Shelby owners get ready. The 8th-annual Shelby Bash is upon us brought to us by Team Shelby and Shelby American, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International Inc. An event that has grown tremendously in popularity, the very first Shelby Bash was held in 2008 to celebrate the one and only Carroll Shelby and his 85th birthday.

As always, celebrities will be attending the bash this year, and many activities will fill a weekend full of cars and fun. The Shelby Bash starts out at Gardena, California on March 5th for a “Snake Pit Gathering”, and after that, the plan is to stay in Las Vegas from the 6th-8th starting with the Shelby American Heritage Center. At the event, Shelby will be honoring the 427 Shelby Cobra, Ford Shelby GT350 and FIA World Championship.

Also included in the weekend event are road racing, parties, a rally, factory tours, and speakers from both Ford Motor Company and Shelby American. Other speakers at the event will include Bob Bondurant, Allen Grant, Peter Brock, John Morton, Charlie Agapiou, Ted Sutton, Rick Titus and Chuck Cantwell, who was an important guy in developing the Shelby cars from the ’60s.

“Our goal is to make this year’s Shelby Bash the best in its eight year history as we celebrate such monumental anniversaries,” said Tracey Smith, Team Shelby National Director. “Carroll Shelby’s vision for Team Shelby was to create a community where people could enjoy their cars together the way he and Shelby American intended. We’ll continue to foster this camaraderie at the Shelby Bash as we honor the heritage and move forward with new high performance vehicles and programs.”

Saturday and Sunday will be stocked with track time in Shelby cars, car shows, poker runs and special exhibits. Mandalay Bay Resort will play host to activities as well as Shelby American Las Vegas and the Spring Mountain Ranch Track.

A Shelby isn’t required and the sanctioned club gives you exclusive access to “Members Only” areas of the club web site (www.teamshelby.com), official Team Shelby Membership Kit (T-shirt, hat, travel mug, club sticker, lanyard, pen and more, first news on all Shelby products and vehicles, invitations to special event, annual Shelby publication, and monthly discounts on Shelby products. Check out teamshelby.com for Shelby Bash registration. It is limited to the first 200 to register.