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The SHELBY AMERICAN
348 Fall 2015
The path of the tornado veered
away from the track at the very last
minute, avoiding a disaster of im-
mense proportions. That didn’t save
the meal, however. Everyone fled the
tent before the first bratwurst could be
consumed. Anyone requesting a re-
fund of their meal ticket after the
storm had passed was advised that the
meal’s cancellation was due to “an act
of God.” The food was already paid for;
there was nothing we could do.
Following dinner, a program of
guest speakers had been planned. In-
cluded would have been Bill Paul, the
owner/driver of the last GT350 to ac-
tively compete in SCCA racing (his car
was on display all weekend); Cobra
team driver and perennial convention
guest Bob Johnson; Chuck Cantwell;
and GT350 and Trans-Am driver Tom
Yeager who had logged many miles on
the R-A track over his career. Carroll
Shelby would have capped things off.
Going on the seventh year after his
heart transplant, he was still very
much active. He had been telling sto-
ries about his escapades at Road
America as a driver and was expected
to relate some of these to the audience.
Unfortunately, that was not to be.
On Thursday the track was taken
over by the Brian Redman Interna-
tional Challenge. SAAC’s concours
and popular vote car shows occupied
most of the day. Aside fromWednesday
evening’s tornado, the weather had
been hot and sunny – perfect for a
convention. Our records showed that
about 2,200 people had attended.