Note: This continues a series of 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone team previews on INDYNXT.com. The season starts Sunday, March 10 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Starting Lineup: Jack William Miller (No. 40 Miller Vinatieri Motorsports).
2023 in Review: This is Miller Vinatieri Motorsports’ first season in INDY NXT by Firestone. The team has spent the last six years climbing the junior categories with Miller as the driver, racing in the Formula 4 United States Championship in 2017 and 2018, USF2000 in 2019 and 2020 and Indy Pro 2000 in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
New for ’24: The team and driver remain the same, but the car is vastly different. The Vinatieri in the team name is legendary NFL kicker and four-time Super Bowl champion Adam Vinatieri. Both Vinatieri and Jack William Miller’s father, Dr. Jack Miller, a three-time starter in the Indianapolis 500 (1997, 1998 and 1999), met nearly two decades ago and shared many passions, including cars. They decided to team up to allow the younger Miller to fulfill a dream of one day racing in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, like his father. They’re now one step away.
Keep an Eye on This: Driver Miller knows the power of networking. He had an acquaintance from school who knew of someone who owned Spectral Analytical Air Monitoring (SAAM), an Indianapolis-area business interested in getting into racing. Miller loved the idea and for the first time pitched himself and the team to the aspiring company in a solo presentation. The initial pitch worked. The company expressed interest, and Miller and his father secured the deal in the next meeting. SAAM is a sponsor on Miller’s No. 40 car this season and eager to use INDY NXT as a vehicle to promote its new and innovative technology for the air quality market.
Little-Known Fact: Miller, a sophomore student at IUPUI (school mascot – the Jaguars) in Indianapolis, embraces that he’s the only driver in the series born in the Hoosier State. Miller, a resident of the Indianapolis suburb of Carmel, wants to celebrate his Hoosier roots while going through schooling in downtown Indianapolis and racing a full schedule in INDY NXT.