Ken Miles - Career

Career

Miles raced motorcycles before he served as a tank sergeant in the British Army in World War II.

After the war he raced Bugattis, Alfa Romeos and Alvises with the Vintage Sports Car Club. He then turned to a Ford V-8 Frazer-Nash.

Ken then moved from England to the Los Angeles, California area. In 1953 he won 14 straight victories in SCCA racing in an MG-based special of his own design and construction.

For the 1955 season, he designed, constructed and campaigned a second special based on MG components that was known as the "Flying Shingle". It was very successful in the SCCA F modified class on the west coast. Miles raced the "Flying Shingle" at Palm Springs in late March, finishing first overall against veteran driver Cy Yedor, also in a MG Special, and novice driver, actor James Dean in a Porsche 356 Speedster. Miles was later disqualified on a technical infraction because his fenders were too wide,thus allowing Yedor and Dean to get 'bumped up' to first and second. During 1956, Miles raced Johnny von Neumann's Porsche 550 Spyder at most of the Cal Club and SCCA events.

For the 1957 season (in cooperation with Otto Zipper), Ken engineered the installation of a Porsche 550S engine and transmission in a '56 Cooper chassis and body. (It was the second successful race car to be known on the West Coast as "the Pooper", the first being an early 50s Cooper chassis and body powered by a Porsche 356 power train that was built and campaigned by Pete Lovely of Tacoma, WA.) The resulting car dominated the F Modified class of SCCA on the west coast in the '57 and '58 seasons with Ken driving.

Because of his great skill/talent both as a driver and as a mechanic/engineer, Ken was a key member of the Shelby/Cobra race team in the early 60's. He was affectionately known by his American racing crew as "Teddy Teabag" (for his tea drinking) or "Sidebite" (as he talked out of the side of his mouth.)

In 1966 he won the 24 Hours of Daytona (pictured) with Lloyd Ruby, and the 12 Hours of Sebring in the Ford GT Mk.II. Miles was leading at the end of the '66 24 hours of Le Mans, when Ford management, desiring a publicity photo of the three Mk.IIs crossing the finish line together, ordered him to slow down to cross the line together with the second place car, driven by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon. However, the scoring system at Le Mans takes into account the differing distances covered by the cars due to differing positions on the starting grid, and so the McLaren-Amon car, having started further back, would, in the event of a dead-heat, have been the official winner. Bitter at this perceived slight by his employers, after his considerable commitment to the Ford racing program, Miles issued a form of protest by slowing to allow McLaren ahead to win. Miles was thus denied the unique achievement of winning Sebring, Daytona, and Le Mans in the same year.