Products – Kohler Racing
Wynnfurst, Family First: Father-Son Tandem Fuel Kohler Racing
As race fans reveled in the Memorial Day weekend’s Indianapolis 500, Kohler Co. occupies a favorable pole position in auto racing dating back to the 1970s – from helping to develop and sponsor corporate pilot Jeff Miller’s inaugural campaign and subsequent domination in the SCCA series, to its longstanding relationship with the nearby and historic road course Road America, to now sponsoring Jeff’s son, Jason, a senior staff engineer who is carrying on the Kohler-Miller racing legacy.
“This is true grassroots racing. We build the majority of the parts, and our engines are definitely a cut above everyone else’s in the field.” Jeff Miller – Race Car Driver, Retired Kohler Corporate Pilot
Auto racing is steeped in history and tradition – the Indianapolis 500 and a bottle of milk for the winner, Daytona 500 (aka the Great American Race), kissing the bricks, reverse victory lap, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and “start your engines!” It’s also a family affair…Unser, Petty, Alllison and Andretti.
Going back to the mid-1970s, Kohler Co. has more than dipped its toe in oval tracks and road courses ignited by an ambitious, innovative and talented corporate pilot – Jeff Miller. Now retired from Kohler, Miller forged a legacy as a multiple champion race car driver in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) series and, in the process, paved the way for his son, Jason, currently a senior staff engineer in Kitchen & Bath product innovation, to follow in the cockpit.
In the world of auto racing, suffice it to say that Jeff’s independent vintage and sports car Wynnfurst Racing team, which includes Jason and longtime retired Kohler executive Ron Pace, and the SCCA are best described as a championship partnership – one between an elite independent sports car team and a premier sanctioning body for grassroots American motorsports.
Build me a race car around this
While Jeff was working as a corporate pilot for Kohler and passionate about racing B-Production Corvettes, he became enamored with a Kohler engine that was being used for military drones and pondered if it could be adapted as a race car power source. Around the same time, Kohler was in the process of exiting the snowmobile engine business and gifted a model to Jeff. Kohler had been the engine of choice for the Mercury Sno-Twister, a popular snowmobile built specifically for racing.
Jeff worked with the same Kohler engineering team who developed the snowmobile engine as his model used many of the same components. Next, the Wynnfurst team took its 1972 Kohler engine and connected with racing royalty Carl Haas to secure a Lola chassis to envelop its newfound power source. Kohler Power became a primary sponsor of the race team in 1974 and with its car “ready to rumble” Wynnfurst and Kohler embarked on competing in the SCCA and Can-Am series.
It didn’t take too long for Jeff to find success and become a regular acquaintance with the checkered flag. In 1976, after flirting with championship success, it all came together for Jeff and his D-Sports racer – the Wynnfurst/Kohler Special – at the SCCA’s national championship meet in Atlanta where he captured the Class D Sports Racing crown. It had been a watershed season for Jeff winning eight of 10 races and setting several records at various tracks in the process.
SCCA Class D-Sports Racing is creativity at its finest. Having now evolved into the modern Prototype 2 class, it is known for delivering high performance and technical ingenuity at a fraction of the cost. The class is reserved for cars that are virtually hand-built and serves as a space in amateur motorsports where engineers and home-builders experiment in areas such as advanced aerodynamics and high-tech electronics without rigid manufacturing rules.
“This is true grassroots racing. We build the majority of the parts, and our engines are definitely a cut above everyone else’s in the field,” Jeff once described.
With one championship belt secured, Jeff soon dominated the circuit – capturing additional D-class titles in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1983. His final title in 1996 – 20 years after the first –was accomplished competing, this time, in the more powerful and faster SCCA C-class, now known as the Prototype 1 class.
“Because we are in the engine business, Jeff’s achievements have helped enhance our reputation within the industry. His victories also are a source of pride for the associates and engineers who have worked closely with him in developing his race cars,” remarked Rick Shoemaker, who was serving as VP & GM of the Kohler Engine Division at the time of Jeff’s sixth national championship.
Like father, like son
Jason Miller grew up around racing literally his whole life and, as a leader of the pit crew and a driver himself from the age of 12, witnessed firsthand the greatness of his father. As a senior staff engineer in Kohler’s Kitchen & Bath Americas business, Jason focuses on product innovation. While on the track, he is forging his own racing legacy. Jason has found success, much like his father, at nearby Road America in Elkhart Lake. Affectionately nicknamed the National Park of Speed, Road America is the only permanent, historic 4-mile road circuit in North America that retains its exact, unaltered original layout.
Kohler has had a long relationship with Road America and at various times has served as sponsor of the SCCA’s popular June Sprints, KOHLER International Challenge vintage car racing, and more recently as primary sponsor of the Kohler Grand Prix from 2016 to 2018, which also marked the return of top-tier IndyCar Series racing to Wisconsin after a nearly decade-long absence.
Among Jason’s most memorable wins occurred during June Sprints at Road America in 2001 and 2005, but 2025 was a breakout year for him. At the 2025 SCCA National Championship Runoffs held at Road America, he captured the gold medal to win his first national championship in the Prototype class. The 2025 event was the first time the SCCA officially ran its consolidated Prototype class, which merged the historic Prototype 1 and Prototype 2 machinery into a single, balanced racing group.
Powered by his Wynnfurst West Kohler 2-Stroke prototype engine, Jason’s triumph was emotional at his adopted home track as a resident of nearby Plymouth, Wisconsin. Adding to his great year was being selected by the Road Racing Driver’s Club’s to receive the Mark Donohue Award – named after a former SCCA champion and hall-of-fame inductee – which recognizes the driver exhibiting the most outstanding performance at the annual SCCA National Championship Runoffs in terms of personal spirit and skill behind the wheel.
“I probably have had over 70 races at Road America. Honestly, to win the Runoffs at the best track in the United States in my backyard with all my friends and family watching, it just doesn’t get any better,” he said.
The Wynnfurst team’s achievement of seven national championships powered by the Kohler 2-stroke engine has gained recognition worldwide in the realm of auto racing. To this day, Kohler remains a primary supporter of the team—both as a sponsor and through the involvement of many past and present associates as part of the team’s crew and as race fans. Their passion and commitment have played a vital role in the race team’s longevity and ongoing success.
