Page 21 - Ferrari in America

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the European courses, and John Edgar ordered one from Chinetti. This may have allowed
Ferrari and Chinetti to have their checks clear from the “Musso car” debacle. Edgar also
hired Shelby to drive the 410. Since Shelby was capable of winning, and since both Edgar
and Shelby liked the social side of racing, it was a match made in heaven.
For some reason, it took a long time for Ferrari to deliver the 410 S. Edgar was chomp-
ing at the bit, and after cocktail hour had begun, he would sometimes call Italy regarding
the car, shouting “Aero-post-o, Aero-post-o!” into the phone.
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To soften the wait, Chinetti leased cars to Edgar for Shelby to drive. It was a typical
Chinetti arrive-and-drive situation. This arrangement lasted for a race and three hillclimbs.
Shelby won them all—a regional race at Brynfan Tyddyn in a 2.0-liter 500 TR, and three
National hillclimbs in the Ferrari 375 grand prix car that Chinetti had entered at Indianapolis
in 1954 and 1956.
The 410 was finally flown into San Francisco on August 10, and Edgar’s driver, Joe
Landaker, received it and drove it directly to Seattle, where Shelby won an SCCA National
at the Seattle Seafair. Later in the year, he won at Palm Springs, as well as two races during
the Nassau Speed Week in December. The hillclimbs gave Shelby enough points to win
the 1956 SCCA Unlimited Class National Championship.
The 121 LM part of the story is interesting. The big six-cylinder car had a reputation for
unreliability, especially after they were sold in America. In the model’s defense, it should
be pointed out that the maintenance the cars received in the United States may not have
always been the most professional. Chinetti and his crew certainly had the Shelby car
running perfectly for Shelby in 1956. Parravano owned one as well, and completely botched
it up with US-made camshafts and other mods.
Near the end of his racing days, Parravano hired an ex–Aston Martin factory mechanic
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named Dickie Green. Green restored Tony’s 121 LM to its factory specifications in early
1957. Tony put Phil Hill in the car at Palm Springs in April 1957. Phil gave it too much gas
and spun the Ferrari in the pit lane, but had no trouble winning the main event ahead
of Shelby in Paravanno’s Maserati 300S. It would turn out to be Parravano’s last race.
Shortly thereafter, the Feds raided his shop, impounding what was there for back taxes.
When the dust had cleared at the end of the season, the favored Cunningham D-types
had only won one National race, the season-opener at Waterboro. Walt Hansgen won
N O T
two and George Constantine one in their D-types, which were not Cunningham entries.
Ferraris won 7 of the 11 SCCA Nationals that year, 6 with Shelby at the wheel. Despite
A N D Shelby’s success, he missed 6 races, allowing Hansgen to win the C Modified National
Championship, the fastest and most prestigious class in SCCA racing. A Ferrari driver,
Edmund “Ebby” Lunken, did win the E Modified Championship (up to 2.0 liters), which
gave Ferrari two championships, with Shelby winning the Unrestricted class.
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