Fresno, California, teenager Mariah Ede (4) spent the summer racing 600s in Midwest, at tracks such as Lincoln Speedway in Illinois (pictured), racing drivers such as Darin Naida (7), of Adrian, Michigan. She earned a ride in a Joe B. Miller Motorsports livery after catching the eye of noted open wheel crew chief Big Al Scroggins.
In September 2019, Scroggins watched Ede battle NASCAR/dirt racing ace Kyle Larson for the lead in an outlaw kart event at Cycleland Speedway in Oroville, California. Scroggins recommended Ede to standout 600 sprint driver Joe B. Miller, of Millersville, Missouri.
“I did not know Joe B. Miller,” said Ede, 15. “I didn’t even know who Big Al was.”
Miller offered Ede a ride in one of his 600 (aka micro) sprints.
“I didn’t have to pay to drive,” Ede said. “All I had to do was show up in Missouri.”
Ede and her father, Chad, flew back and forth from Fresno, California, to Missouri on the weekends until Ede was out of school. She raced two to three times a week. Then, she spent summer at Joe B. Miller’s shop to immerse herself in the sport.
“I did not start my first season as a micro driver with expectations of winning,” said Ede. “I went to Missouri to learn from Joe B. Miller. I was also racing with the best of the best in micros.”
Ede’s experience in Miller’s shop showed her what it takes to find success.
“I saw firsthand the amount of effort that was put into the team’s four micros, two sprint cars, and a midget,” Ede said. “It was 12 hours a day of steady work — from 6 a.m. to midnight — when we weren’t racing. I was there to learn and assist. I handed tools to the crew, and learned to take apart components of the car, clean them, and reassemble them.”
At the track, Miller mentored Ede.
“Joe would ask me how the car felt; I would tell him,” said Ede. “He would explain what that meant in terms of setup because he was driving the same car as I was, at the same time on the same track. He told me what I needed to do to improve my line. I learned the importance of throttle control and how to enter and exit the corners. He is a smooth, consistent driver and I learned how to be like that.”
Mariah Ede recorded 10 top-fives while racing with Joe B. Miller Motorsports. She intends to race 600s next season.
“Driving for Joe B. Miller was an unbelievable opportunity,” Ede said.
Photo Credit: Courtesy Ede Family.
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
