The Shelby American (Spring 2016)

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7:30 in the morning I’m darned sure
the on-site lot ain’t gonna’ be full, so I
keep on truckin’ down AZ Loop 101,
exit east on Bell, take a right on 94th,
and — Voila! — I am parked about a
hundred yards from the main en-
trance to Barrett-Jackson.
Exiting the car, I easily walk the
hundred yards to the HUGE Barrett-
Jackson facility known as West World.
I have to pass through the “magic
wand” security checkpoint, then I am
“good to go” to purchase a $30 ticket
for, literally, the best car show in town.
And when I say the best I am not kid-
ding. Their well-laid out grounds make
for an easy, albeit long, walk through
the following areas:
• Sponsor Pavilion, where the first ex-
otic car your eyeball lands on is a
sparkling white 2017 Ford GT. It is ac-
companied by other Ford cars like
Mustang GTs and Shelby Mustangs.
• Automobilia and petrobilia displays
near the entrance to the auction block
• Salon collection pavilion with par ex-
cellence (high dollar) collectibles
• Salon bistro serving foods and bev-
erages for all palate tastes
• Vendor market place pavilion for
purchasing car shtuff of every descrip-
tion
• Auto vehicle display tents filled with
cars heading to and from the auction
block
Okay, that takes about three
hours, including a potty break, a great
lunch and another potty break, but
you’re not done yet, “ Truckin’ like the
doodah man” - Jerry & the Boys, 1970.
Because now it’s time to traverse out-
side, where four more walking hours
of fun await:
• Ford (Mustangs and Shelby’s),
Chevy (Camaros and Corvettes), and
Dodge (Challengers and Vipers) ride
‘n’ drives, where you get to drive mus-
cle cars as they should be driven
• More auto vehicle display tents with
more cars heading to and from the
auction block
• Cars for sale from Hillbank,
Denbeste, Shelby-American, Roush,
and other specialty dealers and suppli-
ers, offering just about any car or au-
tomotive accessory you can imagine
Oh, almost forgot; while wearing
out a pair of ol’ skool black ‘n white
Converse low tops, I ran into about a
half dozen friends and acquaintances
when snapping photos of all the
Shelby inspired vehicles I could hunt
down. This included Tom Dankel and
Michael Maguire, two esteemed mem-
bers of NorCal Shelby, at least I hope
these two rapscallions paid their dues
and are still in the club. Tom, as usual,
yells out, “ Billy!” – scaring the livin’
bejesus outta’ me. So of course, I have
to reply in just as loud a voice,
“ Tommy!” – don’t ask; it’s high school
stuff. We had someone take a picture
of all three of us, and he basically “cut”
our lower legs off, so now we’re famous
from only our knees up.
Realize, I went to Barrett-Jackson
on aWednesday, and there were bodies
here, there, and everywhere buying,
selling, or just looking at classic, ex-
otic, and muscle cars of all years,
makes, and models. Even though the
number of people in attendance that
day was not overwhelming, I can’t
even try to imagine what crowd con-
trol would look like on Saturday or
Sunday – yikes! My advice is real sim-
ple, get there early in the week and get
there early in the morning and you
will definitely enhance the enjoyment
of your Barrett-Jackson experience.
Besides, you don’t want to park in the
desert boonies off site parking with
the snakes and spiders!
Thursday, January 28th
– RM/Sotheby’s
As I was entering the main ball-
room of the Arizona Biltmore to attend
the RM/Sotheby auction with Don
Lee’s group, I am pondering a perplex-
ing predicament of great propensity (I
love doin’ that), because I really can’t
remember what the man looks like.
Oh sure, I’ve seen him once or twice at
Shelby Cobra events, probably even
said, “ Hi, hello, how are ya’?” during a
brief encounter with other people,
chatting about everything from ‘65
Shelby GT350s to 2017 Ford GTs.
However, that doesn’t mean I can do a
combined name/face recognition in
Arizona, when I have only seen him a
couple of times in California – Mr.
Photographic Memory I am not!
Thank the deity for cell phones,
because I just punch in Don’s full
name, and shazzam, there is his smil-
ing, full face photo, staring right back
at me from iphone whatever number
it is this year. The problem is, I have
absolutely no digital face recognition
cells in my skullular brain matter, so
time to wear out some more shoe can-
vas walking around the room filling up
with people, to try and identify Don. I
finally spot a rather good-looking, dig-
nified gentleman sitting in the third
row from the auction block, pretty
much in the center of the room, and
even I know from watching televised
car auctions, this is where the major
consignors and bidders have reserved
seats.
However, the coiffed, white-haired
gentleman is now kind of looking at
me, most likely wondering why I keep
sort of “eyeballin’ him.” I’m going to
feel more than a little awkward if it
comes down to me having to ask him
if he is the “real” Don Lee, considering
if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be at-
tending R/M Sotheby this evening.
Saved by the bell. “Ring-a-ding-
ding!” – who should walk up to him,
but his wife, Amanda, whom I defi-
nitely recognize. Whew. Now I no
longer feel like the Scottsdale village
idiot.
Anyway, I wind up sitting with
“the” group and I’m feelin’ kind of good
in the second row back, pretty much
front and center in relation to the auc-
tion block itself, except for one minor
possibility. I might get the boot, the old
heave-ho, because I am a last minute
addition and even though all of the re-
served seats aren’t filled, if push
comes to shove, I’ll get the old hasta la
bye-bye. No matter, I’ve been bounced
from dirt floor bars in foreign coun-
tries before, for reasons which I am not
The SHELBY AMERICAN Spring 2016 48