The Shelby American (Fall 2021)

a one this year. The current crop of buyers had great stories of searching for their car, being told that it was not available, and then to find the almost perfect car and rushing to get it before it was sold. Most of Thursday and Friday was spent detailing the cars with owners proud to show me some of the updates they had done and even explained what was in their car’s future, perhaps setting up a tale that will be told at the 70th Spring Fling or beyond. Each registrant had lunch coupons and the lines seemed to go on forever, but each ticket had a time to get in line, so it moved quickly and smoothly. After lunch I checked out the Ford GTs and even got a real close-up view at the newest Ford GT with its Bi- Turbo V6. I love the 2005 version of the Ford GT and its GT40 DNA. They look like the ‘60s car. The stuff dreams are made of. There were Saleens, Bosses, Mach Is and even two Mus- tang IIs. The show was a great mixing pot of Ford performance and style. At about 3 p.m. they had the awards ceremony. In previous years they did this at their awards banquet but with Covid and state restrictions they could only have limited attendance at the banquet so the decision to have the awards handed out at the show was made. I suggest checking the SAAC Indiana Web Page or maybe on their Facebook page for a complete list of winners, but I will say I would have hated to be a judge for this show as every car were worthy of a trophy. We took down the tent and chairs loaded up the car and headed back to the lodge. The afternoon was winding down but the enthusiasm was not. Cars were being looked at, those with trophies were sporting their awards and it was a great ending to an almost perfect day, both weather-wise and show car-wise. We got ready for the evening pro- gram at the Lodge and the room was set up nicely with plenty of space and great sight lines – not a bad seat in the house. The meeting portion was heart felt and emotional as they spoke about those who had passed away, notably Indiana sparkplugs Steve and Joyce Yates. It truly showed the close-knit family comradery that has make this club such a success for the past 44 years. It was humbling at times and we felt honored to be a part of it. The evening speaker was Jeff Sea- The SHELBY AMERICAN Fall 2021 99