RIP ole-timer...Thanks for the memories...
http://www.yorkdispatch.com/localsports/ci_18358541http://www.ydr.com/sports/ci_18365210?source=rssYork, PA - Paul Miller loved racing.
He loved it enough that he ran his own car on local tracks, such as Lincoln and Susquehanna, through three decades.
He loved it enough to help form the York County Racing Club in 1979 and serve as president every year since then.
He was still in charge when he went to the races at Selinsgrove two weekends ago. It didn't matter that his health was failing and that he needed a cane to get around. Or that he really couldn't make it up past the first row of bleachers.
"I told him, 'Why don't you just sit here at the trailer and relax,'" said Karen Miller, his wife of 43 years. "He said, 'Nope, I'm going down to the grandstand, I want to watch the races.'
"Even as tired as he was getting he just wanted to sit there and see those cars. He loved watching those cars."
Miller, who lived in Spring Garden Township, died Sunday morning after recent heart problems. He was 82.
A memorial service will be held July 9at the racing club.
Certainly, he will be remembered for loving racing enough to make things better for others.
He helped the club acquire and fix up its own building in Conewago Township, along the Susquehanna Trail. He helped create a local racing hall of fame. He made sure that a fund was established to help injured drivers.
He wasn't a star racer greasing hands with his popularity. He didn't push through club agendas with an overpowering personality.
"He just made everything work," said Gary Wolford, 71, who raced with Miller. "He was just an easy-going guy. When racing didn't go right that night we just drank a couple of beers and went on."
"It all just clicked for him," said Sterling Jones, who knew Miller through the racing club for more than 20 years. "He just got along with everybody. I guess guys like that are few and far between."
Miller helped the racing club grow from a handful of early members to more than 3,000 through his tenure.
Always, he seemed to be the hand that smoothed out the problems so that others could do what they loved a little easier.
He loved it that much.
"He just never lost the love of racing," Jones aid. "He's going to be missed by a lot of people."
fbodani@ydr.com; 771-2104
Login
Register
FAQ
