Car Guy Magazine Car Guy Magazine Issue 914 | Page 28

ABOVE Neale’s well-known accomplishments include the Terlingua Racing Team logo.
The aggresively stylized rabbit is set to make a reappearance on a new performancce
package Mustang from Shelby.
BELOW Ferraris, like the six-cylinder 1955 121LM, have long captured Neale’s imagination and paintbrush.

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The prancing rabbit quickly became a mascot for the
group and even appeared on their competi tion version Shelby GT350s that started showing up at races across the country. Jerry Titus drove the first official Terlingua Racing Team car
in the 1967 Trans-Am series.
“Jerry was a bit of a maverick and Shelby wanted his car
to really show up on the grid, so we painted it ‘Gawdawful
Yellow’ with a black hood,” recalls Neale. “The combination of
outrageous looks and serious performance in a car driven by
such a cocky, talented driver made the team very popular.”
With Bill’s help, Carroll and his performance pros at Shelby
Automobiles, Inc. are returning the Terlingua Racing Team to
the forefront of the grassroots racing community. At a press
conference during the 2007 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Shelby
Autos unveiled three Terlingua Racing Team performance
models, including a brand new Ford Mustang V6, a 1965 427
Shelby Cobra and a 1967 Ford Mustang. Each, of course, dons
Neale’s famous prancing rabbit.
Another well-known logo designed by Bill is the black
and gold fleur de lis associated with the New Orleans Saints of
the National Football League. He helped create the symbol in
the early 1960s for close friend and then owner of the Saints,
John Mecom Jr. An avid racing enthusiast, Mecom founded
the Mecom Racing Team, which was active in Formula 1 and
the World Sportscar Championship in the ‘60s and early ‘70s.
Bill remains close with the fellow Texan, who owns an extensive collection of his original paintings.
“In addition to being one of my closest friends, John Jr. is
probably my biggest art fan,” says Neale. “Our friendship began after racing icon Bill Schroeder introduced us and John
Jr. asked me to design the badge for his Mecom Racing Team.
That led to the creation of the Saints logo and numerous
commissioned pieces for John Jr. and his father, ‘Big John.’They
were especially fond of my work with Ferrari, a marque that
they cherished and even attempted to purchase at one time.”
Bill has also spent a great deal of time with former racer
and father of the Chaparral, Jim Hall. He remembers Hall’s brilliance and tireless work ethic, which led him to be one of the
first builders to apply aerodynamics to a race car.
“Jim Hall is a true genius,” says Neale. “His ability to apply
his passion for aeronautical engineering to automobiles forever changed the sport of auto racing. The Chaparral is a pure
work of art that I have featured as the centerpiece in numerous paintings throughout my career.”
Bill’s relationships with iconic figures such as Shelby, Mecom and Hall are just a few of the countless bonds he has built
over the years as an ambassador of the automotive industry.
Additional members of Bill’s tight network of auto pals include
Dan Gurney, Phil Hill and Bruce Meyers among many others.
His warm spirit, professionalism and passion for speed
have earned him seats at the head tables of racing’s elite fraternities. Thankfully, through spectacular paintings and priceless tales, Bill shares his experiences with the world.