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fortunately, that comment would
prove to come all too true on race day.
Another event of interest to
Shelby fans was the “Heritage Exhibi-
tion” in the Goodyear Legends of Rac-
ing paddock. There were two “old” GTs
(“old GTs” now referring to the 2005-6
vintage Ford GTs, no longer to GT40s
of the sixties) and two Shelby cars on
display and in the lineup for the exhi-
bition event. SAAC members Darek
Stennes from Jacksonville, Florida
brought his GT350, 5S424, and Don
Wells from Hyde Park, New York,
brought his 1964 Daytona livery
Shelby Daytona Coupe, CSX7072. The
Shelby cars looked and sounded great.
Unfortunately for Wells, after all that
planning and expense to get his Coupe
from New York to Florida in the midst
of one of this winter’s worst snow
storms, he managed to drown his
plugs in fuel before the exhibition’s
track session and was unable to wake
the beast up to make the starting grid.
The Heritage Exhibition “race”
looked more like an early SAAC open
track event to me, since most of these
cars were privately owned retired race
cars and there wasn’t very much ag-
gressive driving going on. I also no-
ticed that several of the entrants had
passengers along, so it really was more
of an exhibition than an actual race.
Not that it seemed to matter to anyone
in the grandstands.
On Saturday morning, Ford
brought a stunning white 2017 GT
and put it on display in the Ford Per-
formance tent in the infield of the
track. The car looks great in pictures,
but it was absolutely spectacular in-
the-flesh. It was my very first oppor-
tunity to see one up close. Pictures of
the white GT on the internet just
couldn’t convey the sexy lines of this
incredibly swoopy automobile. In my
mind, there’s little homage to the orig-
inal GT40 besides the mid-engine
platform and a couple radiator intake
nostrils in the hood. There is no doubt,
though, that this car is every bit as
sexy and exotic as anything coming
over from Italy or Germany.Well done,
Ford!
After the exhibition session, and
before the actual race started, Ford GT
The SHELBY AMERICAN
Spring 2016 37