Carroll Shelby, iconic car builder and racecar driver passed away May 10 at a Dallas hospital.

E3 Spark Plugs, along with the rest of the automotive world, is mourning the loss of Carroll Shelby, iconic car builder and champion auto racer. Representatives with his company, Carroll Shelby International, say the 89-year-old passed away last Thursday, May 10 at a Dallas hospital.

Best known for building the much celebrated Shelby Cobra sports car, Shelby began his professional life as a chicken farmer. When his ranching stint failed, Shelby went on to careers in champion race car driving, racing team ownership, automobile manufacturing, automotive consulting, operating African safari tours, developing a line of chilis and philanthropy.

Shelby first came to international fame in 1959, when he and teammate Ray Salvadori won France’s grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race despite heart valve leakage problems he had suffered since age seven.  It’s said that he won the race with nitroglycerin pills under his tongue. He had begun racing after a stint in the U.S. Army Air Corps, serving in World War II as a flight instructor before hitting the tracks with the Cad-Allard, Aston Martin and Maserati teams.

Having participated in eight Formula One World Championships and racked up dozens of race wins and two Sports Illustrated’s Driver of the Year nods throughout the 1950s, Shelby retired his suit and helmet shortly after his Le Mans victory. But racing proved just the start of his automotive career.

In the 1960s, Shelby turned his attention to building high-powered muscle cars – and the automotive world has been the better for it since. Hand-picked by Ford Motor Co. head Lee Iacocca, Shelby set out to unhand the Corvette as the top choice among young male drivers. Shelby’s early builds eventually became the Shelby Cobra and the Mustang Shelby GT500 – two of the most enduringly popular rides in America.

The Cobra in particular has long been a favorite. It debuted at the 1962 New York Auto Show as the fastest production model ever made at the time. It used Ford engines and a British sport car chassis and inspired the Rip Chords’ Top 5 Billboard pop chart tune, Hey, Little Cobra.

Shelby’s cause of death has not been disclosed, but it’s widely known that his heart valve leakage problems dogged him for decades. He reportedly spent much of his childhood in bed until doctors declared he had “outgrown” the issue at age 14. He also was one of the nation’s longest living heart transplant recipients, having received a heart in 1990 from an aneurysm victim, as well as a kidney in 1996 from his son, Michael. Shelby considered that heart transplant a second chance for a long life and soon committed to giving back via the Carroll Shelby Foundation, which helps kids battling life-threatening illnesses, supports organizations that provide medical assistance, funds scholarships in automotive education and supports educational programs in automotive and related fields.

“I never thought about dying,” he once told reporters. “The day you were born, it was already written down the day you’re gonna check out. Now, I’m not gonna throw myself under a truck, but I’m not gonna worry about when I die. I’m ready to move on when that day comes.”

We here at E3 Spark Plugs send our condolences to the Shelby family and thank Carroll Shelby for his enduring contributions to the automotive world.

Check out photos of the late Carroll Shelby and a tribute video by YouTube user domesticmango.

Team E3 Racing's Andrew "Bubba" Pollard.

Regarded as one of the most successful short tack racers this decade, Andrew “Bubba” Pollard recently was named to Team E3 Racing. A third-generation racer, Pollard literally grew up trackside. His grandfather, Sonny Pollard, built and managed Senoia Speedway, a 3/8-mile dirt oval track today is known as the fastest 3/8 asphalt oval in Georgia. That’s where he, his son and grandson spent their waking hours.

Bubba Pollard’s first racing wins came via local bicycle races he won as a child, piloting a two-wheeled racing bike he built himself. As the year passed, he firmly established himself as a top Legends Cars and Late Models competitor. Between 1999 and 2001, he landed more than 50 Legend Car wins at Senoia Speedway, Watermelon Capital Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. In 2002, he got behind the wheel of a Pro Late Model and took it to victory lane six times, claiming the Senoia Speedway’s championship in his first year.

Next up, it was the Super Late Models division in the Southern All Stars Series with multiple wins in 2003 and 2004. By 2005, Pollard caught the attention of legendary NASCAR team owner Jack Roush and was cast in Roush Racing’s Discovery Channel reality series “Driver X,” which featured Pollard competing against 25 of the nation’s best drivers for a shot at one of the “Big Three” series.

Pollard since has continued to rack up win after win racing Pro and Super Late Models. Last year, he won a total of 19 races plus the Sunoco Gulf Championship, Miller Lite Series, Viper Series and CRA South titles. He broke a 31-year-old track record at the 44th Annual Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Florida, nabbed the inaugural Georgia Racing Hall of Fame Driver of the Year award and was voted the Speed51.com Driver of the year by fans nationwide.

We’re thrilled to welcome Pollard to Team E3 Racing. Check our blog for updates on Pollard’s career. And be sure to stock your own ride with a set of E3 car spark plugs, whether you’re gunning for that checkered flag or just trying to get to work on time.

Kid KJ, who made history when he became the youngest professional Monster Truck driver, appeared on ABC's 20/20 Friday.

Did you see Friday night’s episode of ABC’s 20/20? We here at E3 Spark Plugs tuned in to see Kaid Jaret Olson-Weston, a.k.a. “Kid KJ” featured on the show’s “Xtreme Parents” episode. The pint-sized phenom from Ft. Lauderdale became the first professional youth mini-monster truck driver two years ago at the tender age of six. Now a seasoned 8-year-old, Kid KJ has a huge following and his own team.

The Lil Mighty Monsters team is made up of Kid KJ, who drives Monster Bear; his 6-year old brother Jake Olson-Weston, driver of Sir Crush-A-Lot; and friends, 9-year-old Morgan Matheny and 14-year-old Cassie Berry, who split time behind the wheel of Demolition Diva.

“The way I explain it is it’s the craziest rollercoaster you’ve ever been on but you’re the driver,” Kid KJ tells interviewers about being in the driver’s seat of an 11-foot-tall, 3,000-pound, $50,000 crushing machine. Yet, he also calls monster truck driving “pretty much the safest thing you can do.”

Kid KJ’s parents back up their talented young son, detailing safety features on trucks like Monster Bear including full roll cages and five-point harness systems that keep their kids from harm, even in the event of a full flip-over. A particularly rough-looking flip is prominently featured in the show’s final segment. But Kid KJ emerged unscathed, remembering his first flip as “really fun.”

The show also featured 11-year-old competitive bullrider Lane Huzar. And an accompanying online article includes 8-year-old Motocross racer Jay Cramer (who started racing at age four), plus several young mixed martial arts competitors. Kid KJ and his parents aim to help make youth monster truck driving as mainstream as soccer and perhaps even start a summer camp that teaches kids to drive the half-scale monster trucks that members of the Lil’ Mighty Monsters team operate.

So what do you think? Would you send your preteen to a monster truck camp? Watch the full “Xtreme Parents” episode of 20/20 (hover your mouse over the status bar and click on the last section to see Kid KJ’s segment) and let us know how far you’d let your child chase a potentially dangerous dream. Post your thoughts on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook fan page. A

Prada’s line of women’s heels draw from the fun, futuristic feel of the 1950s and 1960s, when the space race was the craze and Hollywood had everyone believing that we’d all be driving bubble-shaped, airborne hover cars powered by atomic energy come the turn of the next millennium. Well, we’re not quite there yet and frankly, we still love the curves and points of those mid-century classic rides. Apparently, Prada does too.

Selections in the high-end collection feature all the recognizable embellishments of the cars of that era, including fins, flames and pointed, rocket-esque taillights. Jane and Judy Jetson would have rocked these babies like nobody’s business. Va va, vroom!

But Prada’s got some very fashionable company. Bryan Oknyansky, a Los Angeles-born shoe designer and architecture buff of Russian descent collaborated with Berlin-based fashion designer Kimberit to create a rather intriguing line of women’s heels. Designs were digitally conceived in the same way that engineers design cars and airplanes, and each shoe is made with automotive-grade metals using drills and heavy duty machinery.

So which would you wear: A pair of Pradas a la your Granddad’s 1959 Cadillac, or Oknyansky’s ultra-mod steel stylings? Check out the gallery below and post your thoughts on the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook fan page.

Team E3 Racing winner Erik Gehrke busts speeders on the roadways, but beats 'em all on the raceways.

Call him the big man in the little car. Erik Gehrke is a three-time MiniCup Car Season champion and a new member of Team E3 Racing.

Whether on the track or on the streets, Gehrke is a force to be reckoned with. By trade, he’s a police officer and hostage negotiator. But there’s no negotiating going on when he’s behind the wheel and on the race track. He’s out to win and he’s proven it by winning three back-to-back championships and dozens of feature races.

Gehrke races a Chevy Impala Minicup car in the American Super Cup Series and also has raced Legends cars and mini sprint cars. But he’s most proud to be part of Lawmen Racing, a motorsports team founded by fellow police officers. Based in Antioch, Illinois, Lawmen Racing is made up almost entirely of current or retired police officers and their families, performing every racing-related task from driving the cars to maintaining the engines to marketing the brand.

When he’s not in his uniform chasing down speeders on the highways or in a race suit being chased by competitors, Gehrke participates in parades, car shows and fundraisers. And he credits E3 racing spark plugs with helping to boost his ride and his career.

“I believe switching to E3 sparkplugs this past season led to the return of my winning ways and my Season Points Championship,” says the fourth-generation police officer.

We’re proud to have one of Illinois’ finest on the Team E3 Racing roster. Check the E3 Spark Plugs blog and Facebook fan page for updates on Gherke’s racing career.

Rust art by Bo Lundvang

Considered the scourge of car buffs in the Salt Belt states, rust is getting a revamped rep, thanks to a Swedish artist. Bo Lundvang apparently has a knack for spotting the beauty in the otherwise offensive. After all, nothing makes a classic car collector cringe like a spot of rust on a vintage beauty. But for Lundvang and his followers, the dreaded tin worm is a welcome creative entity.

Lundvang’s works of art feature smooth sheet metal renditions of some of the world’s favorite automobiles in backgrounds of rusted sheet metal. Pieces are created via a multi-step process that begins with a computerized rendering of the design. The finished image goes to a vinyl cutter that turns a large section of adhesive vinyl into a stencil. Lundvang affixes the stencil to a piece of bare steel, typically measuring three feet long by a foot and half tall. He then applies a proprietary process that speeds oxidation and regulates formation of rust. When the stencil is removed, the smooth, untouched grey steel stunningly contrasts with the textured rust. Lundvang completes each piece with a sealing agent that protects against further oxidation.

An automotive writer by trade, Lundvang creates no more than two pieces each month. And no – you can’t have more details on that closely guarded oxidation process.

“My own little secret,” says Lundvang. He did, however, recently share his inspiration with reporters.

“Cars are what fill my head most of the day, but it’s the shapes that draw my attention, the design,” he said. “A correct curve can really set things off for me. Well, the sound could too, but I can’t fix sound on sheet metal.”

Lundvang’s pre-designed rust art pieces are said to start at $1,500, with commissioned originals costing a bit more. Here’s a sampling of the media comments about the pieces:

• “Rust has become a subject of aesthetic interest in recent years… Bo Lundvang is channeling the trend into an oxidized form of pop art” (Rory Carroll, NY Times)
• “There’s a thin line between patina and outright decay, and artist Bo Lundvang seems to understand that threshold all too well… Too cool” (Autoblog)
• “Turning rusted sheet metal into art? Now that’s dope!” (LifeStyles Defined)

What do you think of Lundvang’s rust art? E3 Spark Plugs wants to know. Post your comments on our Facebook fan page.

Freddie Ford worked the auto show circuit, entertaining crowds throughout the late 1960s.

Apparently, National Robotics Week happens each April. So, E3 Spark Plugs decided to celebrate with a shiny, smiley, chatty blast from the futuristic past. If you were a kid or a car buff back in the 1960s, you may remember Freddie Ford.

Standing nine feet tall and weighing in at 800 pounds, the original Freddie Ford was a talking quasi-robot made from Ford auto parts and designed to entertain crowds on the auto show circuit. A vintage press release notes “a heart made of switches, tapes and relays, skin made of sheet metal and aluminum” and an animated ability to answer a limited series of questions, doling out automotive advice and lobbing a few shameless plugs for the newest Ford models.

“Are those oil pans really your feet?”

“Yes, sir, these are 390 V-8 oil pans from the biggest V-8 that uses only regular gas. And remember….oil changes are only needed every six months or 6,000 miles.”

The original Freddie worked the show circuit for three years until retiring and being replaced with a smaller, more modern version. Freddie II stood just six feet tall and weighed just 500 pounds. But like most kids, he came pre-wired with a little more tech-savvy than dear ol’ Dad. Junior was equipped with a television camera hidden in his nose, allowing him to see his fans, and a chest-embedded Mustang speedometer with an odometer that registered miles as he talked, as well as a Ford stereo AM/FM radio.

The younger Freddie came with a console panel featuring 12 buttons that, when pressed, would prompt Freddie to answer questions in much the same PR-flavored fashion as his predecessor.

“What is meant by, ‘Walk softly and carry a big stick?’”

“The quotation is really, ‘Drive softly and carry a big six.’ You see, a new bigger 250-horsepower six is standard on Torinos, optional on Mustangs for ’70. You drive softly because it is such a smooth, quiet performer. Thrifty, too.”

Granted, neither Freddie, Sr. nor Freddie, Jr. had quite the performance repertoire of Honda’s moonman-esque ASIMO, who pours drinks, boasts his own iPhone app and can bust a creepy animatronic Hokey-Pokey; or of General Motors’ Robonaut, a C-3PO wannabe who last year became the first humanoid robot in space as a member of NASA’s Expedition 27 crew. But what the two Freddie Fords lacked in 21st century technology, they made up for in futuristic charm – a full three decades earlier. In fact, we kinda wish Ford would bring him back for the next major auto show.

Do you remember Freddie Ford? Post your memories on the E3 Spark Plugs’ Facebook fan page.

Team E3 Racing's Jesse Grose races in the Florida Karting Championship series.

At 18 years old, Jesse Grose is already a four-year veteran on the competitive kart racing scene. He first hit the tracks at age 14 and today competes in the Florida Karting Championship series with P.D.B. Racing Team America, a sister team to the famed European factory team based in the Netherlands. He’s also a new member of Team E3 Racing.

Grose currently is 9th in points (out of 27) after a strong first-round finish the Florida Karting Championship. He’s got two wins, four top-five finishes and six top six-finishes over the past few years in the series.

Team E3 Racing's Jesse Grose races for the PDB Racing Team America.

Grose also is a regular in the Formula Kart Productions’ Florida Winter Tour and TAG Senior events. He also races street circuit events in Florida, including the Inverness Grand Prix and the Grand Prix of Palm Beach, known as the most prestigious kart race in the Americas. And he aims to launch a career racing cars in the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) Pro Formula 1000 championship at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, recognized as one of the world’s best road courses.

“I am very proud to say that I am an E3 Spark Plugs brand ambassador,” says Grose. “I am striving to make a career out of being a professional race car driver … I am on my way! It’ll be a rough ride, so buckle up and watch me GO!”

We’re watching, Jesse. And we’re proud to have you on Team E3 Racing! Watch the E3 Spark Plugs blog and Facebook fan page for news on Grose’s career.

Kid KJ made history two years ago as the world's youngest Monster Truck driver at just six years old.

If you’ve made any of the stops on the Monster Truck Nationals Tour featuring the E3 Spark Plugs Bigfoot, you might literally have seen the next generation of monster trucking. A few years ago, Kaid Jaret Olson-Weston, a.k.a. Kid KJ, made his historic debut as the world’s youngest Monster Truck Driver, driving his pint-sized Monster Bear truck and wowing the crowds with his seasoned moves despite being just six years old at the time.

Today, at the ripe old age of eight, Olson-Weston leads his own team of drivers dubbed Lil’ Mighty Monsters and made of up of his brother Jake Royce Olson-Weston, 7, driving Sir Crush A Lot, and friend Cassie Berry, 14, driving Demolition Diva. Together, they travel the show circuit performing crowd-pleasing aggressive freestyles over jumps, around tight turns and through obstacles.

Kaid Jaret Olson-Weston has always been a bit of a daredevil, skateboarding at a year old, snow skiing and driving ATVs at two, snowmobiling and dirt biking since three, jet skiing and go karting since four, according to his booker, Uncle Tod Motorsports. But mom Nancy and dad Tod, who also is the team’s manager and crew chief, have always made sure their wild-child brood was safe. Before suiting up and climbing behind the wheel, the three Lil’ Monsters underwent specialized training to learn the driving skills and mechanics for their half-scale monster trucks. The kids wear fire suits and safety helmets and communicate with adults via a driver-to-crew radio system installed in their trucks.

“They’re driving in a controlled environment,” says said Emily Boden, marketing manager for Family Events, the producer of Monster Truck Nationals. “They understand the ins and outs of a truck better than you or I would. They’re very knowledgeable and they do it every weekend, so they get a lot of practice.”

E3 Spark Plugs congratulates Kid KJ and his Lil’ Monsters team and looks forward to watching them take over the Monster Truck scene in the coming years.

Want to take a spin of your own in a racing truck? Enter to win a three-day driving adventure at the E3 Spark Plugs-sponsored Utah Off Road Nationals Presented by Toyota. Among the prizes are rides in racer Jerry Daugherty’s E3 Spark Plugs off-road truck, a Ford Racing GT Mustang and a Baja Challenge car. Enter by visiting the E3 Spark Plugs Facebook fan page and clicking the Off Road Contest tab. Good luck!

TIER 1 WINNERS (Win $500 cash, 25 E3 Spark Plugs and Official E3 Race Day Gear/Decals):

• Daniel Alvarez: Nineteen-year-old Daniel “The Hammer” Alvarez of Chappells, South Carolina is much more than a hobbyist when it comes to racing. He’s already got a solid start on a well-rounded racing career with a A.A.S. degree in Automotive Technology from Piedmont Technical College and a scholarship to veteran  racer Tony Blanchard’s RACE 1101 program, where he was so successful, the school created a new award in his honor. The X Factor Award will honor students who successfully recognize and brand a unique marketing image.
• Jacob Putman: Our littlest winner yet, Jacob “Camokid” Putman ran his first official Kid Kart race at Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Virginia at the tender age of four. Today, at six years old, he’s racked up multiple wins against kids with more years and more experience on him. And he’s part of two racing teams including J&D Outlaw Racing founded with friend Donald Whorton. He starts the 2012 Kid Kart 2 season as a member of the Excel Racing team.
• Daryl Barrett: Daryl Barrett of Gorham, New York’s Asylum Motorsports Group has been involved in every facet of racing since the age of four. He’s been a driver, crewmember, crew chief, engineer and owner and has worked with several successful racing teams over the course of his career, which includes over 250 wins. He races in the Grand-Am and the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) World Challenge series in DP, GT, GS and GTS classes.
• Jeremy Higgins: Nineteen-year-old Jeremy Higgins races dirt track and this year will compete in the AMA Pro Flat Track Grand National Twins class and the Expert Singles class on tracks throughout the United States. He races a 2010 Yamaha and graduates college as a powersports technician this spring.
• James Luckett: That’s “Officer Luckett” to you. James Luckett of Romeoville, Illinois is a police officer who participates in exhibition and high school races via Beat the Heat, a nonprofit organization that works to keep kids off the streets. Driving his marked 1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme down the drag, Luckett encourages kids to “make the trip to the strip” rather than race illegally on the street.
• John Guthu: De Pere’ Wisconsin’s John  Guthu loves a run on his snowmobile – no snow necessary. He’s entering his eight season in competitive grass drag racing with a new series, the Midstate Grass Drag Circuit. He landed a championship title in his first year of racing and has finished in the top three points every year since in the 600CC non-studded class.

TIER 2 WINNERS (Win 1 Set of up to 8 Plugs and Official E3 Race Day Gear/Decals):

• Brody Goble: Canada’s Brody Goble has been winning on the racetrack since 2005. He’s the  2011 CACC Canada Sports Car Rookie of the Year and a 2012 inductee into the Autosport Dynamics’ ASD Mob program, which recognizes the top emerging drivers in drifting.
• Eric Roberts: Racing isn’t just about the drivers. Eric Roberts is crew chief on a 1979 Chevy Caprice in the Road Warrior class at Punta Gorda Speedway. The Lehigh Acres, Florida resident says he won over a skeptical driver when the team won its first victory after switching to E3 car spark plugs.
• Richard Smith: Souderton, Pennsylvania’s Richard Smith serves as the throttleman for his family’s multi-championship winning Smith Brothers Offshore Racing Team. The team races a 26-foot Joker Powerboat powered by a 500 HP Mercruiser Big Block and a set of E3 racing spark plugs.
• David Pochedly: Painesville, Ohio’s David Pochedly describes himself as a “normal person that believes that E3 Spark Plugs are unbeatable in performance.” He runs them in all his rides, including a 1981 mud truck on 40-inch tires and a worn-out 1998 Dodge Dakota with 230-miles that tops out at 125mph on E3s.
• Daniel Yarbrough: Daniel Yarbrough honed his mechanical skills building mini stock rollers that raced at the Thunder Hill Raceway in his hometown Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. Today, he continues building cars and engines for a living, and uses only E3 Spark Plugs.
• Terry Panciera: Terry Panciera of Bristol, Connecticut is a member of the United States Lawn Mower Racing Association. He’s entering his second season in competitive lawnmower racing on a 1985 Lawn Chief.

TIER 3 WINNERS (Win Official E3 Race Day Gear and Decals):

• Bill Watson
• Ronald Volner
• Jeff Byer
• Frank Speer
• Ben Newburn
• Jerry Manes

Check the E3 Spark Plugs blog and Facebook fan page for updates on all our Team E3 Racing winners.