Today in 1966, Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby, racing for the Shelby American team, win the inaugural 24 Hours of Daytona.
Synopsis
Ford v Ferrari is a sports drama about automotive visionary Carroll Shelby (played by Matt Damon) and British driver Ken Miles (portrayed by Christian Bale), who are tasked by Lee Iacocca (played by Jon Bernthal) of Ford to build a revolutionary race car capable of defeating juggernaut Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. The film captures their relentless pursuit, the challenges they face within the corporate world, and the fierce competition on the racetrack as they push the limits of engineering and human endurance to achieve greatness.
Why Today?
February 6th, 1966, was the finish of the 24 Hours of Daytona, with a victory by Ken Miles and Lloyd Ruby to secure the win for Shelby American and the Ford company.
In Ford v Ferrari, this is a pivotal plot point as Carroll Shelby guarantees to Ford that their team will win Daytona to secure Miles' position as driver for the Le Mans race (while this is apparently dramatized for the movie, it's an effective motivator to raise the stakes).