Carroll Shelby Memorial

[Piccola]

Today in San Jose was a nice memorial for Carroll Shelby. Hundreds of Shelbys of every year, color, make, model, and style were there. The national anthem was sung and a few speakers told stories about Carroll Shelby. Although he couldn't be there in person, Carroll's friend Bill Cosby had written a story that was told to us about a car that Shelby made special for him.







Following this, the drivers stood by their vehicles while a photographer high above the crowds in a tall crane took pictures of the group. Then, there was a moment of silence followed by a moment of noise (which was an intense 45 seconds when the drivers all got in their cars and revved them up, making as much sound as possible).

 

[Piccola]

We all received a white rose to put on the cars, as well as a tribute brochure on Carroll Shelby and the itinerary for the day. The roses, stories, moment of silence/noise, and national anthem all sobered us, and reminded us that we were not just at huge Shelby car event, but remembering a great race car driver and designer.

 

[Piccola]

It was a huge showing and there were 7 Ford GTs there and 2 GT40 kit cars.

 

[Piccola]

Ginger owns a rare all white GT. She is an amazing woman with a great love of cars (and a fabulous collection of exotics).



Ed Sims (and a few of the other guys) talked to reporters about Shelby's influence in his life and the Ford GT. Ed was happy to be surrounded by so many fun cars that he couldn't stop smiling!





Andre and his daughter.



Here's the group. From the left you have Andre (Slowpoke) and his lovely daughter, Clinton (Black Ice), me (Piccola), Ed Sims, Gabby (I think) and Kevin (Triheart), and Dave (Sandman).

 

[Piccola]

The flag was flown at half mast. As Ed and Kevin point out, true Shelby men are not embarrassed to carry roses, and the GTs and other Shelbys proudly displayed them.

 

[Piccola]

The GT loved all the attention, but there were a number of other cars that also stole the spot light, from original '60s Shelby Cobras to the Shelby Series 1 to old GT 350s and GT 500s and more.

 

[Piccola]

 

[Piccola]

 

[Piccola]

From the Shelby Memorial, we took off down the road for a scenic GT photo.

 

[Piccola]

 

[Piccola]

 

[Piccola]

Ginger was kind enough to show us a few of her cars. What do you think is her favorite color??? :lol









From there, we piled into one of her SUVs and went into town to have lunch, where we heard incredible stories from Ginger about her experiences with Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. It was nice to have as many women as men in the group!

 

[Piccola]

We had so much fun at lunch that we decided to continue our journey... We all hopped back in our GTs (though Ginger took her white GTR), and we drove over to Clinton's house.







One of his neighbors had a vineyard in his/her backyard! (Only in CA...)



How much can you suction to your windshield?

 

[Piccola]

Gotta love it! :rofl



I guess Clinton's truck was feeling left out. :lol



Clinton showed us his skill at table tennis. Impressive!!



Time to say our good-byes.

 

[Piccola]

Finally, Kevin, Gabby, Ed, and I drove back to Sacramento and had a wonderful dinner.



More than just a tribute to Carroll Shelby, the day far exceeded my expectations! The North CA GT owners are a fun group!! :thumbsup

 

[MNJason]

Looks like an amazing day! Thanks for sharing the pics!!

 

[Tiny]

sorry I missed it, thanks for posting the pics!

 

[twobjshelbys]

Don't forget on Memorial Day that Carroll Shelby was also a WWII veteran. I believe that the claim we are losing 1000 WWII vets each day is now understating the reality.

 

[GTED]

Thx for sharing the pix and report, Piccola!! Wished I could make it.
Special Ed, you looked like either a Power Ranger or Racer X at post #12!
Clinton looks to be the Forum's in-house table tennis champ, nice form!
Ginger, missed your call at 7am...., came home late the night before for driving school.... I was spent.
Nice to see pix of Kevin, Gabby and Dave.

Enjoy the weekend and watch all the races, but let's not forget our men and women in uniform, especially those who passed on defending our freedom.

GTED

 

[THamonGT]

Great Story and pictures MJ. Thanks for sharing with the Forum. These tributes are happening all over World for Carroll as he is sadly missed and honored by all. May he rest in peace.