33rd Mid-America Performance Ford And Shelby

For 33 years, the Oklahoma Region of the Shelby American Automobile Club has been celebrating the cars from Shelby American during its annual Mid-America Performance Ford and Shelby Meet. Known simply as the Mid-America Shelby Meet when Jim Wicks organized the first event in 1974, the gathering was originally an opportunity for owners of '62-'70 Shelby vehicles, including Cobras and Mustangs, to share camaraderie and advice. Later, the group added driving events to the program and began welcoming other performance Fords, igniting the tradition of an early June Shelby meet in the middle of the U.S.

For the first 32 years at Mid-America, Shelby Mustangs were something to be fondly remembered. This year, for the first time ever, they were something to anticipate. Shelby Automobiles made a big splash at the event by unveiling the new Super Snake package, showing off the upcoming '08 Shelby GT500KR, debuting the '08 Shelby GT convertible, and unveiling the new Shelby Parts program in conjunction with Scott Drake. The huge Shelby Automobiles tractor-trailer rig was a major presence all weekend, with company President Amy Boylan and Vice President Gary Patterson making themselves available to attendees.

New Shelbys-from GT500s to Hertz GT-Hs-mingled with old ones during all of the Mid-America events, starting Thursday with the first day of open track at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit. On Thursday night, more than 500 cars cruised from the Marriott to the downtown Brookside area. It was back to Hallett on Friday for more open track, as well as special races for vintage and late-model Mustangs, followed by a manufacturer's reception at the Marriott and drag racing on Saturday at Tulsa Raceway Park. Saturday evening's banquet featured speakers Bob Adams from Steeda, Ford Car Marketing Manager Robert Parker, and Amy, who pulled the wraps off the '08 Shelby GT500KR. The event finished on Sunday with the car show, held this year on the larger, tree-lined east side of the Marriott.

The Mid-America Performance Ford and Shelby Meet has become one of the premier Ford events in the country, not only for its variety of activities but also because of its friendly and laid-back Oklahoma personality. Not only does the event draw movers and shakers such as Ford's Robert Parker and Shelby Automobiles' Amy Boylan, it's also a chance for attendees to visit with Mustang industry people such as Shannon Guderian from Latemodel Restoration Supply, Dario Orlando from Steeda, George Huisman from Classic Design Concepts, Jason Childress from Gateway Classic Mustang, Concours Judge Ed Meyer, and Jeff Yergovich from R&A Motorsports. Carroll Shelby has even been known to attend. You never know who might be riding on the Marriott elevator with you.

Thursday and Friday were spent at the Hallett Motor Racing Circuit west of Tulsa. A highlight on Friday was the vintage race. Here, J. Bittle's '68 Trans-Am Mustang leads a '69 Boss 302 through one of Hallett's eight turns on the 1.8-mile course.	At Mid-America, Shelby Mustangs are still used as Carroll Shelby originally intended.	Gary Patterson, Shelby Automobiles' vice president of operations, worked as part of the Shelby pit crew at Hallett. Here, he makes a critical adjustment on a supercharged Shelby GT's underhood insulation. Must be some sort of speed secret that we haven't heard about yet.
Mid-America 2007 kicked off with more than 500 cars cruising from the Southern Hills Marriott to scenic downtown Brookside, where a new '08 Shelby GT convertible was center-stage in front of the Sonic Drive-In.	Former Team Mustang Customization Engineer Scott Hoag seemed to be on the track at every opportunity in his Mustang Racing Technologies' Mach 1, which competes regularly in the NASA American Iron series.	More than 20 '01 Bullitt Mustangs made a parade lap around Hallett, led by Mike Calicott's '67 fastback replica of the '68 Bullitt Mustang.
Other than Mid-America, there are few places you'll see an FE big-block sitting in the back of a new Expedition.	Shelby Automobiles President Amy Boylan (second from right) had plenty to talk about at Mid-America. Here, she and recently appointed Vice President of Marketing Jim Owens (far right) show off the new Shelby Performance Parts catalog to Mustang Club of America Editor Mary Jean Wesche (far left)and Club Vice President Steven McCarley.	The Southern Hills Marriott serves as the Mid-America host hotel, and the lobby is always filled with interesting Mustangs and Fords. One of the showcases this year was the record-setting '69 Mach 1 that Mickey Thompson ran on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1968. The car started life as a '69 prototype and still has many of its original parts. Recently restored by Randy Roberts, the historic car is owned by Ford race-car collector Brent Hajek.
Gateway Classic Mustang won the race to be the first to complete one of the new Dynacorn '67 fastback bodies. Owned by rocker Sammy Hagar, it's the first of 100 GMC-R and GMC-500 Mustangs that Gateway plans to build.	Goodyear borrowed an original 695x14 Blue Streak tire from Brent Galloway's '66 Shelby GT350 to create this prototype for reproductions that will be available soon.	On Saturday, the Mid-America action moved to Tulsa Raceway Park for a full day of bracket-style racing, including the Powderpuff class shown here.
When was the last time you saw three Boss 429s at a dragstrip? This trio at Tulsa Raceway Park belongs to (from left to right) Mike Heinemann, Henry Bonc, and Dave Lebeis.	Shelby Automobiles debuted its Super Snake package at Tulsa. This is the first prototype car with all the Super Snake components, including the emblems, grille, and KR-style hood. It was equipped with the 600hp engine tune at Tulsa; Gary said it was getting the 725hp upgrade as soon as it returned to the Shelby facilities in Las Vegas.	Sunday's car show moved to a new venue on the east side of the Southern Hills Marriott. The location provided more space and, thankfully, some trees for shade.
While the new Shelbys garnered a lot of attention at this year's Mid-America, the originals weren't forgotten, as this row of '65-'66 GT350s proves.	The '08 Shelby GT500KR has to rank as one of the most beautiful Shelbys ever, right up there with the original '68 KRs. Shelby Automobiles brought the prototype to Tulsa for everyone to check out.	You can still find plenty of good used parts at the Mid-America show. Mustangers from around the Midwest load up their trunks and trucks to clean out garages. The swap meet moves with the event, from Hallett to Tulsa Raceway Park to the Southern Hills Marriott parking lot.
Carl Todd's '70 Twister Special Mach 1 served as the historical perspective for the proposed '08 Twister Special. Jeff Yergovich at R&A Motorsports has obtained the trademark for "Twister Special" and, with assistance from Ford, plans to build 96 cars, just as in 1970.	Mike Prickett from Cave Spring, Arkansas, watches with some trepidation as Patrick Lee from Classic Design Concepts slices into his '07 California Special's hood for the installation of a CDC Shaker hoodscoop. CDC techs were installing parts, including lightbars for convertibles, during Sunday's show.