Shelby Daytona with the SVRA
The Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe was created specifically to take on Ferrari and its 250 GTO in the GT Class racing at Daytona, Sebring, and Europe. With the Shelby Daytona, Shelby became the first American constructor to win a title on the international scene at the FIA World Sportscar Championship in 1965 and has recently been chosen for historic preservation as a significant vehicle in the history of auto racing.
This particular Shelby Daytona (probably a recreation) was partaking in the SVRA (Sportscar Vintage Racing Association) event at Pocono Raceway. The SVRA is one of the oldest organizations in vintage racing, and the only one with a national presence.
For competitors, the SVRA provides a complete weekend of events and activities with lots of track time and a full slate of sprint and endurance races, as well as off-track activities.
For spectators, the paddock area is all always “open” at no cost beyond admission, offering a level of access to cars and drivers not available in most other forms of motorsport.
The Daytona Coupe fit into a loophole in FIA rules that allowed manufacturers to rebody an existing model for competition and was mechanically identical to Shelby’s Cobra roadster, complete with a 289 Ford V-8.
