Mustang, Ford, and Shelby enthusiasts from all across the continent came together in Tulsa, OK for the 34th Annual Mid America Ford Team Shelby meet. For those who do not know what the Mid America Ford Team Shelby Nationals is all about, it is a convention of conventions including all the legendary performers in the Mustang world as well as all types of Fords from all eras. This year was especially great as Mid America Ford has joined forces with Team Shelby to host the inaugural Team Shelby Nationals 2008! This five day event was held June 11th through the 15th, 2008 at the Tulsa Marriott Southern Hills, Hallett Motor Racing Circuit and Tulsa Raceway Park and is the first ever event sanctioned by the newly formed Team Shelby Club which is now the OFFICIAL club of Shelby car owners.

Day 1 :: Wednesday
Arriving at the Tulsa Marriott early afternoon Wednesday there were quite a few Mustangs already displayed in the large lobby area. Of particular interest was the pair of fully restored green GT500 KR convertibles with sequential serial numbers. Various pictures of the parking lot where trailers were getting set up and some cars had their for sale signs ready looking for new owners. Trade show in banquet room until 9:00 pm was well attended for a first day but not all vendors set up yet.

Day 2 :: Thursday
Off to Hallett Raceway after an all you can eat buffet at the Hotel and almost clear skies for a day of Mustang open track racing. Pictures of Shelby trailer across from finish line and a sea of Mustangs in every direction. Pictures also of cars coming off turn and down "Martin House Straight". Gas prices didn't affect this crowd today! Plenty of acceleration going on and of course great braking performance thanks to the Shelby logo Baer 6S brakes pictured on the Shelby GT. Back to the Marriott for the trade show from 1 till 9 pm and many attendees took part in the Mustang Crusin' Tulsa event.

Day 3 :: Friday
Ford Mustang open track day sponsored by Baer Brakes. Rained off and on for a good part of the morning & finally cleared enough before noon for the vintage race car exhibition followed by the late model Mustangs. Others also took advantage of the transponder timed lap program made available at Hallet. Gary Patterson from Shelby also put the Terlinqua Mustang through it's paces with the Shelby logo Baer 6S calipers in yellow of course to match the car. The Black Shelby golf cart was nice but a little slow on the track! Friday evening wound down with the informal reception at the Marriott and of course the memorabilia and trade show which went well past 10:30 for the last minute shoppers.

Day 4 :: Saturday
While Hallet still had the open track events we ventured over to Shelby performance parts day at Tulsa Raceway Park for the time trials from 9:00 till noon and the parts vendor lined area behind the bleachers for that one part you just couldn't find. Later afternoon had most everyone headed over for the banquet and Shelby meet and greet where Shelby club members were met by Carrol and Cleo Shelby with a short question and answer session and talk from the man himself. A lucky few also won prizes at the event and were allowed to be 1st in line to have them signed just after the meeting at the second of two Shelby autograph events.
The banquet was attended by over 700 enthusiasts with a dinner and benefit auction followed by several speakers and a presentation from the Mayor of Tulsa making June 14th Carroll Shelby Day. They put on a great show with large screens showing the past days events and past history of the Shelby and Ford partnership along with a glimpse of things to come.

Day 5 :: Sunday
The car show and parts swap meet was well underway by 9 am with a packed east parking lot with every flavor Mustang you could think of. The clouds stayed away making this a near perfect day for everyone to attend. Awards for the different classes were presented in the afternoon at the Marriott but everyone who attended came out a winner by just being there.

View the photo gallery for this event by clicking here.
Find out more about Mid America by clicking here.