2017 10th Anniversary Vegas Shelby Bash

This year’s Shelby Bash was a resounding success! Held from March 8^th to March 12^th, this was the 10^th anniversary of a gathering of owners and fans of the cars of Carroll Shelby from all over the world. A number of VIP’s and celebrities even attended the event, among them were: Aaron Shelby (Carroll’s grandson), Henry Ford III, Edsel Ford II, and Danny Coker (“The Count” from TV’s Counting Cars).

This year’s event much like past years, kicked off with a party in Gardena, CA at the Carroll Shelby International World Headquarters on the evening of Wednesday March 8^th. The following morning a group of Shelby owners met at the Peterson Publishing Auto Museum in Los Angeles to form a caravan and drive to the Shelby Heritage Center & Factory in Las Vegas, NV where Sunday the final day of the Shelby Bash, a car show took place in the morning.

The event organized by both Team Shelby and Shelby American featured open track driving at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch just outside of Las Vegas in Pahrump, NV. Team Shelby was born out of Carroll’s desire to have a club that catered more to what the owners and fans interests were of the new cars he was building.  Shortly after forming ten years ago, the inaugural Shelby Bash was announced to celebrate not only the cars of Shelby American, but Carroll’s birthday on Jan 11^th.

I was only able to attend Saturday and Sunday’s activities, but those were awesome days to attend with the weather being sunny and in the low 80’s all weekend. The open track action which took place both Friday and Saturday was broken down into 20 minute sessions for three groups of drivers based on experience level: novice, intermediate, and advanced. Even beginners on the track had up to 6 sessions (3 in the morning, 3 in the afternoon) each day to enjoy.

The car show held Sunday morning at the Shelby Heritage Center and factory location in Las Vegas, had cars from all over the U.S. and Canada show up. I saw late model GT500 from British Columbia and another from Florida. Both the east coast and west coast were represented with cars from most states in between. Two original authentic vintage 67 GT500’s were also in attendance. One of them a beautiful green example, the owner brought from Oregon.

Since Carroll’s passing in 2012 it would be easy to assume interest in the Shelby brand has faded, but I’m here to say enthusiasm is a strong as ever! Be sure to start planning your vacation around next year’s Shelby Bash. In the meantime, here’s a taste of Saturday and Sunday’s activities:

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Bernie Smith

Tampa Bay Florida based photographer, I have always been a huge fan of all forms of photography. It wasn’t until relocating to Las Vegas and digital camera technology evolved that I was able to fully realize my love for photography. Automotive, motorcycles, beauty, glamour, pinup, retro, swimwear, and fitness themes are all areas of particular interest.

60’s Muscle cars have been a part of my life since I was 14 years old with particular emphasis in Fords, Mustangs, and Shelbys being my specialty having owned and restored more than a couple rare examples. Having worked as a Ford Senior Master certified technician over 20 years has provided the means to stay current with cutting edge technology. A high performance late model fuel injected car has it’s own unique appeal to me, just as the old school muscle does. Motorsports and college football are also huge passions of mine.

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