Film Review: Shelby American
Following the release of Ford v Ferrari in theaters, filmmakers Adam Carolla and Nate Adams decided to honor Carroll Shelby and his life story in a new documentary titled Shelby American.
While Ford v Ferrari highlighted the two automotive companies in battle, the documentary borrows much of its research from Carolla and Adams’ 2016 documentary The 24 Hour War, a film about the Le Mans showdown between Ford and Ferrari.
According to Adams, while working on The 24 Hour War, he and Carolla learned so much about Shelby that they wanted to do another film with the Shelby family, focused on Carroll’s story.
Adams said, “The more research we did, the more we learned Carroll Shelby was an amazing character. It wasn’t just him; it was Phil Remington, Peter Brock, Charlie Agapiou, and the others he surrounded himself with. They were all incredible. We knew we had to devote an entire documentary to him.”
Shelby American tells the story of the automotive icon, Carroll Shelby, who started from humble beginnings as a chicken farmer in East Texas and went on to become one of the winningest drivers in the history of motorsports and the only American to win the World Manufacturers Championship. A tragic heart condition sidelined his racing career in 1960, and Shelby reinvented himself as a manufacturer, creating the Shelby Cobra, which immediately dominated American sports car racing.
