.comCarroll's Biography
An Abbreviated Racing History
Carroll Smith has raced just about everything, just about everywhere. This short history is intended to capture some of the success that he's had racing.
He began driving on his parents' farm tractor when he was 14. He learned smoothness—key to automobile racing—by driving show-horse vans through the Northeast.
Carroll's early exploits included numerous wins as a driver, and led to domination of the Le Mans endurance race as a team manager for Carroll Shelby, and wins in every type of automobile racing.
The Beginnings
An MGTF on the beach
Carroll thrashes his TF around the beaches of Pensacola
Carroll began his racing career in an MG, bought while he was attending the University of Rochester. He eventually moved up to an MGTF, and used his weekends away from the US Navy to win SCCA events on the Pensacola beaches.
With his success in America, Carroll packed up and went to Europe, to follow dreams of living on racing. With the help of his sensitivity, skill, and friends like John Cooper, Carroll had great success in Europe.
Europe
Racing Formula Jrs in Europe
A young Carroll Smith explores the European Racing world.
He went to Cesenatico, Italy and won his first race! Driving a Formula Junior Cooper, he and his wife Jane barely made a living. Unfortunately, his success didn't continue over the next few years and he now had a son to raise. It became clear to him that while he was quick, he would never be a Formula One world champion.
He tried a Cooper Monaco for a while, but it was no good either. Winning the occasional race was not the way to go through life, especially with the responsibility of the new love of his life, his new daughter Dana.
The Shelby Days
Making a Le Mans Winner
Now with the responsibility of a second child, son Christopher, he went back to the states to work for a guy named Shelby at Ford Motor Company. Together, their job was simple: win Le Mans.
Cesenatico, Italy: Carroll begins winning in self-prepared Cooper Formula Junior.
While their job was simple, it certainly wasn't easy. Ferrari was on a winning streak. With Ford's blessing and a radical car called the GT40 the sights were firmly set on winning the classic 24 hour race.
Shelby called up Smith one day, mostly out of the blue. When Carroll Smith confirmed that indeed, "I really did quit driving," Shell released John Wyer and hired Carroll Smith as his Team Manager.
It took them a year to get the car sorted. They got trounced everywhere they went the first year. But at Daytona, 1967, they knew they had a winning car. The gearboxes broke on all of the cars, and the team was livid. After a little engineering magic, they won every other race in 1967, including the coveted 24 Hours of Le Mans.
They had changed the face of endurance racing. "John Wyer, the master of endurance racing, set out by taking the last year's winning speed and aiming to better it by ten percent," said Carroll Smith. "We'd run our cars as hard as they could go, and when the Ferraris broke, we'd slow down."
The 70's
F 5000 and Touring Car
Once they'd won the race, Ford more or less lost interest, "understandably" said Carroll. "So Shell rented me to Adamoicz for a run at the F5000 series in 1969." They won the championship.
He began working on Prepare to Win. Carroll's first book was published in 1975.
In 1978, Carroll got a work permit and moved to Australia to try out touring cars. Although Carroll loved it (Carroll always loved winning, especially a lot!), Jane didn't care for Australia. They moved back to the States. That same year, Tune to Win was published for the first time.
Retirement: Vintage Racing
Closing out an era
By the early 80's, it was time for something different. Carroll went to work for Cal Wells, trying his hand at off-road racing. "I learned a lot!" said Carroll about his time. He won a lot, too.
Carroll never stopped working. Near the end of his life, he consulted for Ferrari Formula One and had many clients in vintage racing. He was always an avid fan of SAE (the Society of Automotive Engineers) and remained active until his peacful death from panchreatic cancer in early 2003. He was last seen by most of his racing friends at Long Beach, crowing about the barn he raised with his fiancee, Ginger, at his retirement home in Northern California.