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Gone Racin’ to…Ak Miller’s Tribute. Story by Richard Parks, photographs by Roger Rohrdanz (Click For AK Miller Tribute at the Wally Parks NHRA) Ak Miller was honored on June 28, 2005, at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California. The event was organized by Dick and Beverley Martin and was attended by nearly 100 of Ak’s friends. Ak Miller is a legend among hot rodders and racers. He followed his brothers, Lawrence and Zeke, into dry lakes racing in the 1930’s, and has participated in all forms of motor racing, including road racing, Pike’s Peak Challenges, landspeed and offroad racing. Ak returned from fighting in the Battle of the Bulge in WWII to continue with his racing career and opened a garage with his brother Zeke. He followed his good friend, Wally Parks, as the President of the SCTA (Southern California Timing Association) and was an avid landspeeder. Parks also asked Ak to serve on the Board of Directors for the new NHRA. Miller left the Miller Brothers Garage to open up his own auto repair and speed shop garage. Then came a stint with the Ford Motor Company as the racing program consultant. But whenever Ak heard of a race, he closed the shop and went racing. He built the famed El Caballo de Hierro, or Horse of Iron, and took it down to Mexico to race in the Pan-Americana Road Race in the 1950’s. Ray Brock and Doug Harrison were among those on his team, and they raced and partied their way from Southern Mexico all the way to the American border. Ak also raced at Pike’s Peak and in the Miglia Italia road race in Italy, where he is remembered to this day. At the age of 72, Ak was offered a ride in the Earl Wooden Crossley Coupe and set a record at Bonneville over 200 miles an hour to join the prestigious 200 MPH Club and earn the privilege to wear the Red Cap. Ak met Jack Lufkin in the early 1950’s, just after Lufkin got out of the Air Force, and these two became a potent racing team, with Miller tuning the engines and Lufkin setting hundreds of land speed records. They later teamed up with Leonard Carr to form the Miller/Lufkin/Carr land speed racing team that put many people into the 200 MPH Club. Ak was instrumental in helping many young racers, including my brother David, with advice, parts and engines, which assisted them in their racing careers. Miller turned to turbo charging and began another successful career. He made a lot of friends in this new business, including Dick Martin, known as Turbo guy. Ak made it a lifetime goal to help others. Many people at the Tribute came to pay their respects and to tell Ak how much he has meant to them. Jim and Steve Shaw edited film of Ak’s career and made a video that was riveting to watch. Marilyn Miller donated the food and beverages for the guests. Robert "Pete" Petersen, Mr. Hot Rod Magazine, Jerry Kugel and others donated funds to help put on the tribute. Boyd Harnell developed his photographs from the Pan-Americana Road Race and enlarged them to give to his old friend. Ed Justice Jr, president of Justice Brothers Car Care Products, put on a magic show that kept the audience enthralled, except for his dad, Ed Sr, who knew all the tricks. George Barris came to pay his respects and to note that "the car culture has really come along." George had just finished his own car show and auction in Hollywood in conjunction with Debbie Baker to raise funds for cancer research. Wally Parks praised Ak for all that he did in SCTA and for their club, the Road Runners. Parks told the audience how Ak inspired people to do things. He related how they all worked together to help Doc Ostich build and race the Flying Caduceus, an early jet car that helped to set the stage for the successful advent of the Breedlove/Arfons/Noble jet cars of the 1960’s. He said that Ak and Ray would tease each other unmercifully and get a rhyming patter going about how awful the other one was. They both had a comedic talent that kept everyone in stitches. Ak was a clever punster and could change anyone’s name or personality into a catchy nickname, which would become permanent as soon as he uttered it. Joann Brock spoke of the old times together. He had that twinkle in his eye and a kind word for everyone, and a boyish charm that never went stale. Joann and Ray went with Ak to Pike’s Peak, Baja California, Bonneville, Mexico and many other exotic racing locales and never tired of their trips together. She spoke of the one-liners that Ray and Ak pestered each other with and told the audience of some of the nicknames Miller came up with. Charles Rollins, Joann Brock’s son-in-law, also mentioned how Ray and Ak would torment each other in a kidding way. He talked about the rich stories Ak would tell them, and referred to it as Miller’s Syndrome; "for making a good story better." Rollins said that Miller is still collecting a small pension from the Army for his WWII war injuries. Ak interjected and said he was fortunate to have kept his toes after suffering frostbite in the Battle of the Bulge. Rollins thanked Bruce Glasscock for restoring the El Caballo de Hierro racecar. He then said that Ak’s cars had unusual names, like The Misconception, and The Blob, because the cars were nothing to look at. Miller brought the house down in a surge of laughter and applause when he retorted, "I came to race, not work on my car." Bob Corn of Roush Racing, traveled to the event from Michigan along with his wife Nancy. He spoke to the crowd about his days with Ak at Ford Motor Company when he was a young engineer and Miller was Ford’s Racing Consultant. Ak traveled all over the country setting up the Ford Racing Team displays, and recalled how that had been some of the best times of his life. "I’ll always be a Ford man," said Ak. Dick Martin recalled the time a man came to him and tried to sell him a truckful of turbochargers. It seemed fishy and he called Ak. "Don’t buy them from that guy, he stole them from me." Earl Wooden honored Ak for all that he has done for the landspeed racing community over the years and spoke with pride about having Ak attain the Red cap of the 200 MPH Club in his Crossley Coupe in 1991. He talked about the days at Bonneville and on the dry lakes of Southern California. Fred Carrillo told the throng that he was Miller’s best man at his first marriage. They were both Road Runners and raced against each other at the SCTA dry lakes meets. George Barris returned to the podium to talk about the days when he and Ak traveled the country on behalf of the Ford Custom Car Caravan. It was a time when the greatest car engineers and designers met with the best of the hot rodders and racers like Ak. Ed Iskenderian raised his hand and asked to speak. "Set the stopwatch," someone yelled from the audience, but the ever good-natured Isky was not deterred and took over the microphone. He said that Ak brought color and excitement to the Mexican road races that he entered. He added his comments about the stolen shipment of superchargers. "They were sold to Chuck Potvin, who lost a good deal of money when he found out they were stolen." Then he left the podium and announced, "If I think of something else I might come up later," which brought out groans and comments of "bring a stopwatch," from the audience. The hot rodders tease Isky, but there is no one that they would rather hear from, unless it is the irrepressible Miller himself. Ron Benham spoke about Ak’s record run in the Earl Wooden Crossley Coupe. Benham had built the car and sold it to Wooden. That car qualified many a landspeed racer for a record, and Benham has built cars that put a lot of people into the record books, including Ak. Travis spoke of the time Miller took him out in his roadster and went over 120mph down the city roads. "That was the last time I let him do that to me." Jim spoke fondly of the Miller/Lufkin/Carr team at Bonneville. They would have 4 cars at the Salt Flats and they were always breaking records and later the parties would be notorious. Lufkin was known as quite the gambler and had a mathematical method for winning. Sam Jackson, director of the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum, thanked the crowd for coming to the tribute for Miller and said, "this is the first time that I have met Ak, but I have heard about his exploits, the trips to Goodwood and Miller’s other deeds." Jackson went on to add, "the museum is a living place, a place of history," and to come back often and hold events such as the one today. Boyd Harnell presented enlargements of Ak racing in the Pan-Americana Road Race and how fascinating that time was. Ron Cummings told the audience many of his Ak stories. Cummings said that Ak raced in SCCA Road races, and had 5 cars. He raced against Stirling Moss, Richie Gunther, Phil Hill and Dan Gurney in the L.A. Times Road Race. He was very good and if he had better equipment would have been a household name. But at this race he was getting black flagged off the track by a referee for dropping oil on the track. Each time Ak would make up ground on the leaders, this referee would black flag him off the track. After the race Ak found out that the man who had blackflagged him was the husband of a lady Ak knew. Leslie Long said that Joe Reath had challenged Ak to a race and lost, whereupon Jack Lufkin piped up, "Ak’s never been beaten in a fair race." Dick Martin said, "Ak’s gotten a lot of speeding tickets in his lifetime. He’s an unregimented racer just like Max Balchowsky was." Ak made such an impression on Martin with his vast racing experience and folklore that Ak became the first hot rod legend that Martin wrote about for Rod & Custom Magazine. Ed Iskenderian, as he promised grabbed the mike. "I’d be willing to pay for Ak’s stories." Ron Hope, driver of Don Green’s fuel altered drag car, The Rat Trap, told about hanging around Miller’s shop. He learned a great deal and said that "Ak and Jack Lufkin were a great influence and launched many a career and helped the kids along in their racing ventures." Frank Morimoto spoke about the dry lakes days and Kam and Harry Oka and the Miller brothers. Finally, the great man himself took the microphone and though he was in a wheelchair, his voice was still strong and full of life and he regaled the audience with his wit and charm. "It’s been a lot of fun listening to all you racers," he said. The audience was quiet as Miller continued, "all these guys were always trying to beat me, with my reputation and all, and getting me into trouble," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "The police gave his mother a ticket for me, and she boxed my ears. It was 3 dollars or 3 days in the pokey in those days, and we always opted for the pokey. Money was really worth something in those days." Miller spoke about the good old days of hot rodding, and teased all those that had teased him at his tribute. Then he became serious and said, "If you want to know about the early days in hot rodding, go talk to my good friend Wally Parks," and with that he handed the microphone back to Dick Martin and received a standing ovation. Others who came to show their respects included: Stormin’ Norman Benham, Richard Miazga, Don Kanotick, Phil Hara, Johnny Ryan, Bob Keller, Mark Saxlond, Bruce Eikenberger, Jim Moran, Rory Rinebold, Eric "Rick" Rickman, Michael Rickman, Don Blair, John McDowell, Dennis Jones, James and Earlene Smith, Mike Jones, Nancy Corn, Pete and Doris Pierce, Barbara Parks, Roger Rohrdanz, Jack Gingrich, John Watt, Dan and Doris Eames, Chuck Nippress, Vic Cunningham, Wayne Phillips, Jim "Jake" Jacobs, Tim Timmerman, Mike Cincola, Bill "Whizzer Bike" and Joey Graham, Bruce Glasscock, Jim Miller, Louis Senter, Ross Haas, Rick Burley, Bob Millner, Nick Arias Jr, Randy Schmitt, John Della Porta, Sherry Watkins, Lee Wasden, Bob Wildoner, Ernie and Dion Chapman, Don Zabel, George Callaway, Jon Meyer, Duane McKinney and many others. Gone Racin’ is at [email protected]
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