'IT’S TAKEN me 31 years, but I’ve finally worked my way all the way back to last place,” Carmel resident John Kerby-Miller said from the seat of his 1958 Porsche 356A “bathtub” Speedster at the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races Saturday afternoon.

He wasn’t complaining about his performance. After all, Kerby-Miller has enjoyed numerous successful finishes since he started racing his Porsche — the family car at the time — by competing in steep hill-climbs and driving on tracks laid out on airport tarmac in 1961. He moved to road racing with the Sports Car Club of America in 1963 and was first invited to Steve Earle’s vintage races at Laguna Seca in 1977, just three years after the inaugural event.

But this year, rather than fighting for a top-place finish, he was perfectly content to circle the track in what were to be his last Monterey Historic Automobile Races.

“It’s always the biggest thing I do all year,” he said of participating in the August event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Fighting bone cancer and set to undergo intensive chemotherapy treatments, Kerby-Miller decided to hang up his racing shoes after three decades of driving the Porsche and a 1964 Mercury Comet at the Historics. As he predicted, he finished in last place Saturday.

Nonetheless, he won an award during Sunday’s ceremony at the conclusion of the Historics. The 6-inch-tall Steuben Glass trophies are not offered to race winners, but to those whose automobiles are notable. Kerby-Miller received the award for Best Presentation and Performance in his group — 1955-1962 Production Sports Cars Under 2,300cc.

“That proves it’s OK to be last,” he said Tuesday.

After being called forward to claim his trophy, Kerby-Miller took the microphone offered by Earle and thanked the crowd for their support and camaraderie over the years.

“I told them it was my last race because of the cancer,” he said. “They all stood up and clapped.”

Kerby-Miller pronounced the weekend’s racing and the award “a great finale” for his on-track career. With his cars (the Comet was shown in the Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours on the Avenue last Tuesday) back in the trailer and headed for Kerby-Miller’s other home in Kentfield, he prepared this week to face the challenges of aggressive cancer treatment, as so far other methods have not been successful. He also expressed gratitude for the support of his wife, Bonnie — who has been deeply involved in racing as well — and the congregation at Church of the Wayfarer in Carmel, where they were married 54 years ago.