THE RACERS, PART XV.
Sunday, July 14, 2024 at 09:07AM
Editor

By Peter M. DeLorenzo

Detroit. Racing a car, motorcycle or anything with some sort of power is a pursuit like no other. It is a passionate endeavor requiring an obsessive single-mindedness that consumes the people involved to a degree that outsiders find hard to understand. Ask any driver who has competed at the top level, and they will tell you that there is nothing half-assed about what they do, because the focus required is almost incomprehensible. Drivers talk about being in "the zone" - a strange state of mind that takes over their entire being while they're racing - when the faster they go the more things seem to slow down for them. They're aware of everything around them, but at the same time their focus on the task at hand is impenetrable, because anything less can result in a mistake that will likely have severe consequences. Racers are indeed a rare breed, willing to sacrifice everything for the pursuit of what they love to do, to the detriment of everything else. These racers have left an indelible mark on the sport. Drivers who were fierce competitors, flawed heroes and incredible, gifted talents. Their legacies are what make the sport of motor racing so fascinating. In the most recent issues of "Fumes" I have been recalling some of my favorites. This week, we remember the great Ken Miles.

Even though Ford v Ferrari wasn't my favorite racing film by any means, I was pleased that the great Ken Miles finally received proper recognition in it after years of obscurity. Ken Miles was the superbly talented engineer and driver who almost single-handedly propelled Shelby's Cobra to greatness. The British-born Miles was one of the most gifted - if not the most gifted - development drivers of his time, and his tireless dedication to Shelby American's efforts, though very well known in racing circles, was finally brought to the fore in Ford v Ferrari. Every single racing car from the Shelby American stable was developed by Ken Miles. He took the 289 Cobra and turned it into a dominating racing machine. He followed that by developing Peter Brock's beautiful design for the Cobra Daytona Coupe and molded it into a winner. The same goes for the 427 Cobra. But Miles' greatest achievement was turning the Ford GT and Ford Mk II into proper racing machines. Because it's one thing to assemble the right ingredients for a racing machine on paper, and it's quite another to make it all work the way it should, and Miles was a genius at it.

In 1966, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Miles should have enjoyed his crowning achievement. Driving the No. 1 Shelby American Ford Mk II with co-driver Denny Hulme, Miles had a substantial lead over the No. 2 Shelby American Ford Mk II driven by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon, although both cars remained on the same lap. A third Ford Mk II entered by Holman & Moody - the No. 4 machine - was driven by Ronnie Bucknum and Dick Hutcherson, and was running behind the two lead cars by a dozen laps. It is said that Leo Beebe, the Ford PR operative assigned to the racing program, came up with the plan after the last round of pit stops to have the three Ford Mk IIs get close together and run in an orchestrated 1-2-3 formation to the finish, in order to irritate Enzo Ferrari. So, Miles was ordered to slow and let the other two Fords catch up for the finish line photo op. The three Ford Mk IIs would cross the finish line together (although not the way the film portrayed it), which inadvertently handed the victory to McLaren and Amon, because the official margin of victory recorded by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the governing body of Le Mans, was eight meters (just over 26 feet), as the McLaren/Amon Ford Mk II had started farther back in the field than the Miles/Hulme Ford Mk II.

To say Miles was crushed is an understatement. He was bitterly disappointed and livid because he felt he was robbed by the bumbling Ford decision. Some have insisted in hindsight that Ford didn't really want Miles to win, that his abrasive nature rubbed the Ford operatives the wrong way and that they didn't really mind that he came second. So, after all the years of basically propelling Carroll Shelby's success on the race track, Ken Miles was hung out to dry. Miles continued on in his role at Shelby American, with his next project being turning the Ford "J-Car" Prototype into a winning racing machine. Miles was tragically killed testing the "J-Car" at Riverside International Raceway on August 17, 1966, having remained bitter to the end about the Le Mans debacle. The "J-Car" became the Ford Mk IV, which Dan Gurney and A. J. Foyt raced it to victory in the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Carroll Shelby's considerable on-track success with his Shelby American racing team remains as much a tribute to the myriad talents of Ken Miles as it does to Shelby's promotional gift for getting manufacturers to part with copious amounts of cash. Maybe even more so, in fact. The Shelby American racing record remains a tribute to the enduring legacy of Ken Miles. 

I was fortunate enough to see Miles in action several times, but the most memorable time was the first race I saw him run. My brother Tony and I and some friends had traveled to Meadowdale Raceway, in Carpentersville, Illinois, back in August of 1964 to see the USRRC series (United States Road Racing Championship) race weekend, which was the pinnacle of American road racing at the time. This was the first professional road racing I had ever seen in person, and it was Tony's second (he had been to Meadowdale the year before). The USRRC race weekends consisted of a GT race (Corvettes, Cobras, Jaguars, etc.) as the opener, followed by the big sports racers (Chaparral, Cooper Monaco, etc.) as the feature. We watched as the factory Shelby American Cobra team led by Ken Miles (No. 98) and Bob Johnson (No. 99) dominated the GT field, finishing 1-2, followed by three independently-entered Cobras. The best Corvettes in the country were there, and they were utterly humiliated, not only racing seconds a lap off of the pace, but none of them finished.

Then something fascinating happened. We watched as the crack Shelby American crew swarmed over Miles' Cobra immediately following the GT race. They took the full windshield off, replacing it with a tiny plexiglass bubble windscreen, filled it up with racing gas, and rolled it to the very back of the USRRC sports car race grid in 27th position. Dead last. It seems that the officials had allowed the team to enter Miles in the race with no qualifying time. We were then treated to one of the most dazzling displays of race driving we had ever seen, and it still resonates to this day. Jim Hall (No. 66 Chaparral 2A Chevrolet) dominated the race, followed by his now-legendary teammate, Roger Penske (No. 67 Chaparral 2A Chevrolet) for a memorable 1-2 for the Texas Road Runners. Dick Doane (No. 29 McKee Chevette Mk 1) finished third (sound familiar? Chevrolet would buy the rights to the Chevette name from McKee for the production car of the same name), and George Wintersteen (No. 12 Cooper Monaco T61M Chevrolet) finished fourth.

And Mr. Miles? He would charge from the back of the field in a jaw-dropping run that would see him finish fifth - in his 289 Cobra - just one lap behind the winners. Believe me, this isn't a case of appreciating something from the past more now - no, we appreciated what we were seeing, in real time. It was simply fantastic and amazing, in the true sense of that overused word.

And that's the High-Octane Truth for this week.

(Photo by John McCollister/Courtesy of RacingSportsCars.com)
Ken Miles in his factory Shelby American Cobra during the USRRC feature at Meadowdale Raceway in August 1964.
(Photo by Dave Friedman)
Riverside, October 13, 1963. Ken Miles prepares to wheel the No. 98 Shelby American Cooper Monaco T61 King Cobra Ford out of the paddock to the false grid. Yes, Miles developed the King Cobra for Shelby too. Dave MacDonald would race in the 200-mile L.A. Times Grand Prix that day, and win. Roger Penske (No. 6 Mecom Racing Zerex Special Climax) finished second and Pedro Rodriguez (No. 166 Genie Mk.8 Ford) was third.

(Photo by Dave Friedman)
Riverside International Raceway, February 2, 1963. Ken Miles (No. 98 Shelby American Cobra), Paul Reinhart (No. 6 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray) and Dave MacDonald (No. 198 Shelby American Cobra) battle. MacDonald and Miles delivered a dominant 1-2 for Carroll Shelby, while Dick Guldstrand (No. 56 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray) finished third. The news from California wasn't good for Zora Duntov, as it was clear that the new Sting Ray was no match for Shelby's lighter - and faster - Cobra.
(Dave Friedman)
Mid-Ohio, September 22, 1963. Ken Miles celebrates with Carroll Shelby after winning the United States Road Racing Championship race. The Shelby American Cobra team romped their way across the United States that season, winning everything in sight.
(Dave Friedman)
Laguna Seca, June 9, 1963. Ken Miles (No. 198 Shelby American Cobra) leads Ed Cantrell (No. 11 Ferrari 250 GTO) during the USRRC race. 

(Dave Friedman)
Laguna Seca, May 9, 1965. The start of the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) GT race, with the Shelby American Cobra team - Ken Miles (No. 98), Ed Leslie (No. 96) and Bob Johnson (No. 97) - running at the front. Ernie Kesling is in the No. 1 privateer Shelby Cobra, Kurt Nuemann is in the No. 34 Porsche 904 GTS, Dave Jordan is in the No. 31 Otto Zipper Porsche 904 GTS, and Scooter Patrick is in the No. 32 Otto Zipper Porsche 904 GTS. Miles and Leslie finished 1-2 in their factory Cobras, followed by Patrick, Jordan and Nuemann.
(Dave Friedman)
Nassau Speed Week, November 29, 1964. After Zora Duntov stunned Carroll Shelby & Co. the previous year with his brutally fast, lightweight Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sports, Ken Miles took it on as a personal project to stuff a 427 Ford V8 into the Cobra. Miles came up with a completely new, wider and more advanced chassis and after a limited development period prepared the 427 Cobra prototype for competition. The new big-block Cobra was blindingly quick from the moment Miles and the Shelby American team unloaded it at Nassau, but teething issues plagued the car for the entire week. 
(Dave Friedman)
12 Hours of Sebring, March 21, 1964. Ken Miles in the No. 1 Shelby American Cobra 427 Prototype (co-driven by John Morton) during the race. Though the machine benefitted from further development, Miles crashed heavily in practice, and the Shelby American team thrashed to rebuild it and get it ready for the race. Miles battled with A. J. Foyt (No. 2 Mecom Racing Team Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport) during the race, but the 427 Cobra Prototype suffered a blown engine and didn't finish.
(Dave Friedman)
Parnelli Jones and Ken Miles in conversation at Riverside International Raceway, 1964.
(Dave Friedman)
Peter Brock and Ken Miles discuss the initial design parameters for the Cobra Daytona Coupe as Carroll Shelby looks on.
(Dave Friedman)
The prevailing opinion inside Shelby American was that Peter Brock's Cobra Coupe project was a huge distraction and a waste of time, but when Ken Miles tested it for the first time at Riverside and it was 20 mph faster on the straights and seconds per lap quicker than the Cobra roadster, opinions about the Coupe changed quickly. Miles proceeded to turn it into a winner.
(Dave Friedman)
Daytona International Speedway, February 6, 1966. After the Ford Motor Company seemed to be going nowhere with its Ford GT racing program, company operatives turned it over to Carroll Shelby. It fell on Ken Miles' shoulders - and considerable talent - to develop it into a winner, which he promptly did. Miles, with co-driver Lloyd Ruby, drove the No. 98 Shelby American Ford Mk II to victory at Daytona, winning by eight laps while leading a 1-2-3 sweep for Ford. Dan Gurney and Jerry Grant (No. 97 Shelby American Ford Mk II) finished second and Walt Hansgen/Mark Donohue (No. 95 Holman & Moody Ford Mk II) third. 
(Dave Friedman)
Lloyd Ruby and Ken Miles after winning the 1966 Daytona 24 Hours. Miles had his critics within Ford because of his outspoken and at times abrasive nature, but his talent in developing race cars was undeniable.

(Dave Friedman)
Ken Miles sits in his Ford Mk II during practice for the 1966 Daytona 24 Hours.

(Dave Friedman)

12 Hours of Sebring, March 26, 1966. Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby teamed up to drive the lightweight No. 1 Shelby American Ford GT-X1 roadster, delivering another overall victory for Shelby American and Ford.

(Getty images)

Ken Miles prepares to leave the pits after his final stop on his way to winning the 1966 12 Hours of Sebring.

(Getty images)

Ken Miles in the No. 1 Shelby American Ford Mk II that he shared with Denny Hulme. If it wasn't for a monumental political screw-up by Ford operatives who orchestrated a flying formation finish for the Ford team, Miles and Hulme would have won the race easily. Instead, they were classified second to the winning No. 2 Shelby American Ford Mk II driven by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon. The No. 5 Ford Mk II entered by Holman & Moody and driven by Ronnie Bucknum/Dick Hutcherson finished third, making it a memorable 1-2-3 sweep for Ford. But Miles could not contain his bitterness toward the management hacks at Ford whose political maneuverings cost him the race. 

(Dave Friedman)

Ken Miles during the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans.

(Dave Friedman)

Ken Miles was probably one of the most gifted individuals of his era. He combined a tremendous ability to develop and get the very best out of racing machines with a very special talent to get the most out of them behind the wheel. It was an almost unbeatable combination. Despite his crushing disappointment with being robbed of a win at Le Mans - after almost single-handedly turning the Ford Mk II into a potent, race-winning machine - Miles pressed on with his next assignment: turning the advanced Ford J-car prototype into a winning racing machine. Kenneth Henry Jarvis Miles died testing the J-car prototype at Riverside on August 17, 1966. He was 47 years old.






Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG

 

 

Article originally appeared on Autoextremist.com ~ the bare-knuckled, unvarnished, high-electron truth... (http://www.autoextremist.com/).
See website for complete article licensing information.