Wyatt Miller’s next step up the competition ladder is at hand, and the 14-year-old opened up the Late Model portion on Wednesday at North Carolina’s Southern National Motorsports Park in a 125-lap Late Model Stock Car feature.
The son of Kelley Earnhardt Miller and L.W. Miller qualified his No. 73 Bass Pro Shops/MORE HERE Chevrolet 18th for the main and finished 19th against solid competition. Bryan Shaffer, the man behind the success of JR Motorsports’ Late Model legacy as the team manager and crew chief, is guiding the effort for the young star.
Opening with a 125-lap feature against older competitors with plenty of experience, Miller was focused on taking it one step at a time.
“Tonight’s goal was to run all the laps in the 125-lap feature,” he said. “It was a long race, but I ran well until the last 30 laps, when I began to struggle with the tires. With about 75 laps to go, I started to open up my entry (into the tight banked corners) and began spinning the tires really badly at the end. During the last run, I went a lap down to the leaders, but I was able to run with them until the race was finished.”
The young driver advanced up to 13th during the early stages while feeling out both the handling of his machine and the competition he was competing against.
“My LMSC debut was a pretty solid start,” he said. “We ran 13th for a while and fell back to 19th at the end. Bryan and the entire JRM team gave me a great car to learn with tonight.”
Pitting himself against experienced drivers in one of the most competitive classes in the sport is the first step for the young driver, and he’ll have plenty more opportunities this week. Tonight’s schedule includes twin 30-lap features at SNMS, which is completely different from a 125-lap main against veteran drivers.
“Those races are shorter than last night’s feature, so I will be able to run those harder,” he said. “My goal is to finish every race and gain experience, and I’m excited to learn everything I can.”