Ford Centennial And Carroll Shelby’s Birthday To Be Celebrated At 26th Texas National

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FORD CENTENNIAL AND CARROLL SHELBY’S BIRTHDAY TO BE CELEBRATED AT 26TH TEXAS NATIONALS

DALLAS – July 7, 2003 – Shelby Cobras, Mustangs and other high-performance Ford-powered cars will pour into North Texas for the Shelby Cobra Association of Texas’ 26th Texas Nationals from September 11 - 13, 2003. The Texas Nationals will honor Ford’s 100th birthday and Texan Carroll Shelby, who became a celebrated racecar driver and one of the most influential automobile manufacturers in the world, with two days of track events, a banquet and car show.

The Shelby Cobra Association of Texas will host a track day at the Motorsports Ranch road course in Cresson, Texas, on Thursday, September 11 and a social at the Hilton Arlington, which is across from Six Flags. The next day, cars will race down the drag strip at Texas Raceway in Kennedale. The club will host a banquet on Friday night, September 12, at 8 PM inside the Hilton. On Saturday, S.C.A.T. will have an all Ford powered car show at the hotel. There are fees to participate in the track days, banquet and car shows; the public can attend the car show at no cost.

“Carroll Shelby and his team gave Ford and America its first sports car racing championship,” said S.C.A.T. President, Russ Kintz. “So we’re celebrating the Ford Centennial and Shelby’s 80th birthday by giving the public the chance to enjoy his many fantastic cars as they were meant to be experienced. It will be exciting to watch genuine Shelby and Ford powered cars roaring around the road course and down the drag strip. And the sight of hundreds of spectacular performance cars on display will be amazing. We invite anyone interested in performance cars to celebrate with us.”

Born in Leesburg, Texas, Carroll Shelby is an American legend. He was one of the United States’ most prolific racecar drivers, enjoying success in virtually every sports car and formula series in the world. In 1959, he won the famous 24-hours Le Mans and was named Sports Car Illustrated’s “Driver of the Year.” Shelby was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1992.

After a heart ailment shortened his racing career, he founded “Shelby American” in 1962. There, he created the renowned Cobra sports car, one of the most significant cars of the last 50 years. Shelby is still making automotive history with continuation production of new Cobras and the Texas based Shelby G.T.500E.

The 26th Texas Nationals will return to the racetrack for 2003. In 2002, S.C.A.T. departed from the track format to conduct the “Texas 289” rally through East Texas. That weekend event included a group rally from Dallas to Pittsburg, Texas, for a parade, car show and ceremony honoring the legendary driver and sports car manufacturer. The Texas 289 then moved to Shelby’s private ranch for food and festivities. The group returned to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex for a car show the next day at the Hampton Inn in Garland.

Cobras, Shelby Mustangs, Panteras, Sunbeam Tigers and Mustangs are expected to take part in the 26th Texas Nationals. All vehicles must be Ford-powered. Swap meet and vendor spots will be available during each day’s event.

Registration is now open. Additional information is available at www.scatracks.org or calling the S.C.A.T. hotline at (972) 289-4336.

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