Inside Shelby American - Wrenching and Racing with Carroll Shelby in the 1960s

Author: John Morton, ISBN: 9780760343944

In 1962, a young, racing-obsessed midwesterner named John Morton headed to Riverside International Raceway to attend the newly opened Shelby School of High Performance Driving. His instructor? Pete Brock. His school car? The Shelby Cobra prototype. What more could you want? How about a job with Shelby American?

When introduced to Carroll Shelby at the school, Morton had sufficient nerve to ask for a job in Shelby's race shop. Shelby said, "Come and see me Monday."

Thus began Morton's tenure with Shelby American, an experience that would see him engaged in tasks from floor sweeping to race driving and would launch his professional racing career.

Inside Shelby American: Wrenching and Racing with Carroll Shelby in the 1960s is an engaging look behind the scenes as Shelby ramped up from ex-racer with a vision to all-conquering constructor and race team manager. But it's also the story of Morton's formative racing years—his trajectory from go-kart-racing kid from the Midwest to professional racer.

Synopsis:

In the late 1950s, young John Morton was transfixed with sports car racing. His dreams of competition eventually led him to enroll, in 1962, in the Shelby School of High Performance Driving. In a bold moment after the last class, Morton asked Carroll Shelby if he might come to work for the newly formed Shelby American. The answer was "Yes; here's a broom:' Thus ended Morton's college career and began his long racing career.

Over the next three years, Morton would be a firsthand witness to the evolution of one of the most iconic sports car builders and racing teams of the 1960s. Shelby's company brimmed with talent, from designer Pete Brock to fabricator extraordinare Phil Remington to drivers like Dan Gurney, Ken Miles, Dave MacDonald, Bob Bondurant, and Phil Hill. The cars were equally captivating: Shelby Cobra, Mustang GT 350, Ford GT, Daytona Coupe. Morton's story is intertwined with the memories of other Shelby staffers of the period to reveal the rousing, sometimes tragic, story of this famed group.

Morton eventually traded his broom for a steering wheel, racing Cobras as well as his own cars until he left Shelby in 1965. Although he and Shelby parted ways, their relationship endured as John went on to compete in a number of racing series. He remains an active historic racer today.

About the Author

John Morton moved to California from Illinois in 1962 to enroll in Carroll Shelby's driving school at Riverside. After completing the course with Peter Brock as his instructor, John -asked Shelby for a job on the racing team. He progressed from shop janitor to team driver in 1964, racing with the Shelby team during the most successful period in its history. In the early 1970s, John drove for the BRE Datsun team, winning two National Championships and two 2.5 Trans-Am Championships. Career highlights include nine drives with two class wins at Le Mans and two GTP victories at Riverside, including the last sports car race at the track in 1987 in a Group 44 Jaguar. Morton resides in El Segundo, California.