Carroll Shelby has left the track

[sipowicz]

I met him a few years back at a Mustang meet where he signed the dash of my friend's KR500...RIP Caroll...

 

[rcnixon]

His Can-Am cars were the favorite of most of my friends and I. He saw ground effects when many just wanted brute horsepower. The ground effects car with the sucker fans driven by a two stroke engine were unforgettable. Shelby, innovator who achieved what others never had the conviction to try.

I saw the debut of the 2J "sucker" car at Watkins Glen, I think in '71 or '72. Jackie Stewart was driving and the only color on the all-white car was his royal Stewart tartan helmet decoration. It circulated the track for a while and then Stewart lit off the JLO snowmobile engine powering the vacuum fans. Within a couple of laps, he had taken two seconds off the Group 7 (CanAm cars) lap record at the old 'Glen track. The powers-that-be banned the car because the fan blades were judged to be "movable airfoils". I believe that was the last Chapparal car.

Ya gotta love a man with a racetrack in his back yard.

I believe that the original small-block Cobras were the better-handling ones. The 427s were real fast but they didn't want to turn. Just my not so humble opinion.

Russ

 

[P&R Fan]

Always lusted after his cars. Never came close to having the money, not yet anyway.
My only connection to him is his chili. Our local supermarket sells Caroll Shelby Chili Preparation mix. That stuff is GOOD!!
Make up a bowl in his honor.
Jim

 

[westcoast362]

For a few years I had a pit pass at the Monterey Historics. During the lunch break they would put some famous cars out on the track. One year I was within touching distance of Carroll Shelby and Ray Salvadorl in the Aston Martin that they had driven to a win at LeMans. Quite a thrill!!

 

[5-Shot]

I'll miss Old Shel too. Ever drive a Dodge Omni GLHS? (Not just a GLH but with the S added.) It was his attempt to outrun a Ferrari on the track with a car you could buy with pocket change. It worked, but as you might guess there were compromises.

As much as I admire the Chili king, I believe it was Jim Hall who built the Chaparral and the infamous sucker car.

Ed

 

[Florida Guy]

Amazing.... he was still developing cars at age 89.
What an influence he had on the industry.
A true master.
RIP

 

[Coldshooter]

"As much as I admire the Chili king, I believe it was Jim Hall who built the Chaparral and the infamous sucker car."

You are absolutely right those #65 and #66 were Jim Hall's work totally. I need to wait for Speed Network to rerun America's Greatest Sports Car and refresh my memory.

 

[SixGunHunter]

There must have been some sort of Ferrari gathering here in NH today. It is rare to see one, let alone 2 on the same road.
All I could think about is having a 427 Cobra and passing those Ferrari's over and over...

RIP Mr Shelby and thank you for the long list of fine automobiles you created and helped create. America loves you!

PS
The price just went up.

 

[PatAz]

The only man to ever win Le Mans as a driver, owner, and manufacturer.
And I still regret I sold my Shelby Mustang.

 

[rcnixon]

I'll miss Old Shel too. Ever drive a Dodge Omni GLHS? (Not just a GLH but with the S added.) It was his attempt to outrun a Ferrari on the track with a car you could buy with pocket change. It worked, but as you might guess there were compromises.

As much as I admire the Chili king, I believe it was Jim Hall who built the Chaparral and the infamous sucker car.

Ed

Ed, thanks for the correction. It was Jim Hall with the Chaparrals. Bummer on getting old! It's Hall with the track in the backyard too. Shelby did make some magnificent cars and was a heckuva racer.

God speed Carrol Shelby.

Russ

 

[chud333]

Damn shame but they don't make men like Carrol Shelby or Chuck Yeager any more. A pioneer in automotive industry who i got to see drive the pace car here at INDY twice !!! Back when we still made things in this country that we're worth something. Now we've become a service provider. What a travesty this is.


Chuck

 

[zonker5]

From the Chaparral to the varied Cobra's, Shelby was a true American original.

While Shelby did a lot of things in the world of racing, it was Jim Hall who designed, built and drove the Chaparrals.

 

[viceunit]

I was watching something on the Speed channel Saturday morning. Grabbed a cup of coffee and the paper. There was a commercial on with Carroll Shelby hawking some additive product. Then I picked up the paper and saw his obit while the commercial was still running. Weird.

He sure had a varied and very interesting life.

 

[palmetto99]

An original for sure.