Rolling stone gathers no moss

Tomorrow it will be just 21 days until we leave for Mexico. Boy, when things start to happen all hell breaks loose. Like everyone else I too have far too many times have for one reason or another lost track of friends. Some move away, some get married, some take on new jobs and a million other reasons but the end result is one day we wake up and ask ourselves, "I wonder where Marc and Kathy are?" Well, that is exactly what happened to one of my best friends Roger Dauffenbach whom I used to spend lots of time with back in my Stanford University days. We both loved performance cars and water skiing. Roger primarily spent hours building custom 4X4's that he used to make famous four-wheel runs like the famous RUBICON TRAIL. Trust me, if you don't know anything about the Rubicon you don't know what REAL 4-wheeling is all about. Roger and I used to have a blast and like I mentioned.. one day Roger was gone.

Some 25 years later, it was just a little over a year ago while I was talking to a performance warehouse in Reno Nevada regarding some research on building this years car for the La Carrera Panamericana. The owner told me he had another customer who had a La Carrera Panamericana car and as exciting as that was to hear I damn near fell off my chair when he told me the guy's name... Roger Dauffenbach! It was such a great day when we got back in touch on the phone after all those years and we have been trying to find time ever since to get together and relive old times.

But today I got an awesome e-mail. It was none other than... You guessed it, Roger! Roger told me he will be crewing for La Carrera Panamericana team of Bruce Redding from the U.S.A and his navigator Ronald McRae from Mexico driving their Subaru STI in the Exhibicion Class. Roger, Bruce and Ronald ran in the 2007 Expresso de Chihuahua which was a prelim to this years La Carrera Panmericana held in Northern Mexico. How darn cool is THAT! Boy will we have lots to talk about let alone sharing an amazing adventure together after all these years. What are the odds? Without a doubt Roger is one of those guys who can make a room light up by just walking past the door and I am betting it's going to get just a little bit wilder in Mexico if that's even possible. I can't wait for my team and myself to see him and meet his team. This just keeps getting better and better.

True to form with Roger, I have to laugh after reading an interview I found in the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza News when they wrote an article about his racing. "When Incline resident Roger Dauffenbach was growing up in the small farm town of Colusa, Calif. he enjoyed stealing cars.

Now the 54-year-old Dauffenbach is taking his love for adrenaline rushes to the speedway. In fact, last Sunday he took his equipped-for-racing 1998 white Mustang Cobra and his navigator, Stephen Bramlitt, to the Silver State Classic Challenge Inc. in Lund, Nev. where they placed eighth in the 125 mph category.

"I was a kid growing up in a farm town and that's what you did," he said. "You stole a car and went for a ride." But he admits he did get in trouble for his actions." I guess I better keep an eye on Roger or he may just steal some cars in Mexico. LOL.

Lucky is GF350

I still laugh... Some years ago my mother in law drove a Ferrari and her license plate frame said, "My other car is a broom." I was fortunate to have bought an original Shelby GT500 off the show room floor back in in 1968 and still have that car to this day. Needless to say, it has been a great adventure unto itself. Believe it or not it's amazing but I can recall there were days when people didn't even know who or what a Shelby was. But all that is just another page in the annals of the Shelby legend. During that time there has been a few owners of Shelbys who get all worked up over people building what they call "Wanna-Be" Shelbys or as their better known "Clones." I am also very lucky to have known Carroll Shelby personally since the early 70's and have enjoyed a long lasting friendship with him. He knows of my build and has been very supportive of it right from the start. After all, he's a car guy and he also ran the La Carrera Panamericana and he didn't even drive a Shelby. Who knows. if he had maybe he wouldn't have crashed and broken his arm.

Over the years I have been displeased when I hear owners of real Shelbys or Shelby club members get upset and make such a big deal out of someone building a clone for their personal satisfaction. As long as they don't try to pass it off as a real one on some unsuspecting investor I see nothing wrong with it whatsoever. Excuse me but what really pisses me off is those times when someone is proudly showing off their clone that they have worked so hard on when some idiot makes it a point to say out loud, "That's not a REAL Shelby." as if they are "Mr Expert". Imitation may indeed be the highest form of flattery but jealousy is in fact the lowest form of self esteem I can think of.

Anyone that knows me knows my love of everything automotive and how many years I have enjoyed all forms of working in the automotive field on both stock and performance endeavors. With regards to performance there is nothing lacking on Lucky that can be found on any "real" Shelby and I would welcome anyone willing to go as many laps door to door on any road course as they would like to compare those claims. Since I built Lucky with my own two hands and out of respect to the awesome machines that Carroll built not to mention all those great drivers and teams that raced them into the history books I have decided to call Lucky a "GF350" and for those who have a problem with someone building or owning a clone, they can kiss my royal butt. PS: My other car is REAL Shelby. LOL.

I would like to thank Anthony my son in law for the excellent job he did installing the side stripes.

The documentary cometh!

You may have noticed that we had a little interview with Gary in our last post. Well, that was a little hint of what we're finally able to announce publicly. We've secured the deal on the production of the documentary of our La Carrera Adventure. Strange Media, in association with Siris Media Productions and Access Video will be documenting the entire La Carrera event from within the Team California's Best camp.

The finished documentary will chronicle the entire process of building and running Lucky the Shelby in one of the worlds truly legendary races. We'll have an embedded camera crew with us during the entire event, filming everything in HD! That ought to bring it all to life. We're grateful to everyone involved for pulling this together, and look forward to the finished product. If you're interested in getting your own copy, let us know! We'll be happy to put you on the list and notify you when it's available.

We also have a major sponsorship announcement to make, but are working through some of the final details before we do that. We should have something more on that before the week is out.

In the meantime, enjoy a little taste of the in-car video we shot at Sears Point last weekend. Keep in mind that we were there to make sure everything ran right and nothing rubbed, fell off, leaked, etc. We never even came close to pushing what the car has to offer. Hang on...it's gonna be a wild ride!

Lucky... A huge success!!!

After the usual mandatory stop at Starbucks for Jon it was early morning when we left for the track. The sky was black, it was cold and raining and we knew we would be out on a slippery track with a whole slew of rookies. When we arrived at the track it didn't look like it was going to get any better. While I went to the driver's meeting Jon and Will finished checking out some driver/navigation equipment to make sure our helmet mics and ear buds were working.
It seemed like time passed by in a heartbeat and before we knew what was happening we had already been on grid and were pulling out onto the traffic along with about 40 other cars about mid pack. We knew the purpose was to just shake the car down, nothing special, drive smooth, stay away from rookies and keep the shinny side up. After two laps behind the pace car we could begin to see somewhat of a line taking shape on the track as we felt the car out.

Here's the official first track run for Lucky as captured on video (this is a very rough, unedited clip from our documentary footage - which we will be giving you more information about very soon)

Some good news was early coming as soon as Jon began talking over the keyless communication system and it was as if you were listening to the pilot of a 747 talking over a multi-million dollar PA system. During the rest of the day that system worked flawlessly even over the noise of many race cars.

It was only about 5 laps into the session before we could see that a decent line had made itself present on the wet track and it wasn't long before we found ourselves out in front of the entire pack and we still hadn't opened it up. The main thing I wanted to accomplish during today was to basically drive around the track making sure every thing was working well, no rubbing, strange noises, smells, leaks and so on. Once I felt all was good with those priorities then we might do some testing and push it a little. But the longer we went the better the handling felt and getting the rear end happy was just as controlled as any driver could ever ask for. Let me tell you... Lucky can hold a line and when he plants himself you really know. I couldn't have been more pleased. As a matter of fact everything went so well we only ran a few sessions and packed up early and came home.

Here's a short clip of the interview we taped for our documentary during the test session-

Today is the first day I have honestly relaxed in 6 months and it was as if I had arrived home after a long trip. I have no idea how long it has been since I have spent the day truly doing what I love with my wife, son and best friend Jon but it was long over due and coming home with all four tires intact makes it that much better. By the way, the in-car camera with sound is nothing short of state of the art! Way to go Jon buddy!

We still have a couple big surprises to announce that I am not at liberty to discuss at this time but there are a few things that I can. I was pleased to meet one of the drivers of another team that will be running in this year's La Carrera Panamericana in the Exhibition Class. He is Colin Herrick who will be driving a BMW Mini Cooper S while his father navigates and is sponsored by Mini Mania. We had a chance to talk for a brief while before I had to go on track and I was looking forward to talking more and getting some photos of his very cool ride but he had some tech problems that didn't allow him to run. The good news is we will have plenty of time when we are in Mexico. Good luck with your tech issues Colin.


Parked near us in the paddock was a very special car or should I say it was very unique to me. Yes it was a mustang and if you saw it parked on the street you may not have even thought twice to look at it however my son told me I really needed to take a closer look. It was faded and could use a new paint job but the truth is that would probably ruin what made it so special. Standing close up you could easily make out the original paint on the door that said "SALINAS VALLEY FORD". Also on the rear fenders it said, "CAN AM ROUND 4" and "OFFICIAL PACE CAR, LAGUNA SECA 10/16/1966" Present at that very race were some of the biggest racing legends of all time. Just to name a few... Phil Hill, Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon, George Follmer, Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney, Eppie Wietzes, Sam Posey, Mark Donohue, Doug Revson, Al Unser. If that's not some impressive names then wait until you hear what cars they drove... Ford GT40, McLaren, Lola, Chaparral, 1966 McKee Olds Mk6 Can Am and the list goes on forever. The bottom line is this mustang has been in some awesome company in it's day. A few years after that event I was lucky to not only watch many of them on the same track but in fact spent the entire weekend with them in the pits while being a pit boy for none other than Dick Smothers. By the way, did I tell you how much this Mustang excited me?


The next time you hear someone complain about how much they pay for a gallon of gas show them the photo above of how much it cost me to top off my tank this morning. 15.3 gallons cost $98.93 and that was for low test. That is, low test considering I only used 112 octane as opposed to 114 and 116 respectfully.


There were a lot of great cars today and as usual there were more than a fair share of whale-tail Porsche's present but one of my favorites was there today as well. Check out the black and white. It seems everywhere Lucky goes the black and whites follow.

What a great ego boost it was to have so many compliments paid to Lucky from friends and racing fans alike and isn't that really what enjoying racing is all about... The love of great cars, friendship, laughter, excitement and even the sounds and smell. There was some great moments today besides the awesome results that Lucky put forth and there was one time when I laughed so hard that... well, that's one of those things I can't talk about so you'll just have to wait.

Before I close, I would like to mention my son in law. Without Anthony, this never would have come to be. He runs my business, deals with all my problems, stress and life as it is which makes this all a reality. While I am out testing and racing many times he stays behind to run things at home and business. He is a big part of TEAM CALIFORNIA'S BEST racing as well as the corporation. Even though he is a huge part of the team and has been at so many successful podium victories during these past years it saddens me to know he will not be accompanying us on this adventure due to his willingness and dedication to tend to business. I am so lucky to have such an wonderful family including my wife, daughter Charmagne, sons Will and Anthony who pick up all the pieces and even better that they have dedicated their lives to what it is we all love... racing.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Actually that's not really a lion sleeping. It's just Jon showing some of the guys how he expects to end up tomorrow after riding around a wet track with me driving. While he was there he thought it might be a good time to finish wiring up some of the camera and communication gear. We will finish the Terratrip at a later date.


Well, Ok so Lucky's a Cobra but the fact is he is resting on his trailer in my front yard anxiously awaiting tomorrow morning when we head out for Infineon International Raceway. I am more than familiar with Infineon (Still and always will be Sears Point to me) but Lucky has never seen it or any other track for that matter. My fingers are crossed that the shakedown will prove to be a good one that will result in finding what if any bugs that need addressing.

The weather has increased from 60 percent to 60 percent and windy. The good news is Infineon is one of the funnest tracks to run on when raining. The problem with that is, that slick tracks make it hard to drive hard and hear noises or feel things out so hopefully we will get a little of both. The bad news is it has some of the most unforgiving walls to be found. I had to laugh, one day Ron Cortez, owner of AIM TIRES that is headquartered at Infineon, and I were standing at turn 10 watching the American Lemans run. A Ponaz crashed into the big tire wall and it was messed up beyond repair. Another racer standing next to us said, "I didn't realize a tire wall could do so much damage." Ron began laughing and said, "Are you kidding me? The next time you have a chance walk out there and fell one of those tires. Those tires have been out there since the 60's. If you have a choice you are better off hitting the concrete walls than those tires."

So wish TEAM CALIFORNIA'S BEST as Jon and I take a ride around the track and hopefully like the song says, "The Lion Roars Tonight."

Is it right? Of course not.

There have been some last minute changes with regards to entries in this years La Carrera Panamericana in class Historic C which is the class we are competing in and the largest class in this years La Carrera Panamericana. Over a year we have built a car that had to meet specific requirements with respect to the rules set forth. One rule in particular was that no car newer than a 1965 would be allowed unless it was a car that didn't have any major changes from the previous year. For example, a 1966 GT350 was the same as a 1965. Like many others, there were many reasons I chose the specific car that I did but had I known that later model cars would have been legal I may very well have done some things different. For example, one of my favorite cars is my 1968 GT500 and it has factory adjustable lower control arms which the 65 does not just to name one advantage. But now, with less than 30 days until race day several cars that would NOT have been legal just a few weeks ago have been approved to run in this years race. Is it fair? Hey, it's their race. Is it right? Of course not. Should those who choose to be part of it feel good about it? I think it would be about as cool as being allowed to run a 79 Chevy Monte Carlo in the Monterey Historics. What happened to all the talk about TRADITION? I don't have a problem with rule changes but any responsible organization knows if rules are going to be changed you don't do them in the middle of a season let alone this late in the year. It is my opinion those cars should have been required to run in the Exhibition class and leave the time honored tradition rules untainted.

Well, that's enough controversy for now and besides it's all in fun, right? Riiight. On another note, how ironic that tomorrows test day is scheduled to be a wet one with 60 percent chance of rain. It seems fitting however considering Lucky came from my home state of Oregon and I'm sure he will feel just fine on the black and slippery.

Sit down, buckle up and hold on tight

Today was a great day. I got the clutch issues all sorted out and now the clutch is PERFECT! There is a small glitch with the transmission but at this point I have decided to take it to the track and see what happens. It may simply be some sort of burr so either it will blow to hell in a hand basket or be just fine. At any rate I will have time to deal with in over the next two weeks. I prefer not to have to pull it but I would rather do it here than along side the road in Mexico.

Today I got the navigator's seat installed, made some changes in the fuel routing system, emptied the fuel cell so I could correctly adjust the fuel gauge and rerouted the vent hose for the fuel cell. This evening while I finished puting on nylon ties on the roll bar padding Jon worked on the video cameras and radio equipment. With a few more small things to take care of tomorrow, we will put Lucky on his trailer so we can leave early to test at the track.