Chester Joseph Miller (July 19, 1902 – May 15, 1953) was an American

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. He was killed in a crash in the south turn of the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

during practice for the

1953 Indianapolis 500 The 37th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1953. The event was part of the 1953 AAA National Championship, and was race 2 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers. Bill V ...

. Yates, Brock W. "The Indianapolis 500: The Story of the Motor Speedway." Harper and Brothers: New York. 1956. Page 67. During his long Indianapolis racing career, Miller earned the nickname "Dean of the Speedway." Miller died at age 50 while driving a Novi-engined Special. He is interred at

Crown Hill Cemetery Crown Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located at 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. The privately owned cemetery was established in 1863 at Strawberry Hill, whose summit was renamed "The Crown", a high poi ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

World Drivers' Championship career

The AAA/ USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA

World Drivers' Championship Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which a ...

from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indianapolis during those years were credited with World Drivers' Championship participation, and were eligible to score WDC points alongside those which they may have scored towards the AAA/ USAC

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. Miller participated in two World Drivers' Championship races at Indianapolis. His best finish was 25th place, and he scored no World Drivers' Championship points. Upon Miller's death during practice for the

, he became the first racing driver to die as a result of an accident during a World Drivers' Championship event.

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

* Although Miller posted the fastest qualifying time for the

1952 Indianapolis 500 The 36th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was a motor race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1952. It was the opening race of the 1952 AAA Championship Car season, 1952 AAA National Championship Trail and was also rac ...

, he started on the outside of the ninth row. No other fastest qualifier has started this far back in the field. * Miller raced 2,061 laps, or at Indianapolis without leading a lap, an all-time record.

FIA World Drivers' Championship results

( key) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Chet Indianapolis 500 drivers Racing drivers who died while racing 1902 births 1953 deaths Racing drivers from Detroit Sports deaths in Indiana AAA Championship Car drivers 20th-century American sportsmen Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery