Carroll Shelby Biography, Wiki, Height, Weight, Racing Career & More

Carroll Shelby Biography: Carroll Hall Shelby was an American car designer, racer, and entrepreneur. Shelby is best known for his work on Ford Motor Company’s AC Cobra and Mustang, which he modified between the late 1960s and the early 2000s.

Carroll Shelby Biography

Carroll Shelby Biography: Carroll Shelby was born on January 11, 1923, in Leesburg, Texas, to Warren Hall Shelby, a rural mail carrier, and Eloise Shelby. Shelby was diagnosed with heart valve leakage at the age of seven and faced some health-related complications throughout his existence. Shelby became fascinated with speed from a young age, which led to his interest in cars and aircraft. At age seven, he moved with his family to Dallas, Texas, and around age ten, he would ride his bicycle to nearby dirt tracks to observe races. At age 15, he operated and maintained his father’s Ford while waiting for his vehicle. In November 1941, Shelby began his pilot training at the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, later known as Lackland Air Force Base. Before racing and constructing cars, Shelby was a poultry farmer, a profession he maintained until 1952.

Carroll Shelby Wiki

Also Read: Carl Scarborough Biography, Wiki, Height, Weight, Racing Career & More

Carroll Shelby Career

In 1940, Shelby graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, Texas, where he honed his driving abilities with his Willys automobile. He later enrolled in the Aeronautical Engineering program at The Georgia Institute of Technology. Shelby began pilot training after enlisting in the United States Army Air Corps in November 1941. In September 1942, he earned the rank of staff sergeant pilot at Ellington Field. After completing air students’ training in December 1942, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He later became a flight instructor and test pilot in the Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan and Curtiss AT-9 Jeep. Before being discharged after V-J Day, he flew the Douglas B-18 Bolo, the North American B-25 Mitchell, the Douglas A-26 Invader, and the Boeing B-29 Superfortress in Denver, Colorado.

At age 29, Shelby began driving professionally. In his amateur debut at the Grand Prairie Naval Air Station drag meet in January 1952, Shelby raced his companion Ed Wilkin’s MG TC, followed by other races. Then, he raced the Cadillac-Allards of Charles Brown at Caddo Mills, Texas. After 1952, Shelby won four races without accepting any cash prizes.

In 1953, Shelby raced Brown’s Cad-Allard and then Roy Cherryhomes’ Cad-Allard, winning eight or nine races. The following year, he participated in the Automobile Club of Argentina and Sports Car Club of America-sponsored Mil Kilometros de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. He met Aston Martin team manager John Wyer, who asked Shelby to drive their DBR3 at Sebring. The DBR3 did not complete the 1954 Sebring due to a damaged rear axle.

Shelby drove the Aston Martin DBR4 in the Dutch Grand Prix in May and the British Grand Prix at Aintree in July during the 1959 Grand Prix season. Then, Shelby participated in the Portuguese Grand Prix in August, followed by the Italian Grand Prix in September.

In December, Shelby completed the 1959 racing season driving the Birdcage Maserati for Casner Motor Racing Division at the Nassau races. In January 1960, he raced Temple Buell’s Maserati 250F in the New Zealand Grand Prix, followed by Camoradi’s Porsche in the Cuban Gran Premio Libertad, and finally their 2.9-liter Birdcage Maserati at Sebring. He won the Riverside Grand Prix while driving one of “Lucky” Cassner’s Birdcage Maseratis and the June Castle Rock race while driving a Scarab. In his final race of the season, he drove Max Balchowsky’s “Old Yeller II” in the Road America, followed by a Birdcage Maserati in the Pacific Grand Prix & the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix, which was his final race.

According to Shelby, winning the 24 Hours was likely his most exciting racing experience. I can think of other races that carry their share of excitement for the victor, but when you win this one, it’s as if you’re permitted to tell people you’re good, which often aids in securing other deals.” Together with Pete Brock, Shelby established the Shelby School of High Performance Driving at the Riverside track in 1961.