“Dad suffered four broken ribs and a punctured lung when the bike landed on top of him,” said his son Rob Miller.
“He told me the bike died going into the airport side of pit corner, and when he came out of it into home straight the bike bit into the track and flipped.
“Dad was to get out of hospital today but it’s going to take a while for him to fully recover.”
Miller’s swinger Matt Atkins escaped the crash unhurt.
Stacey Smith (9B), a young female driver from Hawke’s Bay, got the No.1 spot on the podium in the Tyre General Ashley Scott Memorial stockcar championship.
She went into the third and final heat in third place on points, and got a helping hand from her partner Brett Loveridge, from Hawke’s Bay, who took out the Rotorua driver who had been in the lead on points.
“The Ashley Scott race series started off a bit quiet in Heat 1 but as the night wore on the 21 cars got stuck in,” Gisborne Speedway Club president Clyde McGrory said.
“Stacey Smith drove exceptionally well to win and our own Trevor McArthur (128G) was so unlucky not to win it.
“Trevor had a couple of hold-ups in the first couple of heats and was only a couple of points away from first place in the end.”
McArthur started on grid position 17 and finished ninth in Heat 1, went from grid No.13 in Heat 2 to finish fourth, and won Heat 3 from grid No.5.
“It felt great to do so well,” McArthur said.
“I’ve finally got the car doing what it’s supposed to do, thanks to my really good crew and the family support, which makes all the difference.”
McArthur won the “stirrers” prize in the recent New Zealand Stockcar Grand Prix, and will be a starter in the New Zealand stockcar championships in Napier next month.
McGrory said the 60-plus cars in the Youth Ministock 100 field raced well.
“I commended them all at the prize-giving. As a training class they put on an exceptional show.
“I was also hugely impressed, gobsmacked really, by the performance of saloon racer Ethan Cook (76G).
“It was the highlight of the night for me. Ethan was doing 15-second laps — unbelievable — and his brother Daniel (77G) was right there with him.
“The pair of them put on a hell of a show. If you saw nothing else but the brothers racing you would have gone home happy.”
Ethan Cook won all three saloon races, and his brother had a second and two third placings.
Toby and Dylan Lardelli finished the night with two firsts and a second in the sidecars.
“They are starting to look good as a combination,” McGrory said.
“Stu Priest and Kerwin Arnaboldi were right there on their tail the whole time.
“We wish Deane Miller a swift recovery from his injuries. That was a nasty crash.”
Lloyd Stewart was the king of the production saloons on the night with three wins from three races.
“Overall, the meeting was a good way to finish the calendar year,” McGrory said.
“We had a good crowd, with heaps of kids — it was absolutely perfect, a really good family night.”
The club gave away T-shirts and hats, and buckets of lollies when Santa did the rounds of the track.
The next meeting, the first for 2021, will be on January 6 and will be the 50th anniversary meeting.
“We are planning something special for that night,” McGrory said.
“In the meantime, Merry Christmas everyone and thank you for your support.”
