7TH ANNUAL CARROLL SHELBY TRIBUTE

For over 60 years one name above all has been synonymous with American car culture and that is Carroll Shelby.  

Luckily, we can thank a failed bid at establishing a chicken farm post WWII in East Texas for Shelby’s pursuit of racing cars professionally. He’d later turn his winning spirit into the iconic  brand we know today as Shelby American.  

His life and legacy was celebrated at the 7th Annual Carroll Shelby Tribute at the Lyon Air Museum in Santa Ana, CA.  

For those who have never been, the Lyon Air Museum is a fantastic collection of air worthy WWII aircraft, with docents as well as military memorabilia and its own collection of rare vintage automobiles.  

Carroll Shelby’s influence on car culture cannot be overstated, a sentiment reflected in the cars and owners that showed up to the Lyon Air Museum on the morning of Saturday, March 14th to pay tribute to the legend.  

I found it fitting that the gathering took place at the John Wayne Airport, considering that in 1965 expanded production meant moving the original Venice operations to hangars at LAX.

All eras of Shelby Mustang were present on Saturday, from the high revving 289 cubic inch V8 GT350 and Rent A Racer GT350H produced for Hertz rental company to the 428ci big block 1968 GT500 and King of the Road that improved straight line performance.  

All manner of current era GT500’s lined up on the tarmac as well as the rare Shelby F150.

A few licensed continuation cars made their way to the tribute as well.  Two Shelby GT350s sat next to each other with OVC badging, which stands for Original Venice Crew.  Venice is where Shelby American established its first workshop 1962.  The OVC were Carroll Shelby’s core team of engineers, notably Peter Brock, Jim Marietta and Ted Sutton, all legends in their own right.  

Closet to the runway was a lineup of Orange County-based Hillbank Motor Corporation Superformance licensed Shelby continuation vehicles.  The people at Hillbank are great. If you’re ever in Irvine, I highly recommend visiting their showroom then walking next door to Segerstrom Shelby—after which you will be in Cobra heaven.

A GT40 in proper Gulf livery sat at the end of the Hillbank display.  Two gentlemen stood by, one was the owner, Dave. He turned out to be a childhood friend of my mother.  I only know this because her friends who grew up in the South Bay went to high school together and told of the fun they had riding in a Gulf-colored GT40.  

I figured, how many of those can there be in So Cal?  It was a great chance encounter.   

The other gentleman standing near the GT40 was Justin Gurney.  Justin Gurney is the CEO of All American Racers (AAR) and has been instrumental in keeping the brand relevant, a company founded in 1964 by his father and legendary racer Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in Santa Ana.  

It was fitting to see Justin standing next to a GT40, a car Dan Gurney drove to victory at Le Mans in 1967.

Carroll Shelby holds the unique distinction of winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a driver, manufacturer and owner.  

Shelby’s influence extended far beyond his own brand as all in attendance were sporting the Shelby Cobra emblem.

Underneath the wings of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress named “Fuddy Duddy” is a Sunbeam Tiger, a British sports car that Carroll Shelby was contracted to develop the prototype for in 1963.  At a fraction of the cost of its American counterpart, it became known as the “poor man’s Cobra.”  

Across the hangar sits a Douglass C-47 Sky Train. Shelby actually owned a civilian version, the DC-3, that he regularly flew.

Nestled between the C-47 and Cessna Bird Dog is a red Jaguar D Type was included as Shelby himself raced chassis number 522 in 1955.

There were even a few De Tomaso Pantera’s on display. Shelby was commissioned to use his heavily modified personal Pantera GT5S as the prototype testbed to develop the Dodge Viper in secret.

Carroll Shelby lived life in full throttle.  Transitioning from a chicken farmer with a severe heart condition, to a championship racecar driver.  He became a legend of the American automotive world, shaping sports car design for over 50 years.  

His influence is still felt today.

Although this year marked the 7th Annual Carroll Shelby Tribute, if I had to choose which annual event is my favorite, the answer is simple, “the next one.”