Kari was also featured on the for the spring 2004 edition under "Cool Careers"! 

Kari was featured on MenStuff.org in June 2005, read about Kari in "Fifteen Notable Women Racers To Keep An Eye On".

Minnesota's Racing Connection - 2003	Women In Sports Magazine Article November 2003	W.I.S. Magazine Article
W.I.S. Magazine Article	National Short Track Newspaper - 2003
Red Wing Republican Eagle - May 2003	NASCAR Member Magazine Article May 2002
Prior Lake Local Paper - 2003	Minneapolis Star Tribune	Minnesota's Racing Connection - 2000
Minnesota's Racing Connection 2002	Minnesota's Racing Connection - 2002	Minnesota's Racing Connection 2001

April 2005

WASHINGTON – When Kari Miller’s stock car streaks by at Raceway Park, in Shakopee, Minnesota, you might notice that she has a unique message displayed amongst her sponsors’ decals. “Give Wildlife A Brake”™ is an important message for animal lovers and one that Miller takes to heart. The program is run by The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and provides driving tips on how to avoid hitting wildlife as well as suggestions on what to do if you find an injured animal along the roadway.

 

“We are so pleased that Kari is using her car to deliver a positive message for wildlife,” said Susan Hagood, wildlife issues specialist for The HSUS. “And a message about how to drive safely to protect animals is all the more meaningful coming from someone who makes her living in the driver’s seat.”  The HSUS is also providing Miller with informative brochures and bumper stickers to hand out to her fans.

 

The HSUS “Give Wildlife A Brake”™ program has been in existence since 1998 to combat the countless animal fatalities that occur on America’s roadways each year. Some suggested driving tips include:

 

Miller has been driving race cars since 1998 and is not only one of the few women drivers who compete in NASCAR events but she is also one of the few drivers who actually works on her own car—she received the True Value Mechanic of the Year Award in 2000. This year, Miller will be driving in the Short Tracker Division. Miller, a long-time animal lover and a supporter of The HSUS, lists “spending time with my dogs” as one of her favorite activities outside of racing.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation’s largest animal protection organization with nearly 9 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals and equine protection, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research and farm animals and sustainable agriculture. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy, and field work. The non-profit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives across the country. On the web at hsus.org.

CONTROVERSY SURROUNDS MILLER'S SPONSORSHIP FROM THE HSUS! 

CLICK HERE FOR KARI'S RESPONSE!!!

Doug Grow: Her heart's in racing, her eyes on Indy

Kari Miller has her own races to drive. Still, for a few hours Sunday, she'll be paying close attention to what's happening at a track -- this one hundreds of miles and millions of dollars from Raceway Park in Shakopee, where she drives her 1990 Mustang.

A young woman, Danica Patrick, has a real chance of winning the Indianapolis 500. A victory could have a trickle-down impact on Miller and other female drivers who race at small tracks throughout the country.

Patrick is no pioneer. In 1977, Janet Guthrie became the first female driver to break into the Indy lineup. But Patrick is the first female to have a genuine shot at winning. And besides, she's attractive, which has made her the glamour athlete of the moment.

What matters to women such as Miller, though, is that a strong performance by Patrick might break down barriers to money in a sport in which money equals faster cars and faster cars equal victories.

Kari Miller

Karimiller.com

"She's lucky because she's had connections," said Miller. "But she's good, too. I think she's helping all women get more respect. I think she'll help all women get more connections."

Women have been competing on area tracks for years. But few have lasted so long as Miller, who is 29 and has been pouring her heart, soul and a lot of cash into the sport for seven years.

"This is our cabin up north and our boat," said Miller of the money she and her boyfriend, Troy Tuma, also a driver, have spent keeping their cars running.

The rush she gets from racing hasn't diminished over the years.

"I love the sound and the smell," she said. "When the car fires up, it's music to my ears." (Miller knows music. She was a violinist at Bloomington Kennedy High and hopes to resume playing with a community orchestra.)

She still clings to big dreams. Someday she hopes to be racing in a major NASCAR event in front of television cameras and thousands of people.

But even dream time is squeezed. She and Tuma recently sold a bar they ran in Red Wing, and two months ago she opened a coffee shop called Coffee Cats, in Chaska. She's there at 4:30 each morning, baking muffins and other fresh products. She typically doesn't leave until late afternoon, when she heads to the garage to tinker with her Mustang and her 1984 Caprice. With her spare time, she markets herself, with the hope of attracting the sort of attention that will take her to the big tracks. Self-promotion includes numerous glamour photographs on her website (www.karimiller.com).

Does she really look glamorous after a race?

"You try to look your best," she said. "It's probably too important, but that's part of the deal. I'm trying to make connections. I'm trying for recognition."

Recognition has come --though in an unexpected way.

For this racing season, Miller worked out a sponsorship arrangement with the Humane Society of the United States. Miller, who has four dogs and two cats, received $1,000 to put a couple of Humane Society decals on her car.

Much to her surprise, this has raised the ire of some hunting organizations, which put the word out on the Internet that the decals are proof that Miller is anti-hunting.

She's been deluged with more than 1,000 e-mails, most filled with venom like this: "You suck. I hope you wreck real hard next week you dang tree hugger!"

In fact, Miller said, she has no problem with hunters and she's done some fishing herself.

"I can't believe they think I'm out to stop hunting," Miller said.

Then, she laughed in exasperation. No amount of great driving would garner the sort of attention she's receiving over this.

"I don't mind the publicity," she said. "In my position, any publicity is good."

Miller will be racing Sunday and Monday at Raceway Park. It's a long way from Indy or any of the big NASCAR tracks. It'll be a money-losing proposition. But none of that matters.

"I love to compete in front of people," she said. "I love that moment when you're pulling on to the track and people are yelling, 'Go get 'em, Kari!' I have a passion to race. When the race begins, it doesn't matter where you're competing."

Doug Grow is at

dgrow@startribune.com.

KARE 11 NEWS

June 05, 2005  http://www.nationalledger.com/

Is There A 'Danica Patrick' In NASCAR's Future?

Since it's already the most popular form of auto racing in the United States, NASCAR doesn't need a publicity boost.  But even though NASCAR doesn't need any hype, the performance of the little speed demon with painted fingernails made them take notice.

The Indy buzz is that Danica Patrick gave the Indy Racing League just what it needed, and from their boardroom in Daytona Beach, Fla., NASCAR's executives clearly recognized the possibilities that surround a competitive young woman in racing.

Imagine you were in NASCAR's boardroom for a moment during the height of Danica Mania.  I bet the conversations went something like this:

"We need our own Danica Patrick, don't we?"

"Any possibilities?"

"Ray Evernham has Erin Crocker under contract, and Childress has put something together for Sarah Fisher.."

"Sarah Fisher?, Wasn't she the young teenager in IRL?"

"Yes, but she's a young woman now."

"Either one done a photo spread for FHM or Maxim?"

"Not that I know of."

"Listen, we need a woman who can wheel a racecar and still turn the heads of every red-blooded American man and boy!"

"Let me write all this down...FHM or Maxim."

Now this idea isn't a new one, as there have been a few woman involved in prgrams already, like Shawna Robinson for example.  They have bounced around the Cup and Busch series for years, but no one has really stood out.  And until recently, none of them had the all-important youthful sex appeal angle.

Erin Crocker, the first female to win a World of Outlaws race, caught the attention of Ray Evernham and Kasey Kahne with her performance in open wheel racing.

Evernham Motorsports partnered with Kasey Kahne Motorsports, and signed Crocker to an agreement that has her running the Silver Crown Series in a Kasey Kahne Motorsports race car, along with five late-season Busch races and five ARCA races in an Evernham Dodge.

In her Evernham Motorsport debut, Crocker took the pole for an ARCA event in Nashville in March.  She led 29 laps and finished a very respectable 12th.

Now, Erin's a great driver, no question, and a fiery little red-head at that.  But she's also a bit waif-like, and not your traditional candidate for a men's magazine. That's not a cut-down and shouldn't be taken that way.

Sarah Fisher will always be remembered as the girl next door, and she has become an attractive young woman.  But I doubt she would be able to overcome previously conceived notions of her as a "child" prodigy, and she also is unproven in the NASCAR ranks. If she can make some headway in her RCR ride perhaps we can begin to talk about Sarah. How ironic would that be..? I mean the demure young girl who got her start in Indy cars blossoming into a woman and becoming NASCAR's sexpot. Very Kylie Monogue-ish.

Kim Crosby is attempting a full Busch schedule this season, and Kelly Sutton  competes in NASCAR's Truck Series.  Neither would qualify as a pin-up model, and probably would not care to.  There are a handful other women competing,  but most of them are just puttering along in mediocre race cars, unable to challenge for a victory of any kind.

Then there is Deborah Renshaw.  Renshaw may not be as "pretty" as Patrick or even Sarah Fisher, but is beginning to make many take notice of her abilities as a race car driver.  She finished a stout 12th in the Craftsman Truck MBNA RacePoints 200 on Saturday night, and there were only 13 cars on the lead lap.  But Renshaw lacks the needed youthful sex appeal to make her NASCAR's answer to Patrick. However, she's probably the frontrunner at the moment.

Other up and coming would-be contenders include Sara Maloney, Tara Beatty, Sunny Hobbs, and Kristi Schmitt.  But one in particular catches my eye and thats Kari Miller.

Miller competes in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Presented by Dodge.  She is also a participant in the Midwest Region, and currently races in the Mid-America Short Tracker Division at Raceway Park in Shakopee, MN.  Kari is not only a nice-looking babe, she is also one of the few drivers who actually works on her own car.  She received the True Value Mechanic of the Year Award in 2000. Kari is almost 30 years of age and probably not a real contender but maybe she should have been.

Then there are a few, like Milka Duno, who would be an immediate front runner if she made the transition to NASCAR.

Duno, the first Latin American women driver ever to be classified as an "expert", has participated in many international races and driven a wide selection of race cars.  These include the Porsche Supercup, Ferrari Challenge 355, Formula 2000 Dodge, Reynard Dodge 98E, Panoz GT-RA, Dodge Viper GTS, Coloni Nissan CN1/C, and Reynard-Judd 01-Q, the Lola B2K/40/Judd, Dome S-101/Judd, Dallara AES/Nissan, and the Panoz LMP07.

Milka currently competes in the Rolex Sports Car Championship Series, with the highly accomplished Andy Wallace as her co-driver, in the Howard Boss Motorsport #2 Pontiac Crawford Daytona Prototype.

The duo scored their first win at the Grand Prix of Miami this past February, and with the win Milka became the first woman in history to achieve an overall win in a major North American sports car race.

Finally, there is Katherine Legge, an attractive British Formula Renault driver in her 20s, who won a race last month in the Toyota Atlantic Series.

To date, only drag racer Shirley Muldowney has been a consistent winner among female drivers.  "Cha Cha" won 18 National Hot Rod Association races during a lengthy driving career, capped by induction into the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

It appears NASCAR has a way to go before finding their 'Danica', but at least they're on track.

[Disclaimer on] This is a conjecture piece and done in good fun and is not meant to slight anyone in anyway. So please don't send me hate mail about ommissions or inclusions. [Disclaimer off]

Friday, September 17, 2004

A women driver to watch

Kari Miller, race car driver

"Racing with a passion!" - MN Racing Connection

Her interest in the sport was sparked by her father Dave. Kari watched her father compete at a track she’d one day run at herself... Kari got her start in the Bomber Division at Raceway back in 1999... The year 2001 found Miller moving into the Short Tracker Division, where she earned rookie of the year honors and also finished in the top ten in point standing. Kari realized how important staying focused was to her career and learned the how vital the value of never doubting yourself is to performance on the racetrack. Her positive attitude guided the achievement of every goal she has set for herself... Forgetting the fact that some fans may have doubted her driving abilities because she’s a female, Kari makes a point to prove any doubters wrong.

-- Arianne, Girls Garage

Feature Race Win, 2003 - a sweep!

In a sport dominated by men, women race car drivers are holding their own, especially across the heartland of America, at local tracks and raceways, solo or as members of racing clubs. Kari Miller is a driver to watch.

Read more about Kari Miller at her web site.

[Photos: RedLine Graphics, MHC Media, and Miller.]

posted by d_orlando at 6:19 PM 0 comments