The 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.)

But Buff, of Spring, Texas, 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. (The lucky color for monkeys is yellow. So that likely is why Miller always dons a yellow baseball-style cap and NHRA announcers refer to him, borrowing a phrase from the “Curious George” franchise, 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 ‘oh-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, 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 means 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 lying. Where does it say that?’ and then she showed me. ‘Race car driver’ is what it said. That’s pretty cool. At first I thought she was joking when she asked me when I was born. I was like, ‘Why?’ ”

She told him she put a lot of stock in the Chinese zodiac, and she said, “We had another Tiger, but he and Bill butted heads. That was David Grubnic.”

(Other drivers for Bill Miller were Tim Gibson, Brady Kalivoda, Bobby Lagana – and it’s unclear whether their signs were at odds with the monkey.)

Even Bill Miller alerted Buff.

“Bill said to me, ‘I am the Monkey. You’re the Tiger. I am going to antagonize you and antagonize you and I’m going to pick on you. And one day you are going to want to eat the Monkey. I just said, ‘OK. Whatever.’ He said, ‘That’s just what’s going to happen. It’s going to get to one day where you’re just going to lose it and blow up and want to, basically, kill me.’ Well, that day hasn’t come yet, thank God.” 

“I absolutely love Bill and Virgie. They are not just the owners who let me drive their car. They’ve become like family now. I truly love them,” Buff said. “They are like my parents when I am away from home.

“This is my 10th year with Bill. Can you believe that?” Buff said. “Bill shook my hand and said, ‘Congratulations. I’ve never had a driver as long as you.’ ”

Buff said he’s pretty certain he knows why he has stayed longer than any of Miller’s previous hires.

“Our relationship is like this: he tells me what to do, and I say, ‘Yes sir,’ ” Buff said. “I have had previous drivers tell me I need to stand up to him. I say, ‘No. I’m here and you’re not.”

Whatever the chemistry or astrological alignment, Miller and Buff have clicked famously, no more so than last Sunday at Las Vegas. In Reno-based Miller’s home state, Buff took the BME Dragster to the final round of Top Fuel eliminations at the Denso Spark Plugs Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Buff overcame a debilitating accident years ago under the direction of his self-appointed physical therapist father, NHRA Division 4 Hall of Famer Willard Buff. So he knows all about hard work. But he also had a hunch last weekend.

“We’re convinced we’re going to win a race – not just run (3.)70s. We’re going to win. It’s going to happen this year, I’m telling you. I think so. I do believe that. I know it sounds crazy,” he said.

He knew that’s not the normal declaration from a racer who by his 80th career event had won only 15 times in 94 elimination rounds. Maybe some of Virgie Miller’s powers of prophecy have rubbed off on him.

Maybe it’s because he had the luxury in early February not only of having a brand-new dragster (known in the shop as BME-2) but experiencing the luxury of testing it, at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, near Phoenix.

“We haven’t tested in maybe five or six years,” Buff said. “We were mainly testing because we had a new car. It was a luxury for me to get comfortable in the new car. That last car was built for me also. It was just different.

“This car really handles well. It’s just the way the chassis was constructed. The old car was a slip-joint car and this one is, too, but Bill made some changes,” he said. “He made additions to the car with the intent of making it more forgiving. If I have to correct, it doesn’t move around like the old car used to. It would get scary sometimes.

“The car drives really well. I love the car. Now, it doesn’t like the tune-up from the old car, so we are trying to figure out what this car likes,” he said. “It has run (3.)80s, which is the quickest for this car and the other, too. It shows a lot of improvement, and I’m hoping it’s going to run (3.)70.

“This car was brand-new at the test session [in February at Phoenix]. We shook it in at the test session. That’s where we found it doesn’t like the clutch combination that Bill had in old car,” he said. “I know it’s going to run 70s. I keep saying that. I hope it doesn’t make me a liar.

“I was proud because first round at Pomona, we were back to Square One. We were right back where we were when we left Pomona at the end of the year [2015]. We ran 81, and we came out this season and ran an 80-flat. We figured, ‘OK. We got it. Now let’s go run a .79. It hasn’t come yet – but it will. I know it will,” Buff said.

So far the car isn’t producing 3.7s – but what it’s producing has been enough to get him to a final round in a young season that also has seen fellow underdog Terry McMillen make the showdown for the first time.

Elated with the Las Vegas results, the BME team is that much more motivated to see if they can repeat their achievement.

The Chinese zodiac chart that tells whether Tigers will be lucky in 2016 shows a spike in success for the period March 9 to April 6. It predicts an even bigger summit for the June 5-July 3 stretch. During that time frame are races at Epping, N.H.; Englishtown, N.J.; Bristol, Tenn.; and Norwalk, Ohio.

The back of the BME Dragster’s rear wing is an op-ed space for the opinionated Miller, and he has for a long time declared there, “You can never have too much horsepower or ammunition.” But hanging in the team hauler is a plaque with inspiration from President Calvin Coolidge: “Nothing can take the place of persistence. Talent will not – nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not – unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not – the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."

That just might be true, too, of Tigers and Monkeys.