diff --git a/eth/backend.go b/eth/backend.go
index 480730d5d3..38519f4185 100644
--- a/eth/backend.go
+++ b/eth/backend.go
@@ -382,6 +382,7 @@ func (s *Ethereum) Stop() error {
 	s.bloomIndexer.Close()
 	close(s.closeBloomHandler)
 	s.txPool.Close()
+	s.miner.Close()
 	s.blockchain.Stop()
 	s.engine.Close()
 
diff --git a/miner/miner.go b/miner/miner.go
index 07711342d7..82b25d0ebd 100644
--- a/miner/miner.go
+++ b/miner/miner.go
@@ -107,3 +107,15 @@ func (miner *Miner) GenerateBlock(predicateContext *precompileconfig.PredicateCo
 func (miner *Miner) SubscribePendingLogs(ch chan<- []*types.Log) event.Subscription {
 	return miner.worker.pendingLogsFeed.Subscribe(ch)
 }
+
+func (miner *Miner) Stop() {
+	miner.worker.stop()
+}
+
+func (miner *Miner) Start() {
+	miner.worker.start()
+}
+
+func (miner *Miner) Close() {
+	miner.worker.close()
+}
diff --git a/plugin/evm/syncervm_test.go b/plugin/evm/syncervm_test.go
index 3ecfcb517c..b0179f8b9a 100644
--- a/plugin/evm/syncervm_test.go
+++ b/plugin/evm/syncervm_test.go
@@ -87,9 +87,9 @@ func TestStateSyncToggleEnabledToDisabled(t *testing.T) {
 	rand.Seed(1)
 	// Hack: registering metrics uses global variables, so we need to disable metrics here so that we can initialize the VM twice.
 	metrics.Enabled = false
-	defer func() {
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
 		metrics.Enabled = true
-	}()
+	})
 
 	var lock sync.Mutex
 	reqCount := 0
@@ -154,12 +154,9 @@ func TestStateSyncToggleEnabledToDisabled(t *testing.T) {
 	); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
-
-	defer func() {
-		if err := syncDisabledVM.Shutdown(context.Background()); err != nil {
-			t.Fatal(err)
-		}
-	}()
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		require.NoError(t, syncDisabledVM.Shutdown(context.Background()))
+	})
 
 	if height := syncDisabledVM.LastAcceptedBlockInternal().Height(); height != 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("Unexpected last accepted height: %d", height)
@@ -217,6 +214,9 @@ func TestStateSyncToggleEnabledToDisabled(t *testing.T) {
 	); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		require.NoError(t, syncReEnabledVM.Shutdown(context.Background()))
+	})
 
 	// override [serverVM]'s SendAppResponse function to trigger AppResponse on [syncerVM]
 	vmSetup.serverAppSender.SendAppResponseF = func(ctx context.Context, nodeID ids.NodeID, requestID uint32, response []byte) error {
diff --git a/plugin/evm/vm_warp_test.go b/plugin/evm/vm_warp_test.go
index ec333e4132..5be2e70d18 100644
--- a/plugin/evm/vm_warp_test.go
+++ b/plugin/evm/vm_warp_test.go
@@ -424,6 +424,8 @@ func TestReceiveWarpMessage(t *testing.T) {
 		true, // RequirePrimaryNetworkSigners
 	)
 
+	// Stop the miner to change the upgrade config to avoid a data race
+	vm.miner.Stop()
 	vm.chainConfig.UpgradeConfig = params.UpgradeConfig{
 		PrecompileUpgrades: []params.PrecompileUpgrade{
 			{Config: enableConfig},
@@ -431,6 +433,7 @@ func TestReceiveWarpMessage(t *testing.T) {
 			{Config: reEnableConfig},
 		},
 	}
+	vm.miner.Start()
 
 	type test struct {
 		name          string