Carroll Shelby the man, was an entrepreneur, an excellent race car driver, an outstanding automotive designer, and a real showman. Family member Aaron Shelby shared stories about his grandfather Carroll Shelby, the icon. Shelby was a force to be reckoned with on the international sports car scene. He not only competed against but often won when raced drivers such as Stirling Moss, Masten Gregory, Ken Miles, Dan Gurney, Briggs Cunningham, Jack McAfee and many, many more. Aaron went into detail about how Carroll’s path from farmer to racer to a leader in the automaker design industry.
On display was the MG that Carroll was driving when he won his first race in Oklahoma. Another item on display was the driving suit from the Pan-American Road Race where Carroll suffered injuries to his right arm which required the sleeve to be cut off.
Flat-track tuner Bill Werner is a 13 time AMA Mechanic of the Year. Werner has tuned motorcycles for a star-studded list of Hall of Famers including Scott Parker, Jay Springsteen and Gary Scott. Werner was part of 13 AMA Grand National Championships.
Hall of Famer Werner, presented the history of AMA Grand National Championship motorcycle racing and shared stories from the most traditional form of competition in the United States – Flat Track racing. Werner provided photos and stories of being on the championship trail with the team ever other competitor was trying to beat.
Werner was joined by famed historian Bill Milburn and AMA Grand National Champion Mike Kidd for a roundtable and Q&A session.
All forms of motor racing have evolved. They had to change with the times. The Evolution of the Sprint Car, from the “rail frame” – to the “tube frame” – to the “caged” – to the 900 horse powered “winged” Sprint Cars of today is a 100 year old tale.
Joshua Shaw grew up immersed in the world of sprint car racing. Along the way he studied the history and design of sprint cars. Shaw covered the transformation of these types of race cars with the greatest power-to-weight ratio in existence in front of a packed house.