Dirt
Bill Miller, Troy Buff
& the Chinese Zodiac
The interesting story of a
true Top Fuel trifecta
By Susan Wade,
CompetitionPlus.com
26 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
restless, prone to mood swings, and impatient
about getting their way. They usually don’t play
happily with Tigers in the Chinese zodiac jungle.
So there was Buff – a Tiger. Legend has it that
a tiger is independent, territorial, competitive,
confident, brave, restless, and insistent on his
own way. Perhaps drag racing is the perfect career
for Buff, for a Tiger is someone who thrives with
periods of intense action and then quiet reflection
and someone who goes straight, tackling tasks
head-on. Neither money nor power motivates
Tigers, but they love a stiff challenge, especially
if the results mean something significant to them.
These type-A Tigers don’t like to obey others, and
all counsel says to avoid dealing with Monkeys.
So how was Buff to know? If he ever got any
free time from racing, working in his family’s
machine shop, his own business installing home
entertainment systems, or his audio equipment
building projects, Chinese astrology wasn’t high
on his list of priorities. It was for Virgie Miller.
“That was the first thing Virgie did. She looked
at the Chinese horoscope and said, ‘You’re a Tiger,’” Buff said. “And she showed me in her book
that the best job for me would be to drive a race
car. It said that in the book. I told her, ‘You’re ly-
Issue 109
PHOTO: RON LEWIS
T
he Chinese zodiac is a 12-year
cycle in which the years are represented
by animals, each with its unique traits.
And a decade ago, Top Fuel driver Troy
Buff probably had no clue what that had to do
with drag racing. (Most native Texas don’t consult
the Chinese lunar calendar before planting cotton
or choosing their careers or mates.)
Spring, Texas’ Buff, however, found out about
such signs, omens, and warnings when he signed
on to be the driver at Bill Miller Engineering
starting in 2007.
The Chinese zodiac primarily is the interest of
Miller’s wife and team co-owner Virgie, but Bill
Miller certainly doesn’t discount its influence. For
instance, the lucky color for monkeys is yellow. So,
that’s likely the reason Miller always dons a yellow
baseball cap, thus NHRA announcers penchant
for referring to the high-end parts manufacturer
and racer as “The Man in the Yellow Hat.”
Miller had said when he announced his decision in November 2005 to hire Buff predecessor
Alan Bradshaw, “I looked up Alan’s Chinese astrological sign, and he’s a Monkey, which is what
I am. He’s also a Gemini, the same as me. So we
have a lot in common already.”
Buff happens to be a Tiger – and Tigers are
natural enemies of Monkeys, according to Chinese zodiac lore. So that appeared to be a major
‘uh-oh’ right there.
Monkeys, anyone from Beijing probably could
have cautioned Buff, are intellectual, ravenous for
knowledge, known for their clever genius in solving complex problems with ease – well-suited for
engineering or careers as scientists, researchers,
or inventors. But they also can be mischievous,