Leonard W. Miller facts for kids
Leonard W. Miller (born 1934) is a very important person in American motor racing history. He is one of the first African American pioneers in this sport.
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Early Life and Cars
Leonard Miller was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His love for cars started when he was just five years old in 1939. By 1948, he was secretly working on his family's 1937 Ford. In 1953, he built his own cool custom car, a 1940 Ford hot rod. He even ordered special parts from a famous car customizer named George Barris in California.
Because he knew so much about cars, Miller joined the United States Third Army in 1957. He was part of a special company that repaired jeeps and trucks in tough conditions. This group included people who loved cars, like hot-rodders and drag racers.
Miller learned a lot from older black racing pioneers, Mel Leighton and Sumner “Red” Oliver. These connections, along with friendships with racers like Wendell Scott and Malcolm Durham, helped Miller and driver Benny Scott achieve many things in the 1970s. They raced under the names Black American Racers, Inc. (BAR) and Vanguard Racing, Inc.
Vanguard Racing: Indy Car Dreams
In 1972, Vanguard Racing became the first racing team owned by black people to enter a car in the famous Indianapolis 500 race. Their driver was John Mahler. The team's plan was for Mahler to help train Benny Scott to race in the Indianapolis 500 in the future.
Benny Scott drove Vanguard's powerful McLaren M10-A car in other races. It had a 500-horsepower Chevrolet V-8 engine! In 1972, Scott won the CSCC-SCCA Southern Pacific Division Championship. He beat drivers who came from far away, even Australia.
Vanguard had important people on its board, including Paul Jackson, Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. (who was a candidate for Vice President), Washington Redskins player Brig Owens, and Richard Deutsch. Even though John Mahler did well at the 1972 Indianapolis 500, the team's owners became impatient and didn't want to wait for Benny Scott to be ready.
Building the Black American Racers Association
In 1972, Miller also started the Black American Racers Association (BARA). This group grew very big, with 5,000 members across 20 states. Wendell Scott, a legendary black racer, was the first honorary chairman. Ron Hines, an engineer, was the secretary and team mechanic. Today, some former BARA members continue their goals as the Quartermasters Drag Racing Team.
Black American Racers (BAR)
In 1973, Miller created Black American Racers, Inc. (BAR) in Trenton, New Jersey. BAR got sponsorship from Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation (Viceroy Cigarettes). This sponsorship was part of a plan called “Road To Indy.”
This plan helped Benny Scott race in different series, like Formula Super Vee (FSV) competitions. He raced on famous tracks all over the country, including Watkins Glen International and Laguna Seca Raceway.
Scott achieved several top finishes in his Lola T-324 FSV cars. At Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California, on May 4, 1975, he was the fastest in qualifying. In the final lap of the race, he was barely beaten by another driver in a very close finish.
Developing New Drivers
In 1973, Miller and Scott created a special program to train new drivers for BAR. This was before such programs were common in racing. Miller often got asked by sponsors, "What if your main black driver gets hurt?"
To solve this, Miller signed Coyle Peek, a 23-year-old African American driver from Long Island, New York. Peek was a Formula Ford (FF) driver. Miller sent Peek to S.H.A.R.P Racing Limited in the United Kingdom. This helped Peek develop his skills in one of the most competitive entry-level racing series in the world.
Under the BAR name, Peek raced in a British-made Royale RP16 car at famous British tracks like Brands Hatch and the Silverstone Circuit. He competed against many different types of cars.
Coyle Peek improved quickly, often finishing in the top 10. His best finish was second place. He became a backup driver in case Benny Scott was injured. After returning to the US, Peek attended many BAR events. Miller tried to get another race car and sponsorship for Peek, but he couldn't find the support.
Miller was the first African American team owner to send an African American driver overseas for professional racing training using his own money.
Racing at the Long Beach Grand Prix
Brown & Williamson Tobacco helped BAR move up to Formula 5000 races. Benny Scott competed at speeds over 200 miles per hour against racing legends like Brian Redman, Jody Scheckter, Mario Andretti, and Chris Amon.
BAR was invited to the first Long Beach Grand Prix (LBGP) on September 28, 1975. This was a special event for the top 60 race teams in the world. Scott qualified BAR’s Lola T332 car 24th out of 30 teams. He finished the race in 11th place. Grant King was BAR’s chief mechanic for all the Formula 5000 races in 1975.
Even though BAR showed they could compete at a high level, Brown & Williamson Tobacco stopped all their racing sponsorships in November 1975. BAR tried to find other big companies to continue their "Fast Road to Indianapolis" plan, but they were not successful.
Willy T. Ribbs, another African American driver, was inspired by Miller and Scott's achievements. He qualified for the Indianapolis 500 in 1991 and 1993. However, he also struggled to find enough sponsorship to keep racing. Finding sponsors remains a challenge for African American motor racing efforts even today.
Hall of Fame Recognition
In 1976, Leonard W. Miller and Benny Scott were honored. They were inducted into the Black Athletes Hall of Fame at the New York Hilton in Manhattan for their achievements in motor racing. Many famous sports figures and entertainers were there. These included NFL star Frank Gifford, ABC Sports broadcaster Howard Cosell, singer James Brown, boxing promoter Don King, and basketball player Earl "the Pearl" Monroe. Actor Bill Cosby hosted the event. Over 1000 people attended the special ceremony.
Mini-Indy Tragedy
In 1977, African American driver Tommy Thompson asked Miller to continue the BAR racing efforts using his own money in FSV cars (then called Mini-Indy cars). Miller’s friend Ken Wright joined Ron Hines to work on the cars. BAR won some races with Thompson, including the SCCA Northeast Division championship.
Sadly, in September 1978, Thompson was killed in a crash at the Trenton Speedway in Trenton, New Jersey. Benny Scott finished the 1978 season for BAR.
Recent Achievements
From 1994 to 1999, Miller started several NASCAR racing efforts from his shop in Concord, North Carolina. He had many successes with his son, Leonard T. Miller. Their team was called Miller Racing Group and had sponsors like General Motors and Dr Pepper.
In 2005, Miller and his son made history. They were the first African American team owners to win a track championship in NASCAR. They won the stock car championship at Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Virginia. Their driver was Franklin Butler.
Famous actor Paul Newman called Miller's autobiography, Silent Thunder: Breaking Through Cultural, Racial, and Class Barriers in Motorsports (2004), "an extraordinary book." Mario Andretti, another racing legend, praised it as "eye-opening." In 2008, AutoWeek magazine named Silent Thunder one of the top 50 automobile books of the past 50 years.
Miller's son also wrote a book about their racing team and NASCAR. It is called Racing While Black and was published in 2010.
Images for kids
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Malcolm Durham, Leonard W. Miller, Wendell Scott, and Ronald Hines (l-r) of the Black American Racers Association
