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The inaugural Team Shelby Nationals held in conjunction with the 34th
Annual Mid-America Ford Performance and Shelby Meet was an enjoyable,
fun and successful event. Enthusiasts traveled from over 35 states
enjoying four days of Ford performance fun.
To the delight of everyone, Shelby Automobiles President Amy Boylan and Gary Patterson, Vice President of Operations were everywhere during the show. This was Patterson’s 10th year at Mid-America. He got the action off to a great start heading up the Team Shelby Drivers School at Hallett the day before the official start of the Nationals. His knowledge of the Hallett Raceway road course and considerable driving skills was very helpful to everyone who attended the school. The Team Shelby Nationals was Gary Davis, Shelby Automobiles Vice President of Production, first trip to the Tulsa event and will not be his last. Joining Davis as Mid-America first timers were Shelby Automobiles Director of Sales Donnie Beson and his lovely wife Debi. It did not take long before Gary Davis and the Besons were totally enjoying themselves. Both took time out to visit with Team Shelby members and Shelby owners providing timely information on a variety of subjects.
The Twister Special EF-5 models paced the late model exhibition at
Hallett Raceway. Each of the Twisters sports over 500 horsepower and
did not have any problem staying ahead of the field.
Shelby Automobiles brought a great selection of vehicles to the event. The GT 500 Super Snake was awesome on the track, joined by a pair of Shelby GTs, a coupe and convertible.
The new, supercharged, 350 horsepower V6 Terlingua Mustang was a big hit, especially with former Shelby American race drivers, Allen Grant and Tom Yeager.
Grant was a Cobra Team Driver in 1965, driving Cobra Daytona Coupes at Daytona, Sebring, Monza and LeMans, his victory at Monza, right in Ferrari’s back yard, gave the Cobras an insurmountable lead in their quest for the World Manufacturer’s Championship. After driving the V6 Terlingua Mustang at Hallett, Grant had this to say, “The car has exceptional balance, it corners well and has excellent power, I really enjoyed driving the car. This is a car you can drive everyday and then on weekends open it up at open track events.”
The last 1965 GT350 R Model, 5R534, sold to the public was raced sparingly in Portugal. It is in as raced condition.
Tom Yeager successfully campaigned a GT350, 5R094, the first GT 350 race car sold to the public in 1965. He followed that up with a Mustang sedan in the 1966 Trans-Am Series, garnering more points than any other Mustang and was a major reason Ford and Mustang won their first Trans-Am Championship. Today Tom drives a Merlyn Mark 6 in vintage competition and was very impressed after driving the V6 Terlingua Mustang. He explained, “This car is a ball to drive, it goes where you point it, the turn in is precise and I am impressed with the overall handing and power of the car. After my first session I could not wait to drive the Mustang again and again.”
The Terlingua V6 Mustang is featured in the latest Bill Neal painting, as this renowned artist and life long friend of Carroll Shelby has created a beautiful print that will be a special addition to any Shelby enthusiast’s collection of Cobra and Shelby Mustang art.
For people not familiar with the first Terlingua Racing Team Mustang that won the 1967 Trans-Am Series Championship, R&A Motorsports based out of Kansas City, Missouri built an exact replica of the original race car. Under the leadership of R&A President Jeff Yergovich and Larry Williams, Program Manager for the Ted and Rae Segerstrom Team, the car as built in four months. Gary Patterson drove the Terlingua Mustang in the vintage exhibition and was very impressed.
One of the first things a person observed during the two day open track action at Hallett was that Team Shelby members like to use their cars on the race track, as there were dozens of them running in every class. In addition to the Shelby Automobiles Super Snake, a number of the Super Snakes were turning impressive laps. The cars are fast on the straights and take the corners like they were on rails.
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