CLOSE-UP
Morgan Miles
Climbing the Ranks
I
f anyone was destined to race cars based solely upon their
upbringing, Morgan Miles definitely fits the description of some-
one whose life was directly impacted by her drag racing roots. The
17-year-old Jackson, South Carolina native not only comes from a
long line of dedicated gearheads, her family even owns their own drag
strip!
Morgan’s late grandfather, Jeff Miles Sr., purchased Carolina Dragway
back in 1985, and it’s been in the family ever since. Morgan’s father, Jeff
Miles Jr., and her aunt Angel jointly own, operate and even utilize the
track themselves for their own racing endeavors. The drag racing bug was
eventually passed down to the third generation, which numbers numer-
ous grandchildren, including Morgan.
P H O T O G R A P H
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The Miles family reside just minutes from the popular track that has
been such a big part of their lives, and by the time Morgan turned 7 years
old she was already making some practice laps in her first Junior Dragster,
receiving her IHRA competition license the following year. She won a few
rounds during her inaugural season, but ultimately it served as a grand
introduction to the sport for the 8-year-old, while her father coached her
every step of the way and carefully advanced her levels as she gained expe-
rience. “One thing that made it difficult in the beginning was the fact that
her car was very slow,” Jeff recalled. “It’s hard to make a car that slow run
consistent, but we were mainly trying to get her adapted to the car first.”
To Morgan’s credit, she did earn a spot on the Bracket Finals team her
very first year of competition. She progressed nicely throughout her teen-
V A N
A B E R N E T H Y
Issue 122