Born January 11, 1923, in Leesburg, TX, which is a little over 20 miles from the Northeast Community College (NTCC) campus, was a veteran of WWII, and after the war, starting racing cars. In 1959 he won the Le Mans race, which is a 24 hour race, the highlight of his racing career. After he stopped racing, due to a heart condition, he worked on automobile design, in which a few more notable car types include the Shelby Cobra and the Shelby Mustang. He passed away on May 12, 2012, leaving a lasting legacy, and part of that includes the automotive department at NTCC, where he donated a large sum of money to the college for the Carroll Shelby Automotive Department, which is the only college to bear his name on any of their buildings. His foundation contributes to automotive student scholarships to this day.
