Miles and Sam loved race cars – they even built their own racetrack on their upstate New York property. They also introduced the MG brand to America and raced them all over the world. Founding the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) in 1933, they participated in local gymkanas, hill climbs, and road races at tracks such as Bridgehampton, Roosevelt Raceway, Watkins Glen, and even at the 1939 World’s Fair.

ARCA was dissolved at the beginning of WWII, but the brothers reappeared along with Cameron Argetsinger, Bill Milliken, Fred Wacker, and Briggs Cunningham to establish and race in a new sanctioning body: the SCCA. Because these folks were greatly involved with ARCA before the war, SCCA was looked upon by many at the time as an outgrowth of the original ARCA pre-war race sanctioning group.

Thanks to their close association with people such as Argetsinger, Milliken, Wacker, Cunningham, and other well-known racing names of the period, the brothers used their established networks from ARCA for insurance, classing, and regulations to organize and stage SCCA races.

In 1950, the brothers traveled and participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans to promote the SCCA and road racing in America. Sam also worked with Alec Ulmann to establish the inaugural Sebring endurance race, at that time a six-hour race. In his book, “The Sebring Story,” Ulmann gives credit to the brothers, especially Sam, for the service they gave to the sport.

They are also recognized by the North American Motorsports Pages, Hemmings, and the history archives of Watkins Glen (to name a few) to have greatly advanced road racing in America.

Sam was driving in the Watkins Glen Grand Prix in 1950 when he crashed in a borrowed Ferrari owned by Briggs Cunningham, passing away from the injuries. Miles died a few years later from polio.

Miles and Sam Collier were inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame on Jan. 17, 2025.