CARROLL SHELBY: CELEBRATING HIS LIFE!

Shelby’s last professional race was at Laguna Seca and his life and cars will be celebrated at this year’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

                                                                            

It would be hard to find an automotive journalist or editor who worked during the 1960s who didn’t have a favorite Carroll Shelby story. And I’m no exception. During the heyday of Shelby American, Cobras, Trans-Am racing, GT40s and GT Mustangs I was the editor of Hi-Performance CARS Magazine. And, I owned a street-show rod, powered by a tri-carb small-block Ford adorned, from air cleaner to oil pan, with Cobra parts and pieces graciously donated by Carroll Shelby.

In the summer of 1964, I was at a Ford Press event at Riverside Raceway. The host hotel was the Mission Inn, both it and the racetrack are long gone. The night before the first track day a bunch of us were invited to Carroll’s suite for after- dinner drinks. He was partying really hard and I left at around Midnight. I later found out the party was going strong until the wee hours of the morning.

The next day I was at the track at 8:00 AM, lined up to ride in Shelby-prepared small-block Cobra racecars. My driver: Carroll Shelby! He couldn’t have had more than a couple of hours sleep. They strapped me in, we exchanged pleasantries and we roared into the first corner. Riverside was his home track and that was one of my most exhilarating rides in a racecar. Once I got over the image of him carrying on and consuming copious amounts of alcohol not that many hours before, I was totally into it. Pure adrenalin. Carroll Shelby was and remains my hero.



This year’s Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, August 17-19, celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Shelby Cobra. But the featured marque honor becomes more poignant with the recent passing of the man who was simply known to friends as “Shel.” Shelby was a frequent participant during Laguna Seca Raceway’s formative years. It was here, on October 20, 1960, that Shelby drove the No. 98 Tipo 61 Maserati “Birdcage” in the final race of his legendary driving career. Despite taking nitroglycerin pills to ease chest pains, he finished second after leading much of the race. That position, however, earned enough points for Shelby to clinch the 1960 USAC Sports Car Championship.



Lead photo courtesy of The Henry Ford. Photo of Shelby delivering first GT40 street car, above, Shelby American archives.



For more information on the 2012 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion and celebration of the Carroll Shelby legacy and spirit at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca please visit, http://www.mazdaraceway.com/rolex-monterey-motorsports-reunion