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	HOME BOOKS SERVICES BIOGRAPHY THE BEGINNINGS An MGTF on the beach EUROPE Racing Formula Jrs in Europe THE SHELBY DAYS Making a Le Mans Winner THE 70's F-5000 and Touring Car RETIREMENT: VINTAGE RACING Closing out an era LINKS	Carroll Smith discussing race strategy with eventual winners A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney. 1967 Le Mans 24 hour. Carroll Smith in pits with Ken Miles GT-40 1966. Carroll Smith appearing with Carroll Shelby in 1967 3M advertisement.   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.   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.                  Carroll Smith with an early GT-40 prototype in Italy, 1966. Carroll Smith at a pit stop for Lloyd Ruby, Daytona 24 Hours. Carroll Smith (cowboy hat), next to driver, behind pit wall at a pit stop during the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1966   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.                  Carroll Smith directing Dan Gurney away from a pit stop during 1966, Daytona. Carroll Smith with Jerry Grant at Daytona, 1966.   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...
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