A Shelby portrait taken in about 1956 by racing photographer Alix Lafontant. It is inscribed “The very best to my good friend Alix. – Carroll Shelby.”
By Carl Goodwin
Photos by Alix Lafontant copyright Carl Goodwin.
1956 was a great year for Carroll Shelby driving the Italian cars he loved. Up until a late-season off-course excursion in the sand at Thompson Raceway, he had notched 19 wins at road courses from coast to coast, driving a Ferrari 4.4, Ferrari Monza, Maserati 300S, and a Maserati 450S.
We were accustomed to seeing Shelby toss around the big Ferraris and Maseratis owned by John Edgar and Tony Parravano, but he was also a great driver in under two liter Italian cars such as the OSCA. One such race was at Road America.
The end of the 4 hour enduro at Road America September 8th, 1956. In the winning #5 OSCA, L to R: Shelby’s wife Jeanne, co-driver Jim Kimberly and Carroll Shelby holding the checkered flag. Credit: Alix Lafontant copyright Carl Goodwin
Jim Kimberly had asked him to co-drive the red MT4, serial number 1178, at the first endurance race held at Road America on September 8th, 1956. It was only the second year of operation for the new track, presided over by Cliff Tufte.
The event was for modified cars under 1500cc and production under 2000cc, no sprint but a solid four hours of racing. The entry list included the Kimberly OSCA which by late 1956 was a dated design. The opposition consisted of four new Porsche Spyders, including the fast 550RS. Normally, the OSCA wouldn’t have a chance…in June the Kimberly OSCA had been defeated by the Porsche 550 of Jack McAfee. But Shelby wasn’t driving then.
When the green flag dropped at noon, one of the Spyders, driven by Bob Fergus, led the first two laps. On lap three, the red OSCA, with Kimberly at the wheel, passed the Porsche, with Doc Wylie’s Lotus close behind. They battled for 45 minutes and then Kimberly set down his best lap of 3:14.2.
OSCA #5 is on the grid for practice, with Jim Kimberly at the wheel and two mechanics. Carroll Shelby is in the foreground wearing his hickory striped overalls; the Road America sign and grandstands are in the background. Credit: Alix Lafontant copyright Carl Goodwin
At about the two-hour mark, racing photographer Alix Lafontant recalled, “Kimberly, well ahead of his opponents, pulled in for refueling and inspection and turned the OSCA over to Shelby who had been itching for his turn at the helm.”
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While the OSCA was being refueled, the Fergus Porsche took back first place. Then Shelby went out. He recorded successive laps at 3:13.0, 3:12.0 and 3:11.5, immediately regaining the lead. Note his slowest lap was a full second faster than Kimberly’s fastest.
As photographer Pierre Perrin noted, “Shelby took off and started the drive that will live for a long time in the memories of all who were there.”
Jim Kimberly at speed in the #5 OSCA MT4, S/N 1178. Credit: Alix Lafontant copyright Carl Goodwin
Toward the end of the race, he was driving laps very close to the three minute mark. With forty minutes to go, Shelby led by 3 minutes; at the end, he was more than a lap ahead of the Porsche.
Alix Lafontant described the conclusion of the race: “A loud pyrotechnic bomb marked the arrival of 4 p.m., and the No. 5 OSCA flashed across the finish line bearing a grinning Texan who shunned the traditional Kimberly red coveralls in favor of his hickory striped overalls which had been observed 19 times previously in this year’s winners circle.”
Years later, I asked him about the race strategy. “Well, it was very simple,” he said. “We took the lead and never gave it up.”
Because of his wins in the 1956 season, Shelby was named Sports Illustrated Driver of the Year and featured on the cover in March of 1957. He would be the Driver of the Year once more after his 1959 win at Le Mans in the Aston Martin DBR1 with Roy Salvadori.
Carroll Shelby takes the checkered flag to win the first endurance race at Road America, a 4-hour event for small-bore cars. Credit: Alix Lafontant copyright Carl Goodwin
If Shelby had only been a racing driver, not a car builder, not a businessman of note, not the founder of an important charity benefiting children, we would still remember him for his achievements in the world of sports, his energy, his ever-present grin and his magnetic personality. We’ll all miss him.
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ED NOTE: In addition to authoring a great new book, “They Started in MGs”, Carl Goodwin worked with Carroll Shelby at Chrysler on the ad campaign that put them back in the performance and youth market with the Shelby Charger. “I was a creative director at Kenyon & Eckhardt, Chrysler’s advertising agency,” said Goodwin. “The last time I saw Shelby was 1988 at Lime Rock. I had seen him just before at Road America. I tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to see who it was, smiled and said “Why Carl, you’re just like a piece of dog shit that I can’t get off of my shoe!”
Very nice article.
Indeed Shelby did compete with 1178.
Remind to be noted that Shelbey drove OSCA 1169 “the whale” at the 1956 eagle mountain races at Fort Worth, coming in second to Ritche Ginther (Porsche 550).
In fact, Carroll always satiated that the OSCA drives where among his favorite. Agile and very natural handling. Keep up the good work.
A minor correction to Carl’s otherwise enjoyable article on Carroll Shelby’s OSCA ride at Road America in 1956. Ole Shel may have been very successful earlier in the 1956 season, but not with a Maserati 300S or the 450S. His first ride in a 300S came at Sebring in March 1957, his first ride in a 450S at Lime Rock in July 1957.
Pete—
Yes, Shelby would drive anything. Another OSCA ride was the car belonging to Richard Hall whose brother Jim would become famous for building the Chaparral
That occasion was May 1956 in Fort Worth finishing 2nd after winning main in 750 Monza.,, then 2 weeks later in Cumberland, drove an Alfa 1300 to 5th overall
in the 1500cc event,
Hell , Shelby even drove “Old Yellar” up at Elkhart Lake in 1960 for Max Balchowsky at the USAC Professional event.!
At seasons end, Shel was interviewed by Art Evan s the publisher of
WEST COAST SPORTS CAR JOURNAL and when asked of road car
Carroll quipped.” Strictly a Chevrolet man !”. Funny now looking back
at how there was a Ford in his future,,,
jim sitz
Pete
Goods story, and to underline a driver of his ability did take on any ride, anywhere.after seeing comments by goods friends Willem and Carl, I
cannot help but think of Oct. 1955 after doing so well in US and Europe
Shel had chance to drive Grand Prix Maserati at Syracuse in Sicily. just week
after his good drive in Parravano Ferrari in Targa Florio. 1955 found both he and Phil Hill doing battle all over America,,the best and even teaming up for Sebring.
That debut in G.P. racing was bit of let down, best he could manage was 6th in
the works 250 F while the winner was an unknown Tony Brooks in the undervalued Connaught from England.
A visit to Mr Ferrari in 1956 boasting of his many wins in America did not
bring the ride he had hoped for since the Old Man knew Phil Hill was
not in America to compete !
To make matters worse, Spring of 1957 he felt sure he had full time drive
with Maserati but that turned out to merely be one -off deal for
Sebring in the 300 S car.
Jim Sitz
I wonder? Could the 300S that Shelby drove at Sebring be the same car that returned to the Maserati shop on Long Island in late ’55, rolled into a ball with its trailer on the way back from Sebring? I saw it roll in, and saw Dan Ghelfi, and the crew cut it apart, and construct a replacement car out of sheet aluminum and steel tubing. I watched while the finished, but unpainted, car was picked up at their new shop in Glen Cove, loaded into a John Edgar transporter, while a guy in overalls sucking on a piece of straw watched, and later won at Lime Rock, while I watched. – Don
weren’t his coveralls referred to as ‘mattress ticking?’
Carl. you have done it again. This was really fun to read. ‘Ol Shel was everywhere and always fast.
Just to set the record straight, Shel’s wins in 1956 came in a Ferrari 410S (Tony Parravano), Ferrari 750 Monza (Richard Hall), Ferrari 375 MM (Temple Buell), Ferrari 375 F1 (John Edgar, leased from Luigi Chinetti), Ferrari 121 LM (Edgar, leased from Chinetti), Ferrari 500 TR (Edgar, leased from Chinetti), Ferrari 410 S (John Edgar), Ferrari 857S (John Edgar) and the above-mentioned OSCA MT4.
Edgar’s rent-a-rides were because the mighty 410S was not delivered until July.
Carl has done his usual superb job of taking us back to the glory days of US road racing. I’ll have another helping, please.
Pete
Very pleased to see my good friend Michael Lynch
set record straight for Shelby rides in 1956–this is an
amateur sport.?–But in fairness both Shel and Phil Hill
were Hired Guns in that period, flying in to use a local
Ferrari.
Curious that 410 was not delivered until July.
I was thinking factory used it in January ’56 in Argentina
and then sold to John Edgar.
Ferrari had the resources to arrive at Nurburgring in May 56
with pair of 4 cyl. cars(860) and another pair of 12 cylinder machines
the 290MM which put all their drivers in tizzy over who would drive what.
What other team could manage to cover their bases so nicely,?
Jim Sitz
Oregon