Ken Miles was perhaps the greatest member of the Shelby American team, driving every car at every race to the best of his remarkable ability, and logging untold development miles. At the last minute, Miles was paired with Grand Prix driver Denny Hulme. The New Zealander had only raced at Le Mans once before, in 1961 driving a Fiat, but had proven himself to be a very worthy competitor in 1965, his first season of F1 competition.
Miles, driving the #1 car, was the first into the pits for a brief stop. Back on track and with only 20 laps under his belt, he would slice over 6 seconds off of the previous lap record! But endurance takes on a whole new meaning when the daylight gives way to darkness, and night again turns to day at Le Mans. The Fords took a beating overnight, but several Mk IIs remained at the front of the field. Miles/Hulme had led through most of the night, handing the lead briefly to the Gurney/Grant and McLaren/Amon cars, with the Bucknum/Hutcherson car never too far behind.
With Miles back behind the wheel for the final stint, the big Fords crept around the circuit to form a 1-2-3 photo finish. As they rounded the final turn, a puzzling thing happened... Miles actually braked to let McLaren cross the finish line first! Some team members thought Miles was a lap ahead and therefore still the victor. Race officials thought differently. A photo opportunity cost Miles and Hulme victory at the world's greatest endurance race... a particularly troubling result as Miles would be killed just two months later in testing at Riverside.