Pictured: The research team on a Zoom call with Dr. Riedel (top left).
By: Dr. Andrew Yox, Honors Director
The connection of the auto-racer/developer Carroll Shelby to the preeminent American muscle cars of the pre-regulation era, before 1970, makes him iconic still in American automotive history. The most expensive American car ever sold in an auction was a Shelby Cobra, which netted 14 million dollars, in 2016. In 2019, the Academy-Award-winning sports drama film, Ford v Ferrari, featured star actor, Matt Damon, playing the role of Shelby.
Shelby’s victories at the famed Le Mans racecourse in France as both a racer and developer established his international reputation. Remarkably, this reputation also now has a remarkably strong bond with Northeast Texas, particularly Northeast East Texas Community College. Alone among all universities and colleges, Northeast Texas Community College can use the Shelby name. The Carroll Shelby Automotive Program at NTCC, financed in part by Shelby, is an outstanding feature of the college. Shelby, to be sure, was born in Leesburg in Camp County, but moved with his family to the Dallas area at the age of seven.
The research team of the NTCC Honors 2021 film on Shelby, while interested in the life of Shelby in general, has been breaking new ground in pursuit of the question of what provided this arresting link between the man and the college. The group has now been able to interview both former NTCC Vice President Herb Riedel, and the current NTCC Vice President of Development Dr. Jonathan McCullough.
Both Riedel and McCullough played seminal roles in establishing this tie with Mr. Shelby. Both thought of themselves as good friends of the great muscle-car advocate during his final years. The 2021 Honors film will attempt, among other things, to understand the origins of NTCC-Shelby relationship, as an important event in the history of our region.
Dr. Herbert Riedel left NTCC in 2009 after several years of distinguished service. He served as President of the Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in Alabama from 2009 to 2019. He currently enjoys life on his South Carolina farm, and is considering other options in both academia and business.
The NTCC honors research team has not only benefitted from key interviews but also from the remarkable contributions of Stephen Borkowski to the NTCC library. Borkowski, a Connecticut native and former United States Air Force Major, has made the NTCC library one of the best Shelby depositories anywhere. “Usually our film research team travels to a major archive,” notes Honors Director, Dr. Andrew Yox, “but in the case of our work last May, there was no reason whatever to leave NTCC because of Borkowski’s extensive bibliographical contribution.”
The NTCC group plans to film, 9-13 August. Anyone interested in supporting or playing a role in this project is welcome to contact NTCC Honors Director, Dr. Andrew Yox at ayox@ntcc.edu.
