Carroll Shelby

Shelby in 2007
Born	(1923-01-11)January 11, 1923 Leesburg, Texas
Died	May 10, 2012(2012-05-10) (aged 89) Dallas, Texas
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	American
Active years	1958 – 1959
Teams	Aston Martin, non-works Maserati
Races	8
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1958 French Grand Prix
Last race	1959 Italian Grand Prix

Carroll Hall Shelby (January 11, 1923 – May 10, 2012) was an American automotive designer, racing driver and entrepreneur. He was most well known for making the AC Motors-based Shelby American Cobra and later the Mustang-based performance cars for Ford Motor Company known as Mustang Cobras which he has done since 1965. His company, Shelby American Inc., founded in 1962, currently sells modified Ford vehicles, as well as performance parts.^[1]

Personal life[link]

Carroll Shelby was born on January 11, 1923 in Leesburg, Texas, to Warren Hall Shelby, a rural mail carrier, and his wife Eloise Lawrence Shelby.^[2] Shelby suffered heart valve leakage problems by age 7 and spent most of his childhood in bed. By age 14, Shelby's health improved and he was subsequently declared to have "outgrown" his health problems.^[3] Shelby's first wife was Jeanne Fields; they married on December 18, 1943. Their daughter Sharon Anne Shelby was born a year later on September 27, 1944. They had two more children — sons named Michael Hall (born November 2, 1946) and Patrick Burt (born October 23, 1947). Shelby and Fields later separated and divorced in February 1960.

Shelby dealt with health issues throughout his life. He took nitroglycerine pills when he was racing because of his heart. He had a heart transplant in 1990 and a kidney transplant in 1996.^[4]

Shelby died on May 10, 2012 at the age of 89.^[5][6] He had been suffering from a serious heart ailment for decades.^[7] Joe Conway, president of Carroll Shelby International, said that "we are all deeply saddened, and feel a tremendous sense of loss for Carroll's family, ourselves and the entire automotive industry. There has been no one like Carroll Shelby and never will be. However, we promised Carroll we would carry on, and he put the team, the products and the vision in place to do just that."^[5]

Life before racing[link]

Shelby honed his driving skills with his Willys automobile^[8] while attending Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas, Texas). He graduated from Wilson in 1940. He was enrolled at The Georgia School of Technology in the Aeronautical Engineering program. However, because of the war Shelby did not go to school and enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps ^[9], serving in World War II as a flight instructor and test pilot. He graduated with the rank of staff sergeant pilot. ^[10]

Driving career[link]

Shelby beside his 1957 Maserati 450S at Virginia International Raceway in 2007

Starting out amateur, he soon became a driver for the Cad-Allard, Aston Martin, and Maserati teams during the 1950s. Driving for Donald Healey, in a streamlined and supercharged, specially-modified, Austin-Healey 100S, he set 16 U.S. and international speed records. Teamed with Roy Salvadori, and driving for Aston Martin, he won the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans.

He drove in the Mount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race in a specially prepared Ferrari roadster, to a record run of 10:21.8 seconds on his way to victory in 1956.^[11]

He was Sports Illustrated's driver of the year in 1956 and 1957.^[12]

He competed in Formula One from 1958 to 1959, participating in a total of eight World Championship races and several non-championship races.

Complete World Championship Formula One results[link]

(key)

* No points awarded for shared drive with Masten Gregory.

Shelby the constructor[link]

After retiring from driving in October 1959 for health reasons,^[13] he opened a high-performance driving school and the Shelby-American company.

He obtained a license to import a successful British Sports racing car manufactured by AC Motors of England, installing an American Ford engine rather than its original British Bristol engine, and introduced the car to the American public as an AC Cobra, later to be known as a Shelby or Shelby Cobra. Shelby continued on to be influential with Ford manufactured cars, including the Daytona Coupe, GT40, the Mustang-based Shelby GT350 and Shelby GT500, and the 427 Shelby Cobra. After parting with Ford, Shelby moved on to help develop performance cars with divisions of the two other Big 3 American companies, Dodge, and Oldsmobile. The most memorable of these cars was the Dodge Viper.

Ford provided financial support for Shelby's Cobras from 1962 through 1965 and provided financial support for the Ford GTs, first with John Wyer's Ford Advanced Vehicles in 1963 and then with Shelby American from 1964 through 1967.

In the intervening years, Shelby had a series of ventures start and stop relating to production of "completion" Cobras — cars that were allegedly built using "left over" parts and frames. In the 1960s, the FIA required entrants (Shelby, Ford, Ferrari, etc.) to produce at least 100 cars for homologated classes of racing. Shelby simply built an insufficient number of cars and skipped a large block of Vehicle Identification Numbers, to create the illusion the company had produced large numbers of cars. Decades later in the 1990s, Carroll alleged that he had found the "left over" frames, and began selling cars which were supposedly finally "completed". After it was discovered the cars were built from scratch in collaboration with McCluskey, Ltd., they were re-termed "continuation" Cobras. The cars are still built to this day, known as the current CSX4000 series of Cobras.

He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1992.

In 2003, Ford Motor Co. and Carroll Shelby mended ties and he became technical advisor to the Ford GT project. In that same year, he formed Carroll Shelby International, Inc., based in Nevada.

Shelby Dodges and Dodge Shelbys[link]

Shelby began working with Dodge at the request of Chrysler Corporation chairman, Lee Iacocca.^[14] Iacocca had previously been responsible for bringing Shelby to the Ford Mustang. After almost a decade of tuning work, Shelby was brought on board as the "Performance Consultant" on the Dodge Viper Technical Policy Committee made up of Chrysler's executive Bob Lutz, Product Design chief Tom Gale, and Engineering Vice President François Castaing.^[15] Shelby was used for his wealth of experience to make the Viper as light and powerful as possible.^[15]

The following cars were modified by Shelby, and bore his name, but still sold under the Dodge marque:

• 1983–1984 Dodge Shelby Charger
• 1985–1987 Dodge Charger Shelby
• 1984–1986 Dodge Omni GLH

The following cars used Shelby-modified parts, but were not overseen by Carroll Shelby:

• 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z C/S
• 1987–1988 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z
• 1988–1991 Dodge Daytona C/S
• 1989–1991 Dodge Daytona Shelby
• 1988–1989 Dodge Lancer Shelby
• 1989–1990 Dodge Shadow Competition
• 1991–1992 Dodge Spirit R/T
• 1992–1993 Dodge Daytona IROC R/T

The following cars were modified and sold as Shelbys:

• 1986 Shelby GLHS (based on the Dodge Omni GLH)
• 1987 Shelby GLHS (based on the Dodge Charger Shelby)
• 1987 Shelby Lancer (based on the Dodge Lancer)
• 1987 Shelby CSX (based on the Dodge Shadow)
• 1988 Shelby CSX-T (based on the Dodge Shadow)
• 1989 Shelby Dakota (based on the Dodge Dakota)
• 1989 Shelby CSX-VNT (based on the Dodge Shadow)

Series 1[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2011)

Shelby's Series 1 roadster used Oldsmobile's 4.0 L L47 Aurora V8, but was poorly supported by the ailing GM division.

The Series 1 is the only car ever produced by Carroll Shelby from a clean sheet of paper, and built from the ground up. All other Shelbys are re-engineered models produced by other manufacturers and modified by Shelby.

Prior to production of the Series 1, significant costs were incurred in testing and certification required to conform to 1999 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Once completed, a total of 249 production Series 1 cars were constructed by Shelby American, Inc. as year 1999 models.

During production, Venture Corporation purchased Shelby American, Inc. The purchase included the Series 1 model, but not the rights to produce the "Continuation Series" Shelby Cobras.^[16] In 2004, after a subsequent bankruptcy by Venture Corporation (unrelated to the acquisition of Shelby American), Carroll Shelby's new company, Shelby Automobiles, Inc., purchased the Series 1 assets for pennies on the dollar. Included in the asset purchase were enough components to produce several more complete Series 1s.

Because the 1999 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards certificate had expired, and the cost to re-certify the car was prohibitive, all Series 1's produced after that date were completed as "component cars" and delivered with no engine or transmission. Those "component car" models built in 2005 are identified with a seven-digit vehicle identification number (VIN) and were designated with a CSX5000 series serial number. The original 249 were production cars with a seventeen-digit VIN.

The Series 1 was produced in both supercharged and normally aspirated versions. Supercharged cars were also outfitted by the factory with larger brakes and a heavy duty clutch. Performance is in the "supercar" category with a 0 to 60 mph time at 3.2 seconds. Nicely optioned, Series 1 had power steering, power disc brakes, factory air conditioning, power windows, and an AM/FM/CD audio system. The convertible top folded away out of sight in a compartment located behind the cockpit. Some component cars were sold as roadsters, with no convertible top.

Ford-Shelby projects[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2011)

The new contract between Ford Motor Company and Carroll Shelby signaled hope for Shelby products built under Ford. In 2004, a new Ford Shelby Cobra Concept was shown off at U.S. car shows. Built with a retro body mimicking the 1960s Cobras mixed with modern touches, it was based on the Ford GT chassis (reworked for front engine/rear wheel drive) powered with a 6.4 L V10 engine that produced 605 hp (451 kW). It received overwhelmingly positive press reviews and has won the "Best In Show" award at Detroit International Auto Show.

A coupe version of the Shelby Cobra roadster was introduced the following year. The Ford Shelby GR-1 concept car of 2005. While sporting a completely modern design, it showed a nod to the 1960s Shelby Daytona. The GR-1, like the Cobra, is based on the GT's chassis. Press reviews for the GR-1 have been very positive; it gained cover spots in magazines such as the U.S.' Motor Trend and the UK's Car Magazine. The Ford Shelby GR-1 could possibly be built, taking over the Ford GT's production line after its production comes to an end.

In 2005, the Shelby GT500 was revealed at the New York International Auto Show, and became available in the summer of 2006 as part of the model year 2007 lineup. It is powered by a 5.4 Liter Modular V8, with four-valves-per-cylinder heads borrowed from the $150K Ford GT supercar, an Eaton M122 Roots-type supercharger and is rated by Ford at 500 hp (370 kW) and 480 ft·lbf (650 N·m) of torque. It boasts a Tremec T-6060 manual transmission, reworked suspension geometry, 18-inch wheels, functional aerodynamic body kit, and still retains the solid rear axle. The GT500 starts at an MSRP of $40,930 for the coupe, and $45,755 for the convertible version. Although Carroll Shelby had no hands-on involvement in the design of the car, he did provide Ford and SVT (Special Vehicle Team) input on what would make the car better. Most notably, he convinced Ford to enlist wider rear tires (from 255 mm wide to 285 mm wide). This car is the aftermarket's dream — with less than $1000 in simple modifications (smaller pulley on the supercharger, cold air intake, and custom remapping of the ECU) the car's horsepower can jump to over 650 and torque over 600.^{[citation needed]}

Shelby, in cooperation with the Hertz Corporation, produced a limited-edition Shelby GT-H in 2006. The GT-H is a special-edition Ford Mustang GT, available only for rental from Hertz. A Ford Racing Performance Group FR1 Power Pack boosts the GT's 4.6-liter, V-8 engine to 325 hp (242 kW). The car has a custom Shelby hood and black and gold body styling, incorporating a gold-plated "Hertz" nameplate on both sides of the car. The GT-H is limited to a run of 500 vehicles and is available for rental at major cities and airports across the United States.

A consumer version of the Shelby GT-H is available from Ford, called the Shelby GT. It has a production run limited to 6,000 vehicles for 2007 and 2300 for 2008, and features the same powerplant as the GT-H, but includes more suspension upgrades and is available with both manual and automatic transmissions. White and black colors were available for 2007 models and grabber orange or blue are available for 2008. A convertible is available in 2008 also. Few models leaving the Shelby factory in Las Vegas with a supercharger are called Shelby GT/SC. All Shelby GTs are shipped with the Shelby serial number (CSM) on the dashboard badge and in the engine compartment, such as 07SGT0001 or 08SGT0001.

Non-Ford projects[link]

In his later years, Shelby brought several lawsuits against companies making copies of the Cobra body for use on kit cars — ostensibly for copyright, trademark and patent violations from his use of AC Ace bodies for his Cobras. Despite the litigation, the Cobra kit car industry continues to thrive.

One of the lawsuits involved the Superformance Brock Coupe, a copy of the original Shelby Daytona Coupe. The Superformance Brock Coupe was designed by Pete Brock, who had also designed the original Daytona Coupe for Shelby. Shelby American sued Superformance after Superformance had developed and begun production of the Superformance Brock Coupe. Eventually, the litigation was settled, though the terms of the settlement (if any) have never been released to the public. As a result of the agreement between the two companies, the product is now known as the Shelby Daytona Coupe, despite being neither designed nor built by Shelby American. Nearly 150 of these new Shelby Daytona Coupes have been built as of February 2007.

In 2002, Unique Performance, a company of Farmers Branch, Texas, purchased a license from Carroll Shelby Enterprises to place his name on a series of continuation vintage vehicles. This company specialized in recreating 1960s style Shelby Mustangs. They purchased used Mustangs and installed updated versions of the Shelby 325 horsepower 302 cubic inch V8 engine. They also utilize modern five-speed manual transmissions, brakes, steering, suspension, interiors and entertainment systems. Because Mr. Shelby's license was purchased, these cars have Shelby serial numbers and are considered by the Shelby American Auto Club to be real Shelby cars.^[17]

In October 2007, Carroll Shelby pulled his licensing agreement with Unique Performance due to numerous issues of customer complaints where vehicles were not delivered. Unique Performance was subsequently raided by law enforcement due to VIN irregularities and declared bankruptcy, which effectively ended the Shelby continuation "Eleanor" Mustang production.^[18] Shelby was in turn sued by victims of Unique Performance for his involvement in the criminal activity,^[19] and lost a subsequent case in 2008 brought by the widow of H.B. Halicki who owned the copyright of the "Eleanor" name, which brought to an end production of the "continuation models". The only official licensed "Eleanor" maker was Classic Recreations in Oklahoma, U.S.A., until Mr. Shelby brought them into a licensing agreement as of October 2009 to build an official continuation vehicle titled the GT500CR.^[20] A car named Shelby Cobra 429 S/T was now in the Hot Wheels Muscle Mania collection in 2010.

Other projects[link]

Carroll Shelby's name is associated with a popular chili fixings kit. The kit is mostly spices in several packets, all contained in a miniature brown paper bag. On the side of the bag is a story related by Shelby about his cooking chili during his racing days. On the front of the bag is a depiction of a big western black hat, a trademark piece of clothing for Shelby. He was a founder of the Terlingua International Chili Championship in Terlingua, Texas.^[12]

In 1967, Shelby's name was briefly tied to a men's grooming product. "Carroll Shelby's Pit-Stop ... a Real Man's Deodorant" was promoted in car magazines, but sold poorly.

Shelby was the initial partner of Dan Gurney in establishing Gurney's All American Racers.^[21]

Donzi Marine, of Sarasota, Florida, created a special limited-edition 22-foot (7 m) speedboat (only 50 were made), based on their Classic line of boats in collaboration with Carroll Shelby. The boat is known as the Donzi Shelby 22 GT. This project has been in place since the 2007 model year and is currently^[when?] the only boat ever to wear the Shelby name.

Carroll Shelby produced a line of eight-spoke alloy wheels for Saab automobiles in the early-to-mid 1980s. They were available in gold (Goldvane), hammered silver (Silvervane) finish, and a black hammered finish. These wheels were available through Saab dealers and could be fitted to Saab 99 and Saab 900 models manufactured through 1987. They are a sought-after accessory for Saab enthusiasts today.^{[citation needed]}

In 1989, Shelby was inducted into Woodrow Wilson High School's Hall of Fame when it was created during the celebration of the school's 60th Anniversary. In 2009, Shelby was Grand Marshal of the Parade and spoke to and met with scores of fellow alums during Woodrow's 80th Anniversary Celebration.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008 Shelby was awarded the 2008 Automotive Executive of the Year Award.

Shelby established the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation to pay the medical bills of children who have heart disease but cannot afford treatment.^[4]

See also[link]

Biography portal

• The Snake and the Stallion

References[link]

Inline

General

• Dean, Paul (May 15, 1993). "Questions have been raised over Carroll Shelby's claim he's building 43 of his classic Cobras using original chassis. Shelby says he's the victim of a business feud". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1993-04-15/news/vw-23029_1_carroll-shelby. Retrieved January 2, 2011. 

Shelby Cobra and Ford GT Racing

• Carroll, William (1964). Ford Cobra Guide. Sports Car Press. ISBN 0-87112-066-6.  An inside look at early Cobra racing 1962 through 1963.
• Shelby, Carroll (1965). The Cobra Story. Motorbooks. ISBN 978-0-87938-019-9.  Shelby's story of his life and racing through 1964.
• Shelby, Carroll (1967). The Carroll Shelby Story. Pocket Books.  A revised and enlarged version of "The Cobra Story," covering the Cobra's successes in 1965 and 1966, as well as including technical specifications for the 289 and 427 Cobras.
• Shoen, Michael L. (1990). The Cobra-Ferrari Wars 1963–1965. Cfw Guidebooks. ISBN 978-0-9625093-0-8.  Covers Cobra and Ferrari racing through 1965.
• Levine, Leo (2001). Ford, the Dust and the Glory: A Racing History, 1901–1967. Society of Automotive Engineers. ISBN 978-0-7680-0663-6.  Ford racing programs through 1967.

External links[link]

• Carroll Shelby at Find a Grave
• The Shelby Dodge Pages
• Listen to a live radio interview with Caroll Shelby on Nostalgic Radio and Cars

Enzo Ferrari
Enzo Ferrari (left) and Ilario Bandini
Born	Enzo Anselmo Ferrari (1898-02-18)February 18, 1898 Modena, Italy
Died	August 14, 1988(1988-08-14) (aged 90) Maranello, Italy
Nationality	Italian
Occupation	Founder of Ferrari
Years active	1898-1914 little formal education, seeing several car races 1914-1916 shoeing mules 1916-1918 soldier, barely survived the world-wide flu epidemic 1918-1920 CMN car driver 1920-1926 Alfa Romeo full time driver 1926-1929 car mechanic Alfa Romeo 1929-1932 Scudera Ferrari 1932-1937 Alfa Romeo worker 1937-1946 own company supplying auto parts 1946-1965 - 100% owner of Ferrari after founding 1965-1969 holder >50% stake of Ferrari 1969-1988 selling rest to Fiat, achieving only 10% -1971 managing director Ferrari influential person in Ferrari 1971-1988 [1]
Height	6 ft 1.5 in (1.87 m)[2]
Children	Alfredo Ferrari Piero Ferrari

Enzo Anselmo Ferrari (pronounced [ˈɛntso anˈsɛlmo ferˈrari]) (February 18, 1898^[3] – August 14, 1988) Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI^[4] was an Italian race car driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari car manufacturer. He was often referred to as "il Commendatore".

Early life[link]

Drivers Enzo Ferrari (1st from left), Tazio Nuvolari (4th) and Achille Varzi (6th) of Alfa Romeo with Alfa Romeo Managing Director Prospero Gianferrari (3rd) at Colle Maddalena

Born in Modena, Italy, Ferrari grew up with little formal education but a strong desire to race cars. At the age of 10 and seeing 1908 Circuit di Bologna, he decided to become a driver of race car^[5]. During World War I he was assigned to the third Alpine Artillery division of the Italian Army. His father Alfredo, as well as his older brother, also named Alfredo, died in 1916 as a result of a widespread Italian flu outbreak. Ferrari became severely ill himself in the 1918 flu pandemic and was consequently discharged from Italian service. Upon returning home he found that the family firm had collapsed.

Career[link]

Having no other job prospects, Ferrari eventually settled for a job at a smaller car company called CMN (Costruzioni Meccaniche Nazionali), redesigning used truck bodies into small passenger cars. He took up racing in 1919 on the CMN team, but had little initial success.

He left CMN in 1920 to work at Alfa Romeo and racing their cars in local races he had more success. In 1923, racing in Ravenna, he acquired the Prancing Horse badge which decorated the fuselage of Francesco Baracca's (Italy's leading ace of WWI) SPAD S.XIII fighter, given from his mother, taken from the wreckage of the plane after his mysterious death. This icon would have to wait until 1932 to be displayed on a racing car.

In 1924 Ferrari won the Coppa Acerbo at Pescara. His successes in local races encouraged Alfa to offer him a chance of much more prestigious competition. Ferrari turned this opportunity down and did not race again until 1927. He continued to work directly for Alfa Romeo until 1929 before starting Scuderia Ferrari as the racing team for Alfa.

Ferrari managed the development of the factory Alfa cars, and built up a team of over forty drivers, including Giuseppe Campari and Tazio Nuvolari. Ferrari himself continued racing until 1932.

The support of Alfa Romeo lasted until 1933, when financial constraints made Alfa withdraw. Only at the intervention of Pirelli did Ferrari receive any cars at all. Despite the quality of the Scuderia drivers, the company won few victories. Auto Union and Mercedes dominated the era, but Ferrari achieved a notable victory when Tazio Nuvolari beat them on their home turf at the German Grand Prix in 1935.

In 1937 Alfa took control of its racing efforts again, reducing Ferrari to Director of Sports under Alfa's engineering director. Ferrari soon left, but a contract clause restricted him from racing or designing cars for four years.

In response, Ferrari organized Auto-Avio Costruzioni, a company supplying parts to other racing teams. Ferrari did manage to manufacture two cars for the 1940 Mille Miglia, driven by Alberto Ascari and Lotario Rangoni. During World War II his firm was forced to undertake war production for Mussolini's fascist government. Following Allied bombing of the factory, Ferrari relocated from Modena to Maranello. It was not until after World War II that Ferrari could start making cars bearing his name, founding today's Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947.

The first open-wheel race was in Turin in 1948 and the first victory came later in the year in Lago di Garda. Ferrari participated in the Formula 1 World Championship since its introduction in 1950 but the first victory was not until the British Grand Prix of 1951. The first championship came in 1952–53, with Alberto Ascari. The company also sold production sports cars in order to finance the racing endeavours not only in Grands Prix but also in events such as the Mille Miglia and Le Mans.

Ferrari's decision to continue racing in the Mille Miglia brought the company new victories and greatly increased public recognition. However, increasing speeds, poor roads, and nonexistent crowd protection eventually spelled disaster for both the race and Ferrari. During the 1957 Mille Miglia, near the town of Guidizzolo, a 4.0-litre Ferrari 335S driven by the flamboyant Alfonso de Portago was traveling at 250 km/h when it blew a tire and crashed into the roadside crowd, killing de Portago, his co-driver, and nine spectators, including five children. In response, Enzo Ferrari and Englebert, the tyre manufacturer, were charged with manslaughter in a lengthy criminal prosecution that was finally dismissed in 1961.

Many of the firm's greatest victories came at Le Mans (14 victories, including six in a row 1960–65) and in Formula One during the 1950s and 1960s, with the successes of Juan-Manuel Fangio (1956), Mike Hawthorn (1958), Phil Hill (1961) and John Surtees (1964).

In 1969 the problems of reduced demand and inadequate financing forced Ferrari to allow Fiat to take a stake in the company. Ferrari had previously offered Ford the opportunity to buy the firm in 1963 for US$18 million but, late in negotiations, Ferrari withdrew once he realised that he wouldn't have been able to retain control of the company sporting program. Ferrari became joint-stock and Fiat took a small share in 1965 and then in 1969 they increased their holding to 50% of the company. (In 1988 Fiat's holding rose to 90%).

In 1974 Ferrari nominated Luca Cordero di Montezemolo sporting director. Niki Lauda won the championship in 1975 and 1977. After those successes and another title for Jody Scheckter in 1979, the company's Formula One championship hopes fell into the doldrums.

1982 opened with a strong car, the 126C2, world-class drivers, and promising results in the early races. However, Gilles Villeneuve was killed in the 126C2 in May, and teammate Didier Pironi had his career cut short in a violent end over end flip on the misty back straight at Hockenheim in August. Pironi was leading the driver's championship at the time; he would lose the lead as he sat out the remaining races. Ferrari remained chairman of the company until his death in 1988 but the team would not see championship glory again during his lifetime.

Ferrari's management style was autocratic and he was known to pit driver against driver in the hope of improving performance. Following the death of Alberto Ascari, with whom he had a strong relationship, he chose not to get too close to his drivers.^[6]

Racing and management controversies[link]

Some critics believe that Ferrari deliberately increased psychological pressure on his drivers, encouraging intra-team rivalries and fostering an atmosphere of intense competition for the position of number one driver. “He thought that psychological pressure would produce better results for the drivers,” said Ferrari team driver Tony Brooks. "He would expect a driver to go beyond reasonable limits...You can drive to the maximum of your ability, but once you start psyching yourself up to do things that you don’t feel are within your ability it gets stupid. There was enough danger at that time without going over the limit.”

During the late 1950s and 1960s seven Ferrari drivers - Alberto Ascari, Eugenio Castellotti, Alfonso de Portago, Luigi Musso, Peter Collins, Wolfgang Von Trips, and Lorenzo Bandini - were all killed driving Ferrari racecars. Although such high death toll wasn't at all unusual in motor racing in those days, the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano described Ferrari as being like the god Saturn, who consumed his own sons. In Ferrari's defense, contemporary F1 race car driver Stirling Moss commented: “I can’t think of a single occasion where a (Ferrari) driver’s life was taken because of mechanical failure.”

In public Ferrari was careful to acknowledge the drivers who risked their life for his team, insisting that praise should be shared equally between car and driver for any race won. However, his longtime friend and company accountant, Carlo Benzi, related that privately Ferrari "would say that the car was the reason for any success.” ^[7]

Personal life[link]

Enzo Ferrari spent a reserved life, and rarely granted interviews. He was married to Laura Dominica Garello Ferrari (c. 1900–1978) from 1932 until her death.^[8] They had one son, Alfredo "Dino", who was born in 1932 and groomed as Enzo's successor, but he suffered from ill-health and died from muscular dystrophy in 1956.^[9] Enzo had a second son, Piero, with his mistress Lina Lardi in 1945. As divorce was illegal in Italy until 1975, Piero could only be recognized as Enzo's son after Laura's death in 1978, and is currently a vice-president of the Ferrari company with a 10% share ownership.^[10]

Made a Cavaliere del Lavoro in 1952, to add to his honours of Cavaliere and Commendatore in the 1920s, Ferrari also received a number of honorary degrees, the Hammarskjöld Prize in 1962, the Columbus Prize in 1965, and the De Gasperi Award in 1987. In 1994, he was posthumously inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Death[link]

Enzo Ferrari died on August 14, 1988 in Maranello at the age of 90. His death wasn't made public until two days later, as by Enzo's request, to compensate late registration of his birth. He witnessed the launch of the Ferrari F40, one of the greatest road cars at that time, shortly before his death, which was dedicated as a symbol of his achievements. In 2003 the first car to be named after him was launched in the Enzo Ferrari.

The Italian Grand Prix was held just weeks after Ferrari's death, and, fittingly, the result was a 1-2 finish for Ferrari, with Gerhard Berger leading home Michele Alboreto. After Ferrari's death, the Scuderia Ferrari team has had further success, winning the World Drivers' Championship in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 with Michael Schumacher and in 2007 with Kimi Räikkönen.

See also[link]

• The Snake and the Stallion

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Enzo Ferrari

• Grand Prix History — Hall of Fame, Enzo Ferrari
• GrandPrix.com biography

v t e   Scuderia Ferrari Founder: Enzo Ferrari President: Luca Cordero di Montezemolo Current personnel: Mario Almondo · Luca Baldisserri · Stefano Domenicali · Pat Fry · Hirohide Hamashima · Luca Marmorini · Neil Martin · Massimo Rivola · Rob Smedley · Andrea Stella · Nicholas Tombazis Former personnel: Luca Badoer · John Barnard · Ross Brawn · Gustav Brunner · Rory Byrne · Carlo Chiti · Gioacchino Colombo · Aldo Costa · Chris Dyer · Cesare Fiorio · Mauro Forghieri · Vittorio Jano · Aurelio Lampredi · Harvey Postlethwaite · Enrique Scalabroni · Gilles Simon · Nigel Stepney · Jean Todt Race drivers: 5. Fernando Alonso · 6. Felipe Massa Test drivers: TBA Former drivers World Champions:  Alberto Ascari ·  Juan Manuel Fangio ·  Mike Hawthorn ·  Phil Hill ·  Niki Lauda ·  Kimi Räikkönen ·  Jody Scheckter ·   Michael Schumacher ·  John Surtees Formula One cars: 125 · 212 · 166 · 275 · 340 · 375 · 500 · 553 · 625 · 555 · D50 · 801 · 246 · 156 · 158 · 1512 · 312 · 312B · 312T · 126C · 156/85 · F1/86 · F1/87 · 640 · 641 · 642 · 643 · F92A · F93A · 412T · F310 · F300 · F399 · F1-2000 · F2001 · F2002 · F2003-GA · F2004 · F2005 · 248 F1 · F2007 · F2008 · F60 · F10 · 150° Italia · F2012

Jay Leno
Leno in July 2008
Birth name	James Douglas Muir Leno
Born	(1950-04-28) April 28, 1950 (age 62)[1] New Rochelle, New York, U.S.[1]
Medium	Television, Film, Stand up
Nationality	American
Years active	1973–present
Genres	Observational comedy, Political satire
Subject(s)	American culture, Everyday life
Influences	Johnny Carson, Robert Klein, Alan King, George Carlin,[2] Don Rickles, Bob Newhart, Rodney Dangerfield
Influenced	Dennis Miller[3]
Spouse	Mavis Leno (1980–present)
Notable works and roles	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (host, 1992–2009, 2010–) The Jay Leno Show (host, 2009–2010)
Signature
Website	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series 1995 The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno /ˈlɛnoʊ/ (born April 28, 1950)^[1] is an American stand-up comedian and television host.

From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time, UTC-5), also on NBC. After The Jay Leno Show was canceled in January 2010 amid a host controversy, Leno returned to host The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 1, 2010.^[4]

Early life[link]

James "Jay" Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1950. His mother, Catherine (née Muir; 1911–1993), a homemaker, was born in Greenock, Scotland, and came to the United States at age 11. Leno's father, Angelo (1910–1994), who worked as an insurance salesman, was born in New York to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy.^[5] Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and although his high school guidance counselor recommended that he drop out of school, he later obtained a Bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College, where he started a comedy club in 1973.^[6] Leno's siblings include his late older brother, Patrick, who was a Vietnam veteran^[7] and a lawyer.^[6]

Career[link]

During the 1970s, Leno appeared in minor roles in several television series and films, first in the 1976 episode "J.J. in Trouble" of Good Times and the same year in the pilot of Holmes & Yo-Yo. After an uncredited appearance in the 1977 film Fun with Dick and Jane, he played more prominent parts in 1978 in American Hot Wax and Silver Bears. Other films and television series from that period include Almost Heaven (1978), "Going Nowhere" (1979) from One Day at a Time, Americathon (1979), Polyester (1981), "The Wild One" (1981) from Alice, "Feminine Mistake" (1979) and "Do the Carmine" (1983) from Laverne & Shirley.

[edit] The Tonight Show

Leno in 1993, shortly after becoming host of The Tonight Show

Starting in 1987, Leno was a regular substitute host for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. In 1992, he replaced Carson as host^[8] amid controversy with David Letterman, who had been hosting Late Night with David Letterman since 1982 (aired after The Tonight Show), who many had expected to be Carson's successor. The story of this turbulent transition was later turned into a book and a movie. Leno continued to perform as a stand-up comedian throughout his tenure on The Tonight Show.

In 2004, Leno signed a contract extension with NBC which would keep him as host of The Tonight Show until 2009.^[9] Later in 2004, Conan O'Brien signed a contract with NBC under which O'Brien would become the host of The Tonight Show in 2009, replacing Leno at that time.^[10]

During the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, Leno was accused of violating WGA guidelines by writing his own monologue for The Tonight Show. While NBC and Leno claim there were private meetings with the WGA where there was a secret agreement allowing this, the WGA denied such a meeting.^[11] Leno answered questions in front of the Writers Guild of America, West trial committee in February 2009 and June 2009, and when the WGAW published its list of strike-breakers on 11 August 2009, Leno was not on the list.^[12][13]

In 1998, Leno competed in a tag-team match at the WCW's "Road Wild" pay-per-view . In 2001, he voiced The Crimson Chin, a superhero in the Nickelodeon animated series The Fairly OddParents and continues to do so today.

Leno said in 2008 that he was saving all of his income from The Tonight Show and living solely off his income from stand-up comedy.^[14]

On April 23, 2009, Leno checked himself into a hospital with an undisclosed illness.^[15] He was released the following day and returned to work on Monday, April 27. The two subsequently cancelled Tonight Show episodes for April 23 and April 24 were Leno's first in 17 years as host.^[16][17] Initially, the illness that caused the absence was not disclosed, but later Leno told People magazine that the ailment was exhaustion.^[17][18]