Recently the Miley family surprised their fans with the return of the retro No. 99 “Pink Panther” racecar to Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway as a tribute to Ben Miley.

It was a celebration of a couple of milestones: 50 years of racing for their team and 30 years of owning the speedway that was founded by the late James (Red) Miley.

It all began in the early 1960s when dad, the late Bill Miley, and mom, Bertha (Sis) Miley, took their boys; Ben, Jerry, “Red” and Matt to Heidelberg and South Park racetracks.

The group rooted for Herb Scott.

“That pink and white No. 1 is what got us involved in racing,” said Matt Miley. “We would see that car and from that point on, one day we wanted our own car to be pink.”

As the years passed, the boys decided to pool their money and build a racecar.

“We had various jobs like paper routes and working in a drug store and garages for 85 cents an hour,” said Ben.

Being the eldest, he was selected as the driver, since you had to be 18 to get into the Heidelberg pits. The next sibling in line was Jerry, who eventually built the motors under the tutelage of Tom Kennedy. Jerry was also the chief mechanic. “Red” was an innovator and he and Matt helped fabricate and set-up the chassis on the car. The boy’s younger sister, Ty, would later support them from the grandstands.

The team wanted to choose No. 98, but it was taken and there were no repeat numbers permitted; thus, their car became No. 99 and they nicknamed it the “Pink Panther.” At the speedway, Ben had to park the racer near a fence since his brothers were not old enough to get into the pits.

“They had to stand outside and tell me what to do on the car,” said Ben, who ran the Figure Eight division in 1969.

During the family’s first race, they blew the engine that a guy built in the garage where Jerry worked. That’s when dad Bill and uncle Jim came to the rescue and took the team and the car to Tom Kennedy at Gates Machine. They were seeking advice and wanted to get a new engine put together — and better yet an education for Jerry on how to build a race engine.

Gates Machine employed Jerry while he was in high school. Once he got the proper knowledge, Jerry would go on to build every race engine for Ben during his career and later bought Gates/Brougher Engine Shop. After high school and throughout their racing initiation, Ben, Matt and “Red” all attended Slippery Rock College seeking their various degrees.

In May, 1970, Ben collected his first victory on a Sunday afternoon at Clinton and then followed with a Saturday win in the Claimer Division at Heidelberg. He continued to run that division at Heidelberg until 1973. He then moved up to Late Models where he raced until his retirement at the end of the 2017 season. He then handed over the total driving reins to his nephew, Jared Miley.

Ben Miley had raced for six decades. His hall-of-fame career included 13 track championships that came at PPMS, Lernerville, and Motordrome. He has 54 Late Model wins at PPMS, 34 features at Lernerville and 19 at Motordrome. He also recorded wins at Clearfield, Sharon, North Hills, and Latrobe.

His nephew, Jared, has become a top contender in the Late Model class, winning 26 features. In 2018 he has combined forces with Butler Late Model owner Joe Corrado’s operation to become a power-house of a team.

By Ben’s side for 42 years is his wife, Jayne, who really doesn’t like racing.

“I thought this was only a passing phase for him” she said. “But I should have known when our first date was at Motordrome Speedway.”

Jayne has prepared a smorgasbord of food and snacks in the PPMS press box for sponsors and the press for 30 years.

Jerry Miley still operates Brougher/Gates Engine Shop. He and his wife, Debbie, have two sons, Matthew and Jared. Matt, has taken over as the chief operator of PPMS. Matt’s wife Karen (Hutchison) Miley, and their son, Will, lend their support at the track weekly.

Matt also said, “Uncle Jim still works at the track. He and his wife Pat have been here since day one.”

Twyla (Ty) reminisced, “Growing up in a family of boys, with me being the youngest sibling and the only girl, I am so happy and blessed that our parents raised us to be great siblings together. Racing has been in our blood for a long time and one of our common bonds.”

Another family joined the five Mileys to form the PPMS team when it was acquired in 1989. The late David and Kathy Boroch were owners of the Old Allegheny Shoppe and originally sponsored the No. 99 racer.

“Red” Miley was the first PPMS promoter. He spent most of his adult life juggling the responsibilities of running several gas stations, a truck rental business, serving in municipal government, and hosting a stream of foreign exchange students. He and his wife, Ruth adopted three girls from China; Jade, Lydia, and Kate.

“Red” died in 2007.

With 50 years of Miley Motorsports, Jared, with his brother Mathew, are the new generation of the Miley Family Racing, taking over where their uncle Ben left off after his hall-of-fame career.

Previously Jared has successfully run Limited Lates and then Lates for several years.

The list of the Miley family goes way beyond the racetrack. Quite simply, the Miley family and Western Pennsylvania racing are synonymous.

Carol Gamble is a racing columnist for the Butler Eagle.