Preface by Carroll Shelby
This book is the story of my life: I was born in 1923 in Texas. After flying bombers in World War II, I raced during the 1950s, winning the SCCA National Championship, Le Mans, and the USAC Sports Car Championship.
During the 1960s, I opened a driving school and produced Cobras, King Cobras, and Shelby Mustangs. My cars won everything there was to win including the FIA Manufacturers’ Championship. My team ran Ford GTs and won the triple crown of racing in 1966: Daytona, Sebring, and Le Mans as well as the Manufacturers’ Championship for Ford. In my spare time, I invented my very own Chili and sold it to Kraft Foods.
During the 1980s, I produced modified versions of Dodges and in 1990, got a new heart. In 1999, I built my own sports car, the Series I, from the ground up. I also began building more Cobras and Shelby Mustangs in my factory in Las Vegas.
Preface by Art Evans
As you read this book, remember that there are two authors: Carroll Shelby and I. Shelby’s words are in italics, while mine are not. Carroll Shelby and I were close friends for many years. I called him “Shel.” A few years ago, I made arrangements for him to publish a book about his family. Then he wanted a new edition of his book The Cobra Story and I helped him with that. So we started talking about a publishing partnership. Our first was my book The Shelby American Story.
Then he decided that he wanted to try to memorialize the story of his life. During his later years, however, his eyesight deteriorated and he found it difficult to read. But he did enjoy looking at pictures. So we started working together gathering photographs to tell his life story. His daughter, Sharon, contributed a number of them from his early life. And there were many in the archives of his companies.
In addition, many friends contributed photographs that they had taken or that were from their collections: Paul-Henri Cahier, Ginny and John Dixon, Bob D’Olivo, Will Edgar, Cliff Emmich, David Evans, Joel Finn, Dave Friedman, Jim Gessner, Carl Goodwin, Vince Howlett, Steve Johnson, Allen Kuhn, Pete Lyons, Karl Ludvigsen, Don Meacham, Peter Miles, Bill Neale, Willem Oosthoek, Lynn Park, Ken Parker, John Persselin, Rich Sparkman, Jim Sitz, Tracy Smith, Bob Tronolone, and Gordon Whitby. I think I speak for Shel when I say, “Thank you all.”
Also my sincere thanks to the staff at CarTech for the outstanding job they have done in bringing Shelby’s story to life.
So we started to put together his picture story, his scrapbook, as it were. Unfortunately, Shelby died before we finished. Nevertheless, after a period of mourning and depression, I completed it. I wrote some of the text. For the rest, I recorded Shel and used his words; in these cases, it’s in italics.
Special thanks to Ginny Dixon (proofreader par excellence) as well as Tracey Smith, John Dixon, and, most of all, Don Klein, who is one of the very best motorsports journalists; all have reviewed this story.
Growing Up
“My first car.”
Shelby’s father worked for the U.S. Postal Service. Sometimes young Carroll accompanied him. That’s Carroll looking out of the window.
He recalled, “Dad was a rural mail carrier, but contrary to what one might think, he made out pretty well at it. My earliest recollection is that he got around in a buggy in East Texas. Delivering mail was pretty hard work; he would be out from early in the morning until late at night.”
Carroll Hall Shelby was born on January 11, 1923, in Texas. His father was Warren Hall Shelby who was born in 1897 in Texas and died in 1943. His mother was Francis Eloise Lawrence, born in 1903 in Texas and died in 1951. They married on April 7, 1922.
Carroll Hall Shelby was born on January 11, 1923, in Texas.
During the 1930s, the Shelby family lived in this house in the small Texas town of Leesburg.
Carroll had one sister, Lula Anne, who was born in 1926. She was also born in Leesburg, Texas. “There was just the two of us and, since there weren’t many other children around where we lived, we spent a lot of time playing together.”
This formal portrait of Shelby was taken when he was 14.
“I couldn’t wait to have one of my own, which I did when I was 15 years old. When I talk about having owned a car at that age, I’m kind of overstating the facts. Actually, it was my dad’s car, but he let me spend so much time with his investment that I got to thinking of it as my own.”
Shelby remembered that his dad had a succession of cars.
A teenage Carroll with his mother, Francis Eloise, and sister, Lula.
This portrait was taken with his mother when he was a few years older.
In the Service
“When