A man with a plan

Already running PPMS, Miley revved up for challenge as new owner of Motordrome

Sunday, March 10, 2002

By Chris Dolack, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Red Miley has never been one to shy away from opportunity.

He owns everything from a truck rental business to service stations. And earlier this year, he and his wife traveled to China, where they adopted their third child.

But when the owners of Motordrome Speedway decided to sell the track last year, Miley saw the opportunity he had been waiting for since 1988, when he and his team took over the week-to-week operation of Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway in Imperial.

So he made a phone call to the track, and by November the half-mile asphalt oval in Smithton was his.

"The opportunity to do a deal at Motordrome was right down my alley," said Miley, whose team's lease at PPMS runs through the 2003 season. "It was the opportunity to own the facility. I'm 48 years old, it's not like I have zillion years in front of me. But I certainly have time in front of me to see some of the things happen that I would have liked to have seen happen at Pittsburgh 10 years ago in the form of construction, NASCAR, being able to market things the way I want to and alternate events."

The purchase also brings his involvement in racing full circle.

A few months from turning 16 in 1969, Miley, the third of five siblings, spent $15 on a 1960 Chevy. After going to races at Heidelberg, South Park and Greater Pittsburgh Speedway as a child with their father, Miley and his older brothers, Ben and Jerry, decided to go racing themselves. Because Miley bought the car, he was considered the president of Miley Motorsports. Ben was 18, so he was designated the driver. The mechanically inclined Jerry, who was 17, was essentially the crew chief.

Next door to his family's house in Ingram was a garage where he and his brothers prepared the car to race in the Figure-Eight Division at Greater Pittsburgh Speedway in Clinton in the summer of '69. Miley's father and uncle towed the car to the track but encountered a small problem -- no one under 18 was permitted in the pits.

"We had to park over by the fence so [Red and Jerry] could tell us what to do with the car because we didn't know what to do," Ben Miley said. "That's how it started."

And since that first race, Miley Motorsports has grown to include younger siblings, Matt and Ty, and has raced at just about every track in Western Pennsylvania. The Mileys switched from asphalt to dirt at North Hills Raceway and back to asphalt at Heidelberg and Sharon. Nowadays, the team races at Lernerville Speedway on Fridays and PPMS on Saturdays.

"There was actually a period where we raced four nights a week [on asphalt and dirt]," Ben Miley said. "The same car, which is unheard of today.

"The whole time, Red has been the car owner. He definitely got us started."

He starts again at 11 a.m. March 23 when the gates at Motordrome, which has been home to seven NASCAR Northeast Region champions since 1990, open for a practice session and an open house. That's when his talents as a respected businessman will be put to the test by fans and drivers.

"I think it's really important that we provide a real entertainment value for the dollar," Miley said. "I think that we clearly understand that racing, while a sport, is also entertainment. We're expected to provide a good show. A combination of enthusiasm and entertainment. It's that combination that we're trying to put together.

"For the fan, that's what they're looking to see -- a fast-paced show that has a lot of competition. But also entertainment in the way of demo derbies, fireworks ... it's a family deal and we understand that. I think we're going to do whatever we can to respect that. And I think in today's market we can do that because racing is a real value."

Miley set Motordrome ticket prices at $11 and children under 12 are free. At PPMS, tickets are $12 and children under 6 are free. There is no cost to park at either facility.

"In today's marketplace when movies are $8.50, it's a real value to get to the speedway and have a nice evening out," he said. "I think that's what we're trying deliver, a good, well-rounded program that a family can say, 'That was good for everybody. We all got something from that tonight.' "

The drivers might be a tougher bunch to convince.

"I think the drivers can expect a nice place to race and a well-prepared surface at the dirt track," Miley said. "On the asphalt track it's safe, and we've done everything we can to provide a safe, competitive atmosphere.

"I think from the rules side, my motto has always been 'fair, friendly and firm.' Good rules with enforcement lower the cost of racing, and if there's one thing we're very interested in is trying to find ways to lower the cost of racing because it's gotten very expensive."

In that vein, PPMS was one of the first tracks to introduce a spec motor. Motordrome already races with restrictor-plate engines, and a new program this season will allow old late-model chassis to be used with truck bodies in the truck division. Miley also said he'll examine the possibility of using crate motors in an attempt to lower costs more.

"I think in the new generation of racers there's very few guys who can build a motor and build a car," Miley said. "Most of them build the car and buy the motor and so the motor gets pretty expensive. I think for the "X" generation coming up it's even worse because the current cars, they really can't tamper with the motors that much. They can decorate them, but they can't get inside and work on them. For them to enter racing today, they're going to need a motor that's going to last longer and require less tinkering with so they can concentrate their time on learning about chassis and how to drive a race car and deal with those aspects of the sport."

Miley also believes adhering to track rules will help make racing affordable.

"For some tracks, it's just 'run what you brung,' " he said. "That heightens the cost of racing because anytime you let someone get away with a higher cost something, you've just taken it off the bottom end, a racer that can't afford it. The guy who's running in 18th or 19th place can't afford to buy that stuff, so you've taken that away from them."

To enforce the rules, Miley is bringing back Ron Brutt as competition director at Motordrome.

"One of the reasons for retaining Ron is I had a lot of respect for his experience in NASCAR and rules enforcement," he said. "Ron's a guy who's dedicated to the sport. His position is a no-win position. Any time he enforces a rule, he's going to make somebody unhappy a lot of times. I think he's worked hard to try to have a very intense program. He loves to see good competition on the racetrack."

Miley plans to be fairly conservative with Motordrome in his first year of ownership. He has expanded the schedule, added a Goody's Dash Series race in September and switched NASCAR points from the trucks to the modifieds. The late models will continue to earn points in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series.

The season at PPMS is also set to open March 23 with a practice session and includes four Twin 20 features for late models, two Mid-Atlantic Championship Series races and concludes with the 14th Pittsburgher 100 in September.