Carroll Shelby has been a superstar of the automotive industry for the past five decades.
He was born in Texas in 1923 and served as a flight instructor and test pilot during World War II. After the war, he got into car racing as an amateur, then turned pro. He drove for Astin Martin and Maserati, setting 16 U.S. and international speed records. In 1959, he and a teammate won the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports-car endurance race in Sarthe, France.
Health concerns prompted Shelby to quit racing after the Le Mans race. From there, he launched the Shelby-American car company. He teamed up with Ford to build the famed Cobra series of sports cars, considered by car enthusiasts to be the finest American sports car ever built. He also designed Mustang-based Shelby GT cars, then moved on to work with Dodge, where he designed the Viper, and GM.
Carroll Shelby was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1992. In 2003, he formed Carroll Shelby International Inc., based in Nevada, where, at 84 years of age, he continues to develop the Cobra series (again teamed up with Ford); it's the only automobile manufacturing facility in the state.
The Carroll Shelby facility is located at the entrance of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in North Las Vegas (6755 Speedway Blvd., 702/942-7325; www.shelbyamerican.com). It's a 100,000-square-foot facility consisting of a museum/showroom and the car factory.
The museum displays a number of the Cobras, old and new; it's free and open 8 am to 4 pm, Mon.-Fri. If you're there at 10:30 am, Mon.-Fri., you can take a 35- to 45-minute tour of the manufacturing plant, also free.
