2012 Shelby Bash - Nothing Bash-Ful About It

The first Bash was held in 2008 to celebrate Carroll Shelby's 85th birthday--as in birthday bash. It has become a January tradition at Shelby American, with open-track activities, car shows, shop tours, cruises, and more. This year, the Bash was part of Shelby American's tour to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary.

Indeed, it was Henry Ford III, the 31-year-old grandson of Henry Ford II, who was known as The Deuce. Visiting with him in line, I discovered a down-to-earth person.

"Is it hard to be Henry Ford?" I asked. He looked at my name badge and responded, "Is it hard to be Jerry Heasley?"

Henry Ford III appeared comfortable with his historic name. After we walked down the red carpet, through the factory, past an impressive display of Shelbys and Cobras, and finally into the big white tent for dinner, I discovered that Henry III was there to accept the Shelby American Hall of Fame award on behalf of his grandfather. Carroll Shelby chose Henry Ford II as the first recipient.

On the podium, Shelby American President John Luft paraphrased Shelby's words: "Without this man, we wouldn't be here," explaining that Henry Ford II thrust Ford into its Total Performance racing campaign in the summer of 1962, of no coincidence the same time that Shelby American got underway 50 years hence.

Henry Ford III accepted the award on behalf of his late grandfather, telling a story that had the crowd laughing.

It seems a couple of years ago, Henry III was working at Galpin Ford in Los Angeles when he received a call from Carroll Shelby with an invitation to dinner. "To me, he's this icon," Henry III said. "Of course, I said I would go to dinner with him.

"I had no idea how he got my number and sort of wanted to ask. But if you get a call from Carroll Shelby, I don't think you ask, 'Where did you get my number?' So after I hung up, I called my dad (Edsel) and told him I just got a call from Carroll Shelby. And he's like, 'Oh yeah, I gave him your number.'"Henry III said he told his father, "The next time Carroll Shelby asks for my phone number, can you give me a little heads up?"

Two weeks later, Henry III met Shelby and Cleo for dinner. He said his hands were sweating as he wondered what to say. He had no worries because Carroll is a big talker. "We sit down at the table and I haven't said anything," Henry tells the crowd. "Carroll looks at me and says, 'Henry, your grand-pappy was a mean, old son-of-a-bitch.'"Ford went on to explain that his grandfather loved Carroll and Carroll loved his grandfather. Their partnership started 50 years ago.

I had already mentioned to Henry that the name Shelby should be forever synonymous with Ford. He agreed wholeheartedly, telling me about his '08 Shelby GT 500 KR that he would display at the show.

The Vegas event had kicked off in usual fashion with check-in at the hotel on Wednesday, March 14. But many people on the West Coast had gathered previously at Shelby's Gardena, California, facility to blast over to Las Vegas.