The off-road world has lost another great one: self-taught mechanical mind and renowned racer Drino Miller. A bright, friendly, and visionary figure since the start of NORRA and the Baja races, Miller was credited with numerous advancements to the motorsport, including the creation of the first single-seat racing buggy and the Baja Bug.

At a very young age, Miller had shown an incredible acuity toward automotive enthusiasm. By the time he was in his mid-twenties, Miller had sailed around the South Pacific Ocean, graduated UCLA with a degree in Political Science, and begun working with the legendary Bruce Meyers.

The off-road bug bit Miller hard in 1967, when he went along for rides with off-road racing pioneers like Ed Pearlman, Dick Cepek, Claude Dozier, and Ed Orr. Miller was smitten with the landscape of Baja California, but felt compelled to further his automotive knowledge first. To that end, he flew to Michigan to get a job at General Motors.

The Baja Boot. Photo: Photobucket

He went on to join Vic Hickey and George Hurst in Detroit to help build the first purpose-built off-road truck, the Baja Boot. While initially not a success during the first-ever Baja 1000 in October of 1967, the Baja Boot’s deficiencies were what got Miller to focus his energy and, in turn, to revolutionize off-road vehicle design.

Light and powerful became the utmost factors in Miller’s capstone creation: the single-seat race buggy. It was proven a success over and over as the young man finished in the top three at the Mint 400 and Mexican 1000 races in 1968-69. Miller followed his incredible invention with another in 1969, the Baja Bug, a cheap, fun little four-banger that widened the appeal of off-roading to many more prospective racers.

An early Volkswagen Bilstein Baja Bug. Photo: Autoweek

1970 saw Miller reach new heights, as he raced his Miller-Havens (Stanford Havens, that is) single-seat buggy to an overall win in the Mexican 1000. He and his alternate driver, Vic Wilson, completed the race in 16 hours and 7 minutes; the next finisher came in well over an hour later.

As the years passed, Miller showed more and more ingenuity and aptitude for motorsports. He eventually started his own business, Drino Miller Enterprises, and expanded his expertise to include sports cars and midget cars. Joint ventures with firms like Andial and Toyota Racing Development (TRD) were the final adventures before Miller’s semi-retirement in 1996, when he scaled back on his projects and focused on Pro Circuit motorcycles. 

Miller passed away on March 4th after a harsh battle with cancer. He was 72 and living in Costa Mesa with his wife, Lisa. We and the entire off-road community salute you, Drino, and may you rest in peace.