Miller claims his favorite part of each Thunder on the Hill event takes place before the green flag is waved.
“The parade lap where we shoot off the fireworks is my high point of the night; they’re four abreast and we’re ready to go. It brings me back to when I was a race fan at Reading. You moved to the edge of your seat when Warren Ruffner would call the pace car off going down the backstretch and that field was coming around three and four at Reading to take the green,” Miller said. “That’s one thing I remember from my childhood and I still feel that at Grandview. We have the fireworks salute; the pace car comes off and the show starts.”
Organizing and promoting a racing series at another promoter’s race track requires a slight adjustment in strategy.
“I am always very cautious not to do anything that will step on what Grandview has going on on a weekly basis. There is always some strategic thinking laid out in when my shows run so they don’t conflict with Grandview,” Miller explained. “Even with the media, we always talk as a team about what we do at Grandview and I think that’s what really makes it successful. Bruce Rogers (who passed away in 2017) was really a well-grounded person. He was a very smart person in what he was doing. His theory was, ‘Bob, you work on this. I work on my Saturday night shows and, Bob, you work at bringing in a totally different crowd of spectators. You bring in different events.’ He looked at it in a much bigger picture; not that it would hurt Saturday night but in a broader range you’re bringing an entirely different clientele to your race track.
“The Rogers family has been just terrific to work with. We have 31 years behind us and there’s never been a contract. It’s all been a handshake, all word of mouth. I can’t think of one disagreement we’ve had. It’s just been a perfect working relationship,” Miller continued. “I feel like part of the Rogers family, and so do my wife and daughters, who grew up at the Thunder shows. We’ve really become close with the Rogers family. That’s the other thing that makes it work so well. There’s a level of trust there. I’m always looking out for their interests, and in turn they are always looking out for Thunder on the Hill.”
In addition to organizing and promoting Thunder on the Hill, Miller is now the lead technical service manager for Pepsi-Cola North America.
“I’m in a position where I have responsibility for all of the manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Canada from a quality perspective,” said Miller, who has been with the company for 48 years. “I make sure the plants are making all of the products to specification and we are meeting all of our FDA and regulatory requirements.”
As for the future of Thunder on the Hill at Grandview Speedway?
“We haven’t talked about an end date yet, so as long as the Rogers family will have me and as long as our health is good, we’ll keep right at it,” Miller said. “We want to keep the fans in mind and present the best racing we can.”