Nanaimo’s Jack Milner began his racing career in 1957 as a mechanic on a 1934 Ford Stockcar which his brother Jim drove at Western Speedway. The brothers also began racing at Nanaimo’s Grandview Bowl quarter mile oval when it opened in May of the following year. During that season, Jim moved away for work, leaving their car for Jack who quickly made the transition from mechanic to driver and was soon winning races including a main event early in the 1959 season.
Continuing to compete in the Stockcar class, Jack finished ninth in Island points in 1960 and fifth in 1961 following which he and his crew began construction of a car for the newly-created Modified Sportsman class. This new racer featured a square tubing frame with transverse leaf-sprung suspension front and rear along with a 301 cubic inch Chev V8 engine which was put together with parts that came from Portland Oregon. In order to save money, Jack ported the engine’s cylinder heads himself, spending many evenings with a high-speed grinding tool in his single car shop.
He and his crew had their efforts rewarded during the new division’s first season of 1962 with Jack recording many wins and good finishes which resulted in his placing second in the Island year end Sportsman points standings behind Billy Foster. Running the same car the following season which included Nanaimo’s hosting of the inaugural event on the newly-formed CAMRA (Canadian American Modified Racing Association) circuit, Jack continued to place well and ran at tracks including Portland Oregon, Boise Idaho and also Monroe Washington’s 5/8” mile oval which Jack said was so fast that by the end of the straightaways his car’s front end began to lift. He then noticed that several of his fellow competitor’s cars had their roofs angled downward at the front to help correct this while his was level.
His final year of 1965 was Jack’s best with his becoming the Island Modified points champion and the night of July 24th at Western was one of that season’s highlights. Having won a previous trophy dash, officials thought they might prevent Jack from winning a second by asking his wife Lucille to act as trophy girl and present this meet’s award. But Jack did win that dash as well as a second place in the fast heat and capped the evening off with a victory in the annual Roy White Memorial race.
Jack currently lives an active retired life in Nanaimo with his wife and family.
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- 1959 Grandview Bowl programme cover
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- 1960 at Western: Jack’s #26 between #16 Bill Smith and #2 Gil Philardi with #9 Ray Pottinger further out (Barrie Goodwin photo).
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- 1960 at Grandview Bowl: Jack and his #26 car (photographer unknown).
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- 1961: Jack with his #9 car powered by a 292 cubic inch Ford overhead valve V8 (possible Nanaimo Free Press photo)
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- August 4th 1961 Nanaimo newspaper race results.
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- 1961 At Western: Jack on the outside duels with Dick Varley (left) and Dave Cooper (Ted Mackenzie photo).
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- 1962: Jack in his #5 Chev V8-powered Modified Sportsman (Ted Mackenzie photo).
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- 1962: Jack winning the Modified Sportsman main event at Western on July 21st (Ted Mackenzie photo).
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- 1963 at Grandview Bowl: Jack in his #2 car at the inaugural CAMRA race on May 17th (Ted Mackenzie photo).
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- 1963 at Grandview Bowl: May 17th CAMRA fast heat with (left to right) #21 Bill Crow, #7 Bob Gregg, #6 Dick Ganoe with #3 George Robertson outside and #2 Jack Milner (Ted Mackenzie photo).
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- June 1st 1963 Victoria Daily Colonist race results.
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- 1965 at Western: Jack receving his second-in-a-row dash trophy from his wife Lucille on July 24th (Barrie Goodwin photo).
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- 1965 at Western: Jack receiving the Roy White Memorial trophy from Roy’s son Glen on July 24th (Barrie Goodwin photo).
