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Automotive Lifestyle
AUTOS: Last Year’s Fantasy Bid Shelby Winner Still Living the Dream
Lucky player in the 2012 Barrett-Jackson auction bidding game relishes the custom 750-horsepower GT500 that he won in the random drawing.
The 2012 Hagerty Fantasy Bid winner of the custom Shelby GT500, Chris Cherryholmes of Tucson, Arizona, says he has had a year of adventure. (Photo: Courtesy Chris Cherryholmes.)
“The whole thing has just been crazy, crazy.”
That’s Chris Cherryholmes’ assessment of the past year, ever since he won the one-of-a-kind Ford Racing Champions Shelby GT500 Special Edition Mustang in the Hagerty Fantasy Bid during SPEED’s coverage of the 2012 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction.
Cherryholmes, who lives a scant 100 miles from Scottsdale in Tucson, Arizona, was named the nationwide winner of the very special 2011 Shelby in a random drawing of Fantasy Bid participants.
The 52-year-old winner, who describes himself as a lifelong gearhead, dedicated Barrett-Jackson fan and a regular Fantasy Bid participant, said he was shocked to receive the phone call last January telling him that the GT500 was now his.
At first, he added, he thought the call was a prank by one of his pals. But sure enough, it was real. The custom Shelby was presented to him by SPEED during the running of the Daytona 500.
“The whole adventure, first of all getting the call telling me I had won the car, ultimately going to the Daytona 500 to receive it, this has been a roller coaster ride,” he said. “It’s been awesome.”
How’s he like his new ride?
“The car is unbelievable to drive. It has so much horsepower, I have to catch myself continually. You can go from zero to 60 mph in just the blink of an eye.”
As well as getting to enjoy the 750-horsepower custom Shelby, Cherryholmes has reaped some side benefits, such as showing it off at car shows around the Tucson area and becoming an honored member of the Southern Arizona Mustang Club, which claims the distinction of being the oldest Mustang club in the nation.
Cherryholmes said that as the western regional sales manager for Schrader International, which specializes in tire-pressure warning systems for new cars, he also was able to use the GT500 for business.
“This last year, we took it to the 2012 SEMA show,” he said, referring to the annual aftermarket- and custom-parts show in Las Vegas. “We put it in our booth and it was a big hit.”
During this week’s Barrett-Jackson auction, Hagerty Fantasy Bid participants get another chance to win a custom Shelby, this one an all-black, 800-plus-horsepower 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang HFB Special Edition. The winner will be picked in a random drawing on Sunday, Jan. 20, from all the Fantasy Bid players, regardless of the scores amassed during the game.
Game play begins today at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and lasts through Sunday with 28 fantasy bid cars selected to cross the block throughout the weekend.
For information about the Hagerty Fantasy Bid Game and gaining eligibility to win the new Mustang, log onto speedfantasybid.com. Contestants can also enter via mobile device by sending an SMS text message to “773333” (SPEED 3) with a fantasy bid during applicable bidding times during the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction.
As well as the random driving for the custom Shelby GT500, players will vie for such prizes as a 60-inch Samsung 3D LED HD Smart Television for the overall winner, a Microsoft Surface 32 GB tablet for second place and a 160-gigabyte Sony PS3 Playstation for third. For each of the four days, a $500 fuel card will be awarded for accumulating the most points, and a 32-gigabyte Apple iPad mini will be awarded to each of the 28 per-car winners.
During the 2012 Barrett-Jackson, Fantasy Bid players more than doubled from the year before, with a record 1,591,910 people participating for the daily and overall prizes, and the chance to win the first GT500 giveaway.
Cherryholmes said he only uses his powerful Shelby as a weekend driver, getting it on the two-lane desert roads around Tucson where he can appreciate the car’s power and finesse. The GT500 has reached his expectations and then some, he added.
“It’s all of the above, from the motor to the tires to the interior, to the color,” he said. “It gets a lot of positive comments and a lot of people just love the car.”
And he still has to pinch himself every day as a reminder that it’s not all been a dream.
“It’s unreal, that’s all I can say,” he added. “I walk out and look in my garage and say, ‘Yup, it’s still there.’”
The 42nd annual Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction takes place Jan 13-20 at WestWorld, with 39 hours of live coverage on SPEED. For more information about the event, see Barrett-Jackson.com.
Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEED.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. SPEED.com fans can email Bob Golfen at
That’s Chris Cherryholmes’ assessment of the past year, ever since he won the one-of-a-kind Ford Racing Champions Shelby GT500 Special Edition Mustang in the Hagerty Fantasy Bid during SPEED’s coverage of the 2012 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction.
Cherryholmes, who lives a scant 100 miles from Scottsdale in Tucson, Arizona, was named the nationwide winner of the very special 2011 Shelby in a random drawing of Fantasy Bid participants.
The 52-year-old winner, who describes himself as a lifelong gearhead, dedicated Barrett-Jackson fan and a regular Fantasy Bid participant, said he was shocked to receive the phone call last January telling him that the GT500 was now his.
At first, he added, he thought the call was a prank by one of his pals. But sure enough, it was real. The custom Shelby was presented to him by SPEED during the running of the Daytona 500.
“The whole adventure, first of all getting the call telling me I had won the car, ultimately going to the Daytona 500 to receive it, this has been a roller coaster ride,” he said. “It’s been awesome.”
How’s he like his new ride?
“The car is unbelievable to drive. It has so much horsepower, I have to catch myself continually. You can go from zero to 60 mph in just the blink of an eye.”
As well as getting to enjoy the 750-horsepower custom Shelby, Cherryholmes has reaped some side benefits, such as showing it off at car shows around the Tucson area and becoming an honored member of the Southern Arizona Mustang Club, which claims the distinction of being the oldest Mustang club in the nation.
Cherryholmes said that as the western regional sales manager for Schrader International, which specializes in tire-pressure warning systems for new cars, he also was able to use the GT500 for business.
“This last year, we took it to the 2012 SEMA show,” he said, referring to the annual aftermarket- and custom-parts show in Las Vegas. “We put it in our booth and it was a big hit.”
During this week’s Barrett-Jackson auction, Hagerty Fantasy Bid participants get another chance to win a custom Shelby, this one an all-black, 800-plus-horsepower 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang HFB Special Edition. The winner will be picked in a random drawing on Sunday, Jan. 20, from all the Fantasy Bid players, regardless of the scores amassed during the game.
Game play begins today at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and lasts through Sunday with 28 fantasy bid cars selected to cross the block throughout the weekend.
For information about the Hagerty Fantasy Bid Game and gaining eligibility to win the new Mustang, log onto speedfantasybid.com. Contestants can also enter via mobile device by sending an SMS text message to “773333” (SPEED 3) with a fantasy bid during applicable bidding times during the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction.
As well as the random driving for the custom Shelby GT500, players will vie for such prizes as a 60-inch Samsung 3D LED HD Smart Television for the overall winner, a Microsoft Surface 32 GB tablet for second place and a 160-gigabyte Sony PS3 Playstation for third. For each of the four days, a $500 fuel card will be awarded for accumulating the most points, and a 32-gigabyte Apple iPad mini will be awarded to each of the 28 per-car winners.
During the 2012 Barrett-Jackson, Fantasy Bid players more than doubled from the year before, with a record 1,591,910 people participating for the daily and overall prizes, and the chance to win the first GT500 giveaway.
Cherryholmes said he only uses his powerful Shelby as a weekend driver, getting it on the two-lane desert roads around Tucson where he can appreciate the car’s power and finesse. The GT500 has reached his expectations and then some, he added.
“It’s all of the above, from the motor to the tires to the interior, to the color,” he said. “It gets a lot of positive comments and a lot of people just love the car.”
And he still has to pinch himself every day as a reminder that it’s not all been a dream.
“It’s unreal, that’s all I can say,” he added. “I walk out and look in my garage and say, ‘Yup, it’s still there.’”
The 42nd annual Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction takes place Jan 13-20 at WestWorld, with 39 hours of live coverage on SPEED. For more information about the event, see Barrett-Jackson.com.
Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEED.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. SPEED.com fans can email Bob Golfen at
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