In my life time I have been honored to know many incredible men some of whom I idolize and one of them that stands out is none other than Carroll Shelby himself. Tomorrow marks Carroll’s 85th birthday and there is going to be a gala event held at the Las Vegas factory on January 11-13, 2008 that is sure to make even the biggest car enthusiast envious.

It would be easy at this time to do what most other automotive journalist in the world typically do by starting in with all the redundant kudos and accolades about Carroll’s many amazing accomplishments. The truth is, Carroll’s many successes are so well documented that it seems almost impossible to discuss anything new. What can possibly be written about a man who has his resume as if dominating sports car racing in the mid 50s, twice being named Sports Car Illustrated’s “Driver of the Year.” and then winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959 wasn’t enough? In retrospect he was just getting started. With all due respect and I do mean that in every sense of the word, what I would rather write about is a special memory I shared with Carroll almost 17 years ago.
Continue reading →