IndyCar: Robin Miller Named Overall Winner of 2021 Pocono Spirit Award

The late Robin Miller, who passed away in August at the age of 71, is the winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Pocono Spirit Award for the third quarter of 2021, NMPA president Kelly Crandall announced Sunday at the NMPA awards luncheon at the Hendrick Motorsports Team Center.

Miller’s long-time friend and fellow IndyCar reporter Bruce Martin accepted the award on his behalf.

Miller rose to prominence as an IndyCar journalist during his lengthy career with the Indianapolis Star, where he worked from 1968 to 2001. Among writers covering the IndyCar Series, Miller was acknowledged as the foremost authority, given his knowledge of the garage and the depth of his contacts.

From a journalistic standpoint, Miller pulled no punches and earned well-deserved acclaim—and no small amount of controversy—for his no-holds-barred approach to reporting.

Born in 1949 in Anderson, Indiana, Miller also worked for ESPN, Speed, Autoweek, Car and Driver and Racer magazine, to name a few. At the time of his death, he was reporting for Racer and for NBCSN.

Miller announced in July 2021 that he had been diagnosed with terminal leukemia. He passed away on August 25. In October, Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosted an invitation-only celebration of his life that was limited to 400 of his friends. Attendees included speedway owner Roger Penske and IndyCar legends A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti.

Miller was selected for the third-quarter NMPA Pocono Spirit Award by vote of the NMPA membership, thus earning eligibility for the overall 2021 award.

Other quarterly winners were Camping World chairman and CEO Marcus Lemonis, Brad Keselowski’s Checkered Flag Foundation and Martin Truex Jr./Sherry Pollex.

Established in 1992 and supported by Pocono Raceway, The NMPA Pocono Spirit Award is designed to recognize character and achievement in the face of adversity, sportsmanship and contributions to motorsports.  National Motorsports Press Association PR