The 'Autism Warrior': Mike Miller’s fighting spirit has led him to success in lawn mower racing

Last year, Mike Miller was mowing Baker Cemetery in Marble Hill, Missouri, to save up enough money to build a lawn mower that he could race. This year, he's ridden that lawn mower into the winner's circle.

And despite the pitfalls of the lawn mower racing circuit, no crash, broken engine belt or even his own autism has been able to keep him out of the running.

Mike was born six weeks premature and diagnosed with autism two years later in 1999, but to his parents, Lee and Tammy, it's all just a testament to his fighting spirit.

He received services from the Judevine Center for Autism in Cape Girardeau and graduated last year from Woodland High School, but it was the experiences he had with his grandfather, Henry Miller, that got him interested in racing.

"Me and my grandpa started watching them when I was a little kid," he said. "It was something we could do together."

LEFT: Mike Miller rides his racing lawn mower. ABOVE: Miller shows the trophies he has won in lawn mower racing competitions.Laura Simon

That was out at the track in Allenville, Missouri. Henry, who had been involved in demolition derby, planted the seed in Mike's head, and Mike said it's no surprise he eventually found his way to racing.

"Mike's grandpa and his brother did demolition derby out in California during the '50s and '60s," Lee began to explain. "Now, it's ..."

"Racing is in my blood," Mike interrupted happily. "It's part of what runs in the family."

Once he had enough money saved up to buy a used riding mower, he set about the process of getting it track-worthy. The father-and-son project took about a year, they said.

"It's pretty much stripping everything down off of it, changing the pulleys on the engine and the rear axle," Lee explained.

Nineteen-year-old Mike Miller shows the trophies he has won in lawnmower racing competitions on Monday, June 27, 2016, in Bollinger County.Laura Simon

The underpanel that typically houses blades comes completely off on a racing mower, and a low center of gravity becomes very important. Mike learned that lesson the hard way when he turned too sharply and was thrown from the mower during a time trial.

"I blew the engine one time, too," he recalled. "So far we've gone through three belts and one engine."

"They're really not supposed to be going that fast, you know?" Lee said of riding mowers.

And by "that fast," he means up to 80 miles per hour in the top classes. And boy, does Mike get that mower moving. He can get his going up to about 45 miles per hour on the track.

One of the most difficult things about racing lawn mowers, he said, is keeping hold of something that's going that fast.

"And you gotta be tough in case you get thrown off," he said. "When I got thrown off, I got back up and I kept going."

But he's got something to keep himself safe -- the No. 19's emblazoned on the sides of the mower's red hood.

"That's my lucky number," he said.

Plus, handpainted puzzle pieces -- the official autism awareness icon -- cover both the mower and the derby car in which he rides shotgun with Lee. The side of his mower bears "Powered by Autism" and "Autism Warrior" racing stickers.

Miller is racing not just to win, but to raise awareness for autism.

But winning's not bad, either. He took first place in Patton, Missouri, earlier this month. "It feels really good," he said. "And [the other racers] are really nice to me."

He hopes that by racing, he might inspire other children with autism to not be afraid to try new things.

"Sometimes you just gotta get used to it," he said. "And if you like it, you know that it's fun."

tgraef@semissourian.com

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