Shelby never claimed to be a technical genius. His strategy was to surround himself with talent and to inspire his men to achieve beyond what they believed they could. He had his chief engineer Phil Remington, the most underrated technician anywhere in the world, Shelby would argue. Next he needed a project manager. “You want ‘em?” he said to Carroll Smith, an ex-driver and Goodyear tire engineer who worked at the Venice shop. “What do you mean?” Smith answered. “Do you want to be the team manager for our GT40s?” “Shit!” Smith said. “Well yes I do, but I’ve already agreed to work for John
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