scholarship for giving me this opportunity. Driving in this different environment presents a new level to raise my game. The competition this season is very good, and I would have it no other way.

Back to England

Bedford, England (October 25, 2007) - Arriving back into the UK after a month's time in the U.S. gave me the feeling that I was only gone for a few days. However, one noticeable difference was the weather! Yes, it is cold now. Anyways, Pat and I got our things together this morning and jumped into our loaner VW to see what Chris Dredge from FPA had in store for us. After saying our good mornings it was first things first; off to check the emails, reply to those, and send out new ones. Today, Chris was able to set up a 20-minute run at Brands Hatch in the MotorsportVision school cars to get us acclimated to the circuit. We got our directions and were off, except not in our VW because it ran into some engine trouble that was being fixed so we had a SUV now. After numerous U-turns, Pat trying to figure out his map, and various back country roads we made it to our desired freeway [they’re known as motorways in the UK, Joel – ed]. A few hours later we pulled into the Brands Hatch paddock. There was no time for introductions, but straight to the hot pit and into the car. I did not even put on my driving suit, and luckily I had thin bottom shoes. With only my helmet, lightweight jacket and gloves I went out for the 20-minute run. The school car that I was in had been tuned down quite a bit, but I was still able to learn which way the track went. Turn 1 (paddock hill) is definitely an eye-opener as the drop off and compression is really intense. I am looking forward to driving the FPA cars around this circuit as it has some interesting corners. After Pat and I completed our given laps we had a look around the facility before leaving to go back to Bedford. On our way home we stopped at a shopping mall to purchase a few items and eat some dinner. This time, on the way home, my co pilot fell asleep on me, but I managed not to get lost and made it back to our B&B. Our plan tomorrow is to drive back to the Brands Hatch area in the afternoon and check into the hotel in preparation for the weekend. Our fist on track session will be Friday at noon. 

Star Mazda Test

Alton, Va. (October 11, 2007) - This past Tuesday, as part of the Team USA Scholarship, Pat Barrett and I were awarded a one-day test with Andersen Racing Team in their Pro Mazda car. The test took place at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia. The purpose of this test was to give us further preparation towards the Formula Palmer Audi Autumn Cup Championship in England this fall. On Monday, the team fitted me to their car, and we went over the testing plan for the following day. This included scheduled damper/spring/ride height changes that my engineer, Mike Reggio, had on his testing procedure sheet. Throughout most of the day I continued to meet with members of the Andersen Racing Team which included their IPS engineers, Dominic and Nicholas Cape.  Monday turned into being a good learning experience for the future by working with a professional team in preparation for a productive test day.

Tuesday morning came early as I arrived at the circuit at 7:15 am. It was straight to the scale pad in the morning to do some last minute critiques to the car before the first outing. I have never driven a Pro Mazda car which meant today was a big learning day, especially driving on the Goodyear bias-plied tires. Throughout the morning session, I continued to build speed in the car and learn its capabilities. Surprisingly the car was having a severe understeer issue that was very abnormal. Mike Reggio and I worked hard to fix the problem, and finally found the issue. It was a bad set of shocks which was causing the handling problems. Once the car was back up to speed I was able to put together everything that I learned in the morning to do a fast lap. However, my new tires were well gone by this part in the day so I was not able to feel what stickers felt like with a proper set up. I learned a lot today by experiencing an ill-handling car. Learning how to fix the issues is what makes championships happen on race weekends.

I have to thank everybody at Andersen Racing for giving me this opportunity to prepare for the Autumn Cup trophy in England. I am looking forward to leaving the States in a few weeks to represent the U.S. in this upcoming fall season championship.

Driving the Atlantic car

Buttonwillow, Calif. (September 19, 2007) - On the way to the circuit yesterday morning is when it really set in that I was finally going to be able to drive an Atlantic car.  None of this would have been possible if it were not for the Team USA Scholarship and the people at USRaceTronics, Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Champ Car, Cosworth USA and Cooper Tires.

Before the test I spoke with various Atlantic drivers about the car, and the biggest point they mentioned was the braking pressure required.  In the first session I concentrated on getting the most out of the brakes. Throughout the day my lap times were improving with every lap around the track. However, with every lap around the track my neck became more and more fatigued. The USRaceTronics team told me that drivers' necks are usually the first to go on their rookie test, but I was not going to let this get in the way.

In the afternoon, the team manager and engineer decided to practice qualifying runs. Pat and I conducted a series of one-timed-lap runs which forces a driver to go out and get the job done right away. This training exercise brought about the end of our day at Buttonwillow. Considering the warm conditions, I was able to put together competitive times when compared to regular series drivers.

I have to thank everybody who supports the Team USA Scholarship for giving me this opportunity to test the Champ Car Atlantic in preparation for the Formula Palmer Audi races later this year in England.

Update from the UK

Bedford, England (September 11, 2007) - I wanted to send you an update on how the first leg of the Team USA Scholarship went for me this past week in the UK. I left LA on Friday, August 31 and arrived into London’s Heathrow International airport Saturday morning. It was arranged for me to go and watch the Formula Palmer Audi round at Donington Park that weekend, so I went straight to the circuit once out of customs. After watching the cars on track, I was very eager for my two test days on Tuesday and Thursday of that week. After the race meeting Patrick and I drove to Bedford which is the Formula Palmer Audi headquarters. On Monday, we got fitted to the car and poured our seats in preparation for our test. Both Tuesday and Thursday comprised two hours of testing each in the later part of the day. I was able to pick up the car quickly and post competitive times in my second on track session for Tuesday.  When the day finished up I was over half a second clear of the other drivers on track. The driving instructors were very happy with my performance the first day, and looked forward to seeing what I could do the second day.

Thursday brought in some humidity which hampered the power of the engine a small amount. However, after making a few changes to the car I was able to drop another half-second in my overall lap time. At this point, the driver coaches said I was well on pace so I opted to try some experimental changes to the car. I wanted to see what different changes would do to the balance of the car so I will have a good understanding come the race weekends. All in all, the two test days went very well for me.  I was able to get a good feeling for the Formula Palmer Audi car, and valuable car testing with different setups. I am looking forward to going back to the UK in late October to contest the race weekends and maintain the Team USA name on top of the podium.
 

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