The Spring 1990 issue of “Corvette Quarterly” was a banner issue for 1963 Corvette Grand Sport fans. Late in 1989 arrangements were made for a very special meeting at Sebring International Raceway, in Sebring, Florida. Two Corvette race cars, separated by twenty-five years gathered for some comparison testing between the Grand Sport #002, known as the “Wintersteen 427 L88” Grand Sport #002 Roadster and the 1989-90 Morrison Engineering and Development Trans-Am Corvette.
On hand to witness and advise was then-retired, former Corvette Chief of Engineering, Zora Arkus-Duntov. In the 1970s GM’s corporate retirement age of 65 mandate was in place, and Duntov was put out to pasture, way too soon in December 1974 when he turned 65. GM president Ed Cole and Sr. VP of Styling, Bill Mitchell faced similar fates at GM. You can read the amazing track comparison of the Grand Sport and the Trans-Am Corvette in Pt. 4 of The Duntov Files.
This story, “Zora Looks Back” offers some interesting insights into Duntov’s tenure at GM, as well as the “Lightweight Grand Sport Corvette” experience. For instance, Duntov said, “It was a quick and dirty sledgehammer project that we put together in a couple of months. There were so many compromises and constraints that we made something of which I am not particularly proud.” Interesting. Well, we sure love them!
Duntov was there, this was his baby, and he would know the real skinny on the Grand Sport. For Grand Sport race car fans, this article by Bill Oursler is a real treat! – Scott
PS – You can access the entire collection of Corvette E-Booklets and the Duntov Files HERE.
Taking the Scenic Route Around Sebring International Raceway
On February 20, 2021, we attended the SVRA event at Sebring International Raceway, in Sebring, Florida, and were invited to take our Vette out on the track for a lap.
I knew we weren’t going to go fast, but I didn’t know we would be going SO SLOW!!! Here’s a speeded-up version (individual photos) of our Slow Lap around Sebring!
In one of the images, you can see on my speedometer, “5-mph”! HA!
And no, the sound on the video is NOT my car. I had to make this entertaining. Enjoy the scenery! – Scott
Dateline: 3-19-21 – You can download the PDF E-Booklet HERE –I have a good-sized collection of Corvette books, sales brochures, magazines, and saved Corvette articles. I also have a set of fourteen reprinted Corvette road tests by Road & Track that run from June 1954-to-June 1969. I am scanning these old articles and making e-booklets out of them, free of charge. It is the easiest, simplest way of sharing this timeless Corvette information. You can access the collection by going to… http://www.corvettereport.com/corvette-e-booklettes/
There will be many more to come.
Back in the days of the Old Republic, there were no “Corvette-only” magazines, except for “Corvette News”, but you have to buy a Corvette to get those. The best we could get was occasional road tests and feature stories highlighting the latest custom Corvettes, some Corvette race cars, Corvette Styling Department, and Engineering Department cars. When it came to showing off Chevrolet’s latest, greatest “go-fast” hardware, Zora Arkus-Duntov was always the ring-leader; a genuine PT Barnum, with a thick Russian accent. Zora loved the attention and the magazine and racer guys loved him, too.
“Car Life” magazine went out of publication by the end of the 1960s. The July 1969 issue screamed “CORVETTE!” with the cover story, “Wildest CORVETTE Test Yet – Every Body Style, Every Engine, Every Transmission, Every Rear Ratio, Every Major Accessory”. The cover story was a 16-page; mother-load of 1969 Corvette information covering everything from the ZQ3 350/300 small-block to the mighty ZL-1 all-aluminum 427 that powered Zora’s latest mule Corvette for suspension, drive-train, and brakes “testing”.
I was in the 9th grade then and this was an absolute feast for me! Enjoy a heap’n, help’n! – Scott
Imagine having Zora Arkus-Duntov give you a test drive in a new 1961 Fuelie Corvette! WOW!
Dateline: 3.18.21 – In the summer of 1960, Zora Arkus-Duntov took a lucky guy with a recorder for a test drive in a new 1961 Fuelie Corvette. He was in for an E-Ticket ride! After a brief introduction, Duntov says,…
“I have a ‘61 Corvette ready to go. This one is equipped with our new 315-horsepower, high-lift cam, and fuel-injection. Let’s get in. Is your safety belt fastened? Alright, let’s go…”
And OFF THEY GO with Duntov rowing through the gears! Sounds WONDERFUL! – Scott
Signed & Numbered 11″ x 17″ prints of this 1961 Fuel Injected Corvette –
America’s “Old Glory” Sports Car!
are available in our Etsy Store.
$29.92 + $7.95 S&H
Our Etsy Store has America’s “Old Glory” Sports Car prints of every Corvette from 1953 to 2020. You can find the year you are looking for by looking into the Corvette generation sections on the left side of the home page, HERE.
Harley Earl, the man that “invented” automobile styling, created an American Legend! Zora Arkus-Duntov was ready to make the car an American Racing Legend
To download Mike Waal’s PDF Watkins Glen Corvette Origin e-book,CLICK HERE.
Dateline: 3-4-21, PDF book by Mike Waal – Emigrant Zora Arkus-Duntov wasn’t at the very first racing event in Watkins Glen in rural, bucolic New York. But he was there for the second in 1949. “Sports Car Racing” was totally new in America, or at least in an organized way, thanks to the dedication to the founders of the Sports Car Club of America, the SCCA. The cars that raced there were considered exotic and were “state of the art” for their time.
There’s Zora behind the wheel of his, then “modern” Allard race car. Note the coil springs on top of the cast-iron straight axle.
So the future Corvette Chief Engineer was there almost from the beginning. Zora never saw a race he didn’t want to drive it. By the time he was hired on May 1, 1953, he was effectively the only man for the job to quickly whip the start-up Chevy sports car into shape. By the time the 1956 Daytona Beach Time Trials, and the 1956 12 Hours of Sebring class win over Europe’s finest, people started taking the Corvette seriously. By the end of the 1950s, Corvettes were the dominant force in SCCA racing. And the adventure hasn’t stopped.
But it all began somewhere and Mike Waal from Maryland is the man that has stitched together a written chronology of events and a fascinating pictorial documentation of what quickly became an annual event. And the future Corvette would become a player in sports car racing.
To download Mike Waal’s PDF Watkins Glen Corvette Origin e-book, CLICK HERE.
Mike also makes his case of identifying the most likely spot where Harley Earl, Master of Ceremonies for the 1951 Watkins Glen, “International Sports Car Grand Prix of Watkins Glen, September 14-15, 1951.
It is very likely that this is where “conception” of what would be the Corvette when Earl decided that, “Chevy needs a sports car.” Not long after the event, work on Earl’s “Opel” concept car began. “Opel” was renamed, “Corvette” and made its debut in January 1953 at the GM Motorama event in New York City. Duntov was looking for employment at a large American automobile manufacturer. When he saw the “Corvette” at the Motorama, like legions of car lovers, he fell in love with Earl’s beautiful Chevy sports car, and knew immediately, he wanted to work at Chevrolet, specifically on the Corvette. The rest is history.
To download Mike Waal’s PDF Watkins Glen Corvette Origin e-book,CLICK HERE.
Earl was truly a visionary industrial designer; one of the greats of the 20th century and beyond; and Duntov was there, ready to report for duty.
This is a beautiful, well-done presentation of sports car racing history that will deepen your appreciation for the early history of the Corvette. Enjoy.
Thanks, Mike! Scott
To download Mike Waal’s PDF Watkins Glen Corvette Origin e-book, CLICK HERE
Lyn Adam’s 27th and 28th Corvettes; 2015 Z06 & 1964 Wintersteen Grand Sport Corvette Replica
Dateline: 2-24-21 – This story was first published in the April 2018 issue of Vette Vues Magazine –Owning lots of Corvettes is typically something mostly guys do. But Lyn Adams of Litchfield Park, Arizona is no ordinary Corvette lover. Lyn is actually a transplant from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1967 Lyn’s father bought her a 1966 Ford Mustang convertible, a pretty cool car for a young lady back in the day. But it wasn’t what she really wanted. Lyn wanted a Corvette! She quickly traded in the Mustang at a local Chevy dealer and got what she really wanted; a 1967 327/300 Corvette convertible. That was Corvette 1-of-28!
Lyn truly has an eclectic taste for Corvettes. While her first Vette was bone stock small-block (those 327/300 engines had 380 lb/ft of torque, more than an L84 327 Fuelie!), her affection for Corvettes runs the gamut from mild-to-wild. Many of Lyn’s 28 Corvettes were just drivers, but most were personalized to some degree; some mild, some wild. Except for the Z06 Corvettes, all of her Corvettes have been convertibles.
We’re showing a few of Lyn’s previous Corvettes that include; her 2009 GT1 Championship Special Edition Z06 (number 24 of 38 yellow versions that were built), this is the car she traded in to get her 2015 Z06), a red 2005 Corvette with black & white checker trim, a Millennium Yellow with black & yellow checker stripes and red stripes (this car had a nitrous system that her husband Jody installed), a white 1996 Corvette with black & white checker trim, a red 1976 Corvette with a supercharged 350 and Hooker Header side pipes, and a custom-bodied 1966 Corvette that Lyn’s husband Jody built, packed with a 427 big block with dual quads on a Pro Stock-style tunnel-ram intake manifold, and an L88 cam.
Not shown is Lyn’s first 1967 327/300, a 1966 with a 350 built to a 365 (this car was stolen and then sold), another 1967 Corvette, a 1979 Corvette with Corvette Light Blue paint and a oyster-white interior, a red 1990 Corvette, and another 1967 Corvette painted with the pearl white paint on the “belly of the shark” blended up into purple.
For a period of Lyn’s Corvette ownership experience, she had three Corvettes at a time for 10 years in a row!
Lyn’s current stable of Corvettes (only two) consists of two cars that couldn’t be much more different. The 2015 Z06 was purchased new and is a modern electronic supercar with all the creature comforts one could want. This is a car that if driven with discipline can be a daily driver or a grand touring car.
The 1964 Wintersteen Grand Sport Replica is a throwback to the old mechanical performance cars.
The Grand Sport replica was built by Lou Dussia; owner of Dreamboat Marina in Warren, Pennsylvania. In 1997 Lou found a 1964 Corvette convertible owned by local resident, Charlie McKinsey. The car was under blue tarps and had been sitting in Charlie’s front yard for eight years. The car was complete enough for a project car, so Lou bought it for $5,000.
The car is a “looks-like” tribute car and is based on a production 1964 Corvette convertible, so there’s no tube frame, lightweight suspension components, and all-out racing hardware on the car. However, this is an impressive and stout street rod Corvette, but not a daily driver or anything you’d want to take a long trip in. Lynn and her husband won’t be driving this car to Bowling Green. Let’s look at the details of the 1964 Wintersteen Grand Sport No. 12 replica first.
When Mr. Dussia found the bare bones of this 1964 Corvette in a junkyard in Pennsylvania sometime in the 1990s, it was probably a few years away from total disintegration. The year-round damp climate in Pennsylvania eats old, unprotected cars alive. After Lou disassembled the car, the frame was cleaned, repaired where needed, and most of the suspension parts and drum brakes were replaced and rebuilt to basically stock. The wheel flares, hood, dash, and front and rear panels were manufactured by Wrangler Boats of Akron, Ohio.
The view under the hood is close to period correct and mighty impressive. The 400-cubic-inch small-block Chevy was bored to 406-cubic-inches. The heads are aluminum with a mild 10.0:1 compression and there’s an MSD Ignition. What looks like a set of classic Weber Carbs are actually Dellorto Carbs with short air stacks. This setup might be replaced soon.
There’s no chrome on the engine, as everything is polished. The exhaust headers are ceramic-coated and the side-pipes are fabricated. Lyn is considering replacing the current header/side pipe set up with a set of Hooker Header side pipes. The transmission is a 4-speed Muncie with a Hurst Shifter. Dan Ruhlman, of Dans Auto and Speed in Youngsville, Pennsylvania, performed all of the engine work.
The dash panel of the car imitates the real Grand Sport Roadster racecar. The interior is nicely finished with racecar flavor, trimmed in rich blue carpeting, refinished white door panels, and white OBX Racing Seats. Lyn replaced the factory-original steering wheel with a smaller-diameter steering wheel from Summit Racing for additional legroom between the seats and wheel. Steering effort isn’t a problem thanks to power-assist steering.
She also plans to soon get a convertible top for the car and clear headlight covers so that the car can be driven at night and on not-so-warm Arizona days. Lyn recently added the 18-inch American Racing Heritage Series Wheels, shod with Nitto Tires; 295×35 ZR18 on the rear and 255×35 ZR18 on the front. Tires and wheels were purchased from Big-O Tires, in Surprise, Arizona. These are the style wheels that were typically used on the 289 and 427 Shelby Cobras in the 1960s. Lyn chose them as an “in-your-eye” poke at the Cobras form when the real Grand Sports beat the pants off the Cobras at the Nassau in 1963.
In 2008 builder Lou Dussia needed quick extra cash to help complete a land purchase and sold the car to Mike Terry of Indiana in July of 2016 for $25,000. Terry did not drive the car very much and quickly sold the car. Owner number three added the Wintersteen livery and put the car up for sale. You can tell from just the small sampling of Lyn’s previous Corvettes, she likes her Vettes on the wild side. When Lyn bought the car in November 2017 for $42,000, it only had 390 miles on the new odometer. Typically, street rods don’t rack up a lot of miles.
After taking delivery of the car, Lyn and her husband Jody discovered numerous minor problems, which Jody took care of. As of this writing in the end of January 2018, the odometer now reads 468 miles. Since street rods are almost always “works-in-progress” cars, more changes and upgrades are in store.
Now let’s move on to Lyn’s modern supercar, her 2015 Z06 Corvette. Unlike her 1964 Grand Sport Replica, the C7 Z06 is not only loaded with 650-horsepower and 650-lb/ft of torque, it has creature comforts and goodies never imagined in a 1960s performance car. It is truly a night-and-day comparison! Chevrolet packs so much into the basic Z06, the only real options are; coupe or convertible, manual or automatic transmissions, interior appointments, stripes and trim, and the Z07 Performance Package that takes the car to “track car” level.
Lyn chose Velocity Yellow Tintcoat paint with a black hood stripe, the taller rear wing, and black wheels with thin yellow pinstriping around the edge of the rims. She really wanted the 8-speed manual transmission, but there was an availability issue with Bowling Green, so she took RPO MSU 8-Speed Paddle Shift Automatic Transmission option; which makes the Z06 a few ticks quicker.
Lyn wanted an all-black interior, so she went with the 2LZ Equipment Group that includes; Bose 10-speaker stereo system, cargo net, and shade, head-up display, memory package, auto-dimming inside and outside mirrors, heated and vented seats, power seat bolster/lumbar, advanced theft deterrent, and universal home remote. So far, Lyn added a Jake hood graphic to the black hood strips that are gloss black on one side and matt black on the other one side, and had a clear bra installed that runs from the front to the back of doors.
Lyn Adams and her Corvettes are no strangers to Vette Vues, Her 1966 Corvette with the big-block 427 and tunnel ram was in the January 2002 issue and her 2009 GT1 Championship Edition Z06 was in the December 2013 issue. Her husband, chief mechanic, and best friend Jody says he doesn’t mind cleaning and wrenching on Lyn’s Corvettes, but the Grand Sport will probably get some changes soon. It won’t be long before they’ll start to hit the local car shows, and no doubt, more trophies will be coming home. So what lies ahead for Lyn Adam’s Corvette experience? More Corvettes, I’m sure. – Scott
PS – Since this story was first published in the April 2018 issue of Vette Vues, Lynn’s Grand Sport has been given some sweet upgrades. I will be updating this story soon.
How did Zora Arkus Duntov’s tube-frame 1963 Grand Sport stack up against a 1989 tube-frame Trans-Am Corvette?
Dateline 2.16.21, Story by Paul Van Valkenburgh, Photos by Mark Harmer – To download the free PDF E-book, CLICK HERE – Of all of the five original 1963 Grand Sport Corvettes, GS #002, known today as the “Wintersteen Grand Sport” is the only Grand Sport to have big-block, 427 L88 power. Sports car racing was evolving so fast that by 1965/1966 the Grand Sport was obsolete, despite copious amounts of horsepower and torque. Like all of the Grand Sport Corvettes, after George Wintersteen was done racing the car, it was bought and sold many times.
Today, the car resides at The Simeone Museum, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Occasionally the car is brought out into Simeone’s two-acre courtyard for their monthly Saturday “Demonstration Days”. If you are in the Philly area, check Simeone’s schedule to see when you can see, hear, and smell a classic American beast race car.
Late in 1989 Corvette Quarterly (formerly “Corvette News”) arranged a special event. Grand Sport #002 was brought together at Sebring International Raceway for a side-by-side comparison test with the then “state-of-the-art” tube chassis Trans-Am C4 Corvette. Twenty-six-years separate the two cars, they are both tube-frame cars with replica bodies and powered by Chevrolet engines. But that’s where the similarity ends, and the difference is startling.
The Grand Sport’s lap time was 1.34.22 and the Trans-Am Corvette’s lap time was 1.22.45. Technologies across the board all added up to a much-improved race car. Enjoy the comparison. – Scott
Here are the PDF download links to all 3 of the Duntov Files…
An insightful interview with Zora Arkus-Duntov interview just before he retired.
Dateline: 2.2.21 – To download this PDF E-Book, CLICK HERE –A few months ago at one of our Highlands Corvette Club (Lake Placid FL) monthly Corvette car shows a fellow came up to the sign-in table where I was working and he had a box with several dozen issues of Corvette News from the 1970s.
The June/July 1975 issue had what might have been one of Duntov’s last interviews before retiring as Corvette Chief Engineer. The article starts out, “As we entered his office at Chevrolet Engineering, Zora greeting us warmly…”
What followed is an insightful, warm, eight-page interview with the Godfather of Corvettes.
Enjoy and feel free to share with your Corvette friends. – Scott
Here are the PDF download links to all 4 of the Duntov Files, as of 2.16.21.
Corvette chief engineer Tadge Juechter delivered the C7 Corvette, the C7 Z06, the C7 Grand Sport, the C7 ZR1, and soon the 2020 mid-engine C8 Corvette.
Dateline 1.29.21, Images: Graphics by the Author, Image from GM Archives – All five Corvette chief engineers contributed mightily and in their own unique ways. But only Tadge Juechter has the distinction of having done hard engineering on five generations of Corvettes. When Juechter went to work in 1993 as chief engineer Dave Hill’s right-hand-man, there were two objectives; keep the then-current C4 fresh and interesting; and design and develop the most revolutionary Corvette to that date, the C5. After Hill’s retirement, Tom Wallace was Vehicle Line Engineer (VLE) and chief engineer for the Corvette. Wallace accessed that because of Juechter’s 15 years of experience, he was the right man for the chief engineer position. Wallace stayed on as VLE and eventually took an early retirement offer.
While Juechter didn’t have the racing background that Hill and Wallace had, he was raised in a Porsche household and liked to tinker around with mechanical things. As a young teenager growing up in Chappaqua, New York in the ‘70s, Juechter built a prehistoric mountain bike with a full front and rear suspension. His folks even gave him their wrecked Cadillac to take apart.
During Juechter’s college years at Stanford, he worked two summers on a GM assembly line, an experience not to his liking. Juechter graduated with degrees in aerospace and mechanical engineering and had no intention of working for GM. Then in 1978 a friend asked Juechter to tag along to a GM interview and ended up interviewing as well; and was offered a job. The late ‘70s and ’80 was a challenging time for the American car industry, but at least Juechter had a solid job. In the car business, if your ambition is upper management, an MBA is a must-have degree. Juechter earned his MBA from Stanford GSB in 1986.
By the time Juechter interviewed with Hill for the position of Assistant Chief Engineer, he was aware of the aging Corvette and impressed with the in-the-works C5. The C4’s plastic interior was a major bone of contention with Juechter. Hill was impressed and Juechter got the job. The jump from the early ‘80s designed C4 to the C5 was revolutionary. The creation of the Corvette Racing Team was the beginning of the deliberate merger of Chevrolet engineering and Corvette racecar engineering that was poured into the C5 Z06. Early on, Chevrolet general manager Jim Perkins wanted an inexpensive Corvette that would appeal to racers; this became the ’99 Hardtop and the Hardtop became the C5 Z06. While the C6 was an evolved version of the C5, no one was expecting the 505-horsepower 427 Z06 with an aluminum frame and dry-sump oil system.
From 2005 to 2008 sales averaged 36,816 cars per year. In 2006 Tom Wallace was Corvette VLE and chief engineer. While Wallace was a racer, his Corvette experience was a little thin. When Wallace learned that Juechter and his team were working on a mid-engine prototype, he knew that Juechter was the brains behind the Corvette. Juechter was promoted to chief engineer, North American Corvette.
Juechter has said that he was shocked when given orders to make the C6 ZR1; the goal was to build the best possible Corvette for $100,000. A big-block was briefly considered but rejected because of its weight. All-Wheel-Drive was not possible on the C6’s platform. The Z06 was to be the track car and the ZR1 would be GM’s halo, Grand Touring supercar.
Then the economy stalled out and the in-the-works C7 was put on hold indefinitely. Wallace took GM’s early retirement offer, leaving the Corvette all to Juechter. When GM slammed into bankruptcy in June 2009, for a time it looked like it was curtains for GM. But it turned out that the government auditor that was looking into the Corvette was a car enthusiast and knew about the pending C7. Upon examining the books, it was discovered that the Corvette was one the few GM car lines that was making money. Juechter’s team was told to get busy on the C7. The Corvette and the Bowling Green assembly plant were spared.
By the time you read this, the C8 will have made its debut and will be the most revolutionary Corvette ever. Previously, the C5 had that honor because of its all-new engine and drivetrain, and its hydroformed perimeter frame and backbone center section. The C6 and C7 generations are both evolutionary versions of the C5. The C5 and C6 are Hill’s Corvettes; the C7 and C8 are Juechter’s Corvettes. As of this writing, we know the basics of the C8, but none of the hard details. So lets look a Juechter’s C7.
A big part of Juechter’s job as VLE is to make sure there’s a Corvette for everyone with a variety of price points, and a base car that offers outstanding visual and performance value. Juechter said, “It helps having worked on the C5 and C6 because you know where a lot of the land mines are.” With horsepower ever increasing, it’s critical that the car be made easier to drive. The base C7 has 455-net horsepower; way more than any big-block ever had; yet the C7 is a car that is easy to live with. The 755-horsepower 2019 ZR1 is absolutely astonishing; it can perform on par with exotic sports cars, yet be a comfortable, usable GT machine. Electronic suspension, steering, braking, rev-matching, paddle-shift 8-speed automatic and fuel management are responsible for a balance of extreme power and civility. Imagine trying to drive a Greenwood widebody racer on the street.
When the C7 was unveiled, fans were stunned to learn that the base model had an aluminum frame and that later the Z06 and ZR1 would be available as a coupe or convertible and with an 8-speed manual or automatic transmission. Another first was achieved; the 8-speed automatic was quicker than the manual version.
Corvette interiors have often been a bone of contention with critics and the C6 took big hits for its interior. To get C7’s interior spot-on, Juechter made sure designers had set-of-the-pants experiences of life inside a 1-G cockpit; to know what it feels like having skin pressing on hard objects. He also made surer there were no distracting infotainment systems; just important information for spirited driving. The C7 has received rave reviews for its interior.
Concerning the C7 ZR1, initially there were no plans to make the car, as designers didn’t think they could do more beyond the Z06. But after a few years, plus aero input from the Corvette racing team, a new plan emerged to make the ZR1 the most powerful, stable, advanced front-engine Corvette ever offered. Many speculated that Chevrolet might build the front engine and mid-engine Corvettes side-by-side, but that will not be the case. C7 production will end in summer 2019 and the last C7 will be a black Z06 that will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the Steven Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
While Juechter was an integral part of the C5 and C6, those were Hill’s Corvettes. Even though Juechter guided the C7, the C5, C6, and C7 all have Hill’s Corvette DNA. The C8, on the other hand, is Juechter’s Corvette. People expect more of everything today, and everything is riding on the mid-engine C8. – Scott
This concludes my Corvette Chiefs Series. Below are links to parts 1-to-4. Enjoy
With Special Guests, Gary and Robin Pratt (former co-owners of Pratt & Miller Engineering), and Ron Fellows, owner of the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School
Dateline 1-2-2021 – The story was first published in the July 2019 issue of Vette Vues Magazine – Since last month when Part 1 of this story was written, the big news in the Corvette world was the announcement that on July 18, 2019, Chevrolet will release the long-awaited 2020 mid-engine C8 Corvette. We already knew that 2019 would be the C7.R’s last season of racing and that in 2020 the Corvette Racing Team would be running the mid-engine C8.R. We can well imagine how excited the team drivers are about the prospect of finally getting to race a mid-engine Corvette.
As of this writing (March 2019), Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 C7.R Corvette are in second place in the IMSA Weathertech GTLM points standings with 119 points, just six less than the No. 912 Porsche of Earl Bamber and Lauren Vanthoor. That’s very impressive considering that the mid-engine Ford GT cars are in 5th and 6th place so far. Yet many continue to say that the front-mid-engine C7 Corvette is outdated. Yet the Corvette’s alleged “outdated” layout won the IMSA GTLM championship the last three years in a row!
In the summer of 2018, a camouflaged C8.R was seen after the IMSA race at Wisconsin’s Road America. There was some speculation that this was an indication that the C8 would be debuted soon as a 2019 model and that we would see the C8.R for the 2019 racing season.
Tantalizing indeed, but it never happened. Instead, we are seeing the allegedly aging C7.R holding 2nd place, despite IMSA’s onerous Balance of Power (BoP) restrictions. Is IMSA trying to make sure the Corvette Racing Team doesn’t win another championship? Of course, they would deny that, but it sure looks that way.
This is what Gary and Robin Pratt, and the rest of the Corvette Racing Team are up against. Let’s continue our conversation from Bill Tower’s 2019 Corvette Racing Seminar at Sebring International Raceway on Friday, March 15, 2019. To read and enjoy Pt. 1 of this story, CLICK HERE.
Bill Tower: Gary, what’s your favorite racecar?
Gary Pratt: My favorite car is the last one that won. (audience laughs) When we started the C7.R Corvette we were worried about the C7’s aluminum chassis. We also didn’t like the adjustable seats; they weren’t good for racing and we developed the crash-box. The transition from the C6.R to the C7.R was more engineering. We used a 50-percent model testing. Our test modeling can measure every part that hits the air. Our program is really staying on top. We have very, very good guys working together between the engineering teams and the track crews that are out there working the races.
Ron Fellows: Gary and Robin are true racers and sometimes they have to override the engineers.
Gary Pratt: Well, we don’t race dynos, wind tunnels, or simulators. But engineering certainly has its place. Chevrolet helped us a lot when we went to the air conditioning systems for the drivers. Their engineers developed the system.
Steve Hurley: Let’s talk about IMSA’s Balance of Performance (BoP) policy.
Ron Fellows: It was three years before we had our first win at Le Mans. Gary would argue with the officials and officials would tell Gary, “You have to work harder.” So, that became our motto, and that’s what we did.
Gary Pratt: At our first 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 2000, we came in 3rd and 4th.2001 was our first Le Mans win, but the weather was a challenge, it was cloudy with a good chance of rain, which is always a challenge. Ron wanted to use the intermediate tires, but I wasn’t so sure. After a few laps, Ron was falling back. Then, it started raining and everyone was on slicks. Ron was making up 15 seconds per lap! So much of what happens is strategy, pit crew performance, and luck. Out pit crews are the best!
Robin Pratt: At Le Mans, the Steve McQueen movie was playing everywhere. Ron’s wife Linda played the McQueen’s part.
Ron Fellows: When I think of Corvette Racing, I think of Gary and Robin, and my wife Linda; and how they supported my total focus on driving. Linda learned to love racing because of the people. When we think of racing, we tend to think about the cars and drivers, but the people supporting the effort are just as important.
Steve Hurley: Gary, Robin, and Ron; we have some time left, how about some questions from our audience?
Gary, Robin & Robin: Sure!
Question 1: How was the transition from Goodyear tires to Michelin tires?
Gary Pratt: Switching toMichelin was a WOW! Michelin is a great company and they make great tires. Ron was racing Le Mans with 15 laps to go and the crew suggested putting “softs” on the car. Instantly, the car started picking up time. Michelin is a company that has it figured out. They do a lot of tire testing. Was it hard to switch? No; not at all.
Question 2: How will electric cars square with Corvette Racing?
Gary Pratt: We wonder that too. There will probably be some form of hybrid racing cars in the future, but I prefer gasoline.
Question 3: What about the mid-engine Corvette we’ve been hearing about for years now? (remember, this seminar was held in March 2019, months before Chevrolet announced the debut date of the mid-engine C8)
Gary Pratt: I’m not allowed to talk about that. But I’ll race whatever they have.
Question 5: I recently bought a C7 Z06 and went to the Ron Fellows Driving School, (looking at the audience) if you don’t go; it’s a big mistake!
Ron Fellows: That speaks to the quality of people that I have been able to transition from driver to teacher. Ten years in and it is awesome! Chevrolet subsidizes every Z06 owner. It is a great opportunity for owners to understand what the car is capable of. I’m 25 years into my relationship with Chevrolet and it has been great!
You know, it is amazing; the team recently put one of the cars back on the track in 20-minutes. We won the championship last year by one point! When Chevrolet comes out with a new performance version, we do a lot of work with them. It helps us too! We get more and more involved in the production Corvettes. It has been fantastic!
Steve Hurley: Is there an area where the Corvette Racing Team has impacted the production Corvette?
Gary Pratt: We helped the Corvette engineering team prove that the LS7 427 engine could be reliable. We also helped out a lot with the production of carbon fiber body panels. Yea, Corvette engineers talk to us a lot.
Bill Tower: We worked with Cadillac a lot with the carbon fiber body parts.
Ron Fellows: That’s true, Bill. We helped a lot with the evolution of the 6th generation Corvette. Former Corvette chief engineer Dave Hill asked Corvette Racing, “What do you guys need?” It turned out that the C5 Corvette body had more drag and the C6 shape was better on the long Mulsanne Straight. That really helped us deal with the V10 Vipers. When we went with the C6 Z06 configuration with the LS7 427, we picked up 50-lb/ft of torque! And we needed more torque to keep up with those V10 Vipers!
Question 6: Is there a limit on torque?
Gary Pratt: No, but BoP (Balance of Performance) limitations are tough!
Bill Tower: Folks, we are all out of time. Thank you all, very much for being here and we hope to see you again next year. Big thanks to our guests, Gary and Robin Pratt, and Ron Fellows. And to Steve Hurley MCing the event and Kyle Willoughby who put together the video images we have been showing. Thanks, everyone, see you next year!
Epilog 1
2018 was the Corvette Racing Team’s 20th straight year in competition and the team has won the Championship an astonishing 13 times! BRAVO to everyone on the team; the drivers, the crew team, the engineers, fabricators, and Chevrolet for believing that “racing” is essential to the design and development of the Corvette. The Corvette Racing Team is the winningest team in IMSA history. Thanks to this enterprise, the Corvette has become General Motors halo car and represents their best example of engineering and design excellence.
In the early days, the European sports racing car companies treated Corvettes like a joke. Today they are not laughing, they’re trying to keep up!
Epilog 2
Obviously, since this story was first published, much has happened. The Corvette Racing Team is looking very much like the Corvettes that dominated the mid-’80s SCCA Showroom Stock Series, only instead of the Corvettes being kicked out, most of the other teams have dropped out.
Why? Because racing at the level of complexity of IMSA-level teams because so expensive that several of the European teams decided the expense wasn’t worth it and the Corvettes were too hard to beat. So, they folded up their tent and went home. If you’re not winning or close to winning, work harder. That’s race’n! – Scott
To read and enjoy Pt. 1 of this story, CLICK HERE.
With Special Guests; Gary and Robin Pratt, and Ron Fellows
Dateline: 12-24-20 – This story was first published in the June 2019 issue of Vette Vues Magazine
Note: There was a major earthquake in the Corvette Community on December 16, 2020 when CorvetteBlogger.com and several other Corvette and road racing sites reported that Pratt & Miller was purchased by the Oshkosh Corporation for $115 Million. Along with the buyout there was a major shakeup of key players in the Corvette Racing Team. In March 2019 Bill Tower presented his third Corvette Racing Seminar on the Friday of the 12 Hours of Sebring weekend.
Gary Pratt is a man of few words, so it was an honor to have him there. His wife, Robin Pratt was on hand, and Ron Fellows was his usual engaging, live-wire self. As Gary and Robin are now out of the Corvette race car building and managing business, the 2019 event offers some perspective on life inside the Corvette Racing Team. Here is Pt. 1 or 2.
An extraordinary thing happened last year for the Corvette Racing Team. Road Atlanta was the final race of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship season and it was a real nail-biter. Antonio Garcia is an outstanding team driver, very methodical, technical, and rarely makes mistakes. But mistakes happen. The team and spectators were shocked when Garcia’s No. 3 C7.R smacked the wall. It wasn’t a bad crash and Garcia was able to drive into the pits.
Photo by K. Scott Teeters
The Corvette Racing pit team is arguably the best. In five-minutes and 36-seconds the pit crew replaced the front fender, nose, and engine floor; and sent Garcia back out on the track in hunt for another championship. When the checker flag came down, the Corvette Racing Team won its 13th IMSA Team Championship and 12th Driver Championship in 20 years of racing! And here’s the kicker; for the 2018 racing season, the Corvette Racing Team did not come in 1st place in a single race.
Photo by K. Scott Teeters
How could that happen? Modern factory-backed racing is a team sport; it’s all about teamwork; as tight, efficient, and professional as any other team professional sports team. In October 2018 in the days after the Road Atlanta success, Bill Tower and I were talking about a theme for his 2019 Corvette Racing History Seminar on the Friday of the 2019 12 Hours of Sebring event. I said, “Bill, the Corvette Racing Team just won its 13 Championship in 20 years without winning a single race. Do you know anyone at Pratt & Miller that would be willing to talk about the team’s amazing 20 years of racing?” Bill responded, “Sure, I know Gary Pratt, I’ll call him to see if he’d like to be our guest.” And that’s how the event got started. But it got even better. Not only was Gary Pratt willing to be a guest speaker, Bill got Gary’s wife Robin Pratt (the Mama Bear of the team) and Ron Fellows. What’a score!
Photo by K. Scott Teeters
Tower is good friends with Steve Hurley, owner of Stingray Chevrolet, in Plant City, Florida. Stingray Chevrolet has become one of the regional Corvette centers. Other Chevrolet dealers send their tough warranty work to Stingray. The dealership is beautiful and in addition to displaying the new Chevy vehicles, Hurley has numerous classic Corvettes, Camaros, and even a late model COPO drag racing Camaro.
Photo by K. Scott Teeters
Ron Fellows needs no introduction to the Corvette world. Fellows was part of the development team for the first Pratt & Miller C5-R in 1998-1999. He scored the first C5-R win at Texas Motor Speedway in 2000. Fellows then took the ALMS GTS Championship in 2002, 2003, and 2004. He was also part of the Corvette Racing Team’s six consecutive ALMS GT1 manufacturers championship for Chevrolet. To celebrate Ron’s accomplishments, in 2007 Chevrolet offered the Ron Fellows: Z06 Special Edition. This is a true collectible Corvette, as only 399 cars were built and each one was signed by Fellows on the leather-covered armrest. In 2008 Fellows opened the Ron Fellows: Performance Driving School in Pahrump, Nevada.
Gary Pratt is the Senior Vice President of Pratt & Miller Engineering. The company is involved in Motorsports, Defense, Mobility, and Innovation Industries. They are the driving force behind the Corvette Racing Team. In addition to the team’s 13 Championships, they have eight Le Mans class wins to their credit. Robin Pratt is the company’s official Ambassador, aka “Mama Bear”. Robin looks after the drivers and crew and handles the promotion of the team.
After Steve Hurley introduced everyone, Bill Tower got the seminar going.
Photo by K. Scott Teeters
Bill Tower: Twenty years of Corvette Racing. Let’s peal the onion back to see how we got here. But first I want to honor Gary and Robyn. After I started working for Chevrolet I was working on the big-block program that we were having problems with. The basic engine could make lots of power, but it was breaking everything. One of my first racing assignments was to work with Smokey Yunick. Not many got along with Smokey, and I certainly didn’t. We were working on a project using ceramic cylinder walls, but we had trouble honing the things. Finally, I got a set done and Smokey had my engine on the dyno and I asked, “What did you do?” Smokey said, “It’s my shop and I’ll do what I want, or get out!” We got the ceramic walls to work, but they were too expensive.
I was drag racing a Top Fueler on my own time and after I got out of that, I was assigned to work on some NASCAR projects with Papa Joe Hendricks in the early ‘70s. Because of the gas crunch, we were working on aero for the racecars. That was a lot of fun for me. Smokey used to tell us that the underside tells the topside what to do. He knew that the air that flowed under the car was more important than the air that flows over the car.
Steve Hurley Gary, with over 100 wins with the three Corvette Racing generation car (the C5-R, C6.R, and C7.R), plus eight Le Mans class wins, that’s very impressive.
Photo by K. Scott Teeters
Gary Pratt: Well it seems like just yesterday, 22 years ago, that we started with the silver and black car and a very small team. Sportsman racing was in an upheaval and we didn’t know where we fit in. Ron and GM were great. We were hoping for at least a three-year deal, but Jim Miller was a long-term thinker. We made a lot of mistakes but learned from them.
We started picking up some engineers and now we have over 175. I’m basically surrounded by people that are much smarter than I am; we have a great team. At Sebring, the talk was that Corvettes are fast, but they’re not reliable. Well, we changed all that. We also built a lot of friendships. Ron, how did you get started driving for us?
Ron Fellows: The first test was in the fall of ’97 and we couldn’t get out of our way! In the beginning, the rules were all over the place. We prepared all of ’98 and were ready for Daytona in ’99 and came in 2nd. Sebring was tough to win and we didn’t get that 1st place win until ’02. By then Corvette’s strength was durability and reliability.
Illustration by DrawingDatebase.com
Gary Pratt: We had all kinds of problems. You know, it’s all about not making mistakes and having great personnel. There was a time in my life when I wanted to be a racecar driver, but instead, I got into building racecars. To bring things up to the latest car, the addition of Chevrolet engineers is what has kept up in our 5th year with the C7.R. It has all worked out great.
Steve Hurley Tell us about the transition from the C5 to the C6 platform.
Gary Pratt: We didn’t do as much wind tunnel testing with the C5 as we did with the C6. We started to have a continuity of the crew. So today we have some crew members that have worked on our cars for over 20 years. That really helps, but we have to keep the guys up to date.
Steve Hurley Robin, please share with us when you knew the team was something really special.
Illustration by K. Scott Teeters
Robin Pratt: Steve, it was at our first Sebring race. I told GM that we needed a poster, but they weren’t getting it done. Ron’s uncle was a printer, so we got him to print the poster and I paid for the poster myself. We were the only team at the race that year with a poster and we gave them all out; the fans loved it, and it showed us we were on to something. So, Sebring is my favorites race. But it hasn’t always been easy, lots of times we got out butts kicked, but we were always gentlemen about it.
When we had our first win at Texas Motor Speedway in September 2000, it was SO hot. It was 118-degrees at the track and even hotter on the track and in the car. Plus we didn’t have air conditioning in the cars yet. Ron came in for a driver change and when he got out he was wobbling! I thought he needed to go to the hospital, but he wouldn’t go. So we took off his uniform and poured cold water over him. (Ron is nodding his head and the crowd is chuckling; Ron said, “I was sitting there in my underwear!”). We just put the hose over his head and gave him Gatorade and bananas. Ron got back in the car and won the race. Very heroic! The Vipers didn’t like that very much.
Photo by K. Scott Teeters
Ron Fellows: At our 100th win event we all worked very hard. What I miss the most about not driving is the people. Gary and Robin have a natural charisma that draws people to them. It took us two years to get that first win at Texas, but the team was dedicated. One of the engineers told me, “Ron, the ambient air temperature at the track is 118-degrees and out on the track it is 168!” This was long before we had driver cooling. It was so hot it hurt to breathe. At one point I got a good lead because one of the Viper drivers passed out. At first, we weren’t going to do the race in Texas, but we talked the team into it.
Gary Pratt: We were running two cars in long endurance races. Andy Pilgrim was also driving in that hot race. Andy is a hot weather guy and when we did the same cooling thing to him he said, “What are you doing?”
Then in 2001, we had Dale Earnhardt and his son, Dale Jr. drive for us at the Daytona Rolex 24 race. It was fantastic. Jr. was just 19 or 20-years old, just another kid with his hat on backward and not much road racing experience. Dale “The Intimidator” pushed really hard in practice. One time the car skidded out and all four tires blew out.
Photo by Richard Prince
But Dale and Dale Jr. were part of the team and got up to speed with turning right and left a lot. Dale flew in his own guys to work in the shop and be part of the team. Everyone knows what he was like on the track, but he was also a great jokester.
Bill Tower: When Dale signed on, because of his celebrity status, he drew a big crowd. Gary and Robin, you were very patient with all that, and were there any fun times with Dale?
Gary Pratt: Well, one time we were giving out tee shirts. Dale and Dale Jr. were just hanging out with the guys; they were really part of the team; no pressure; no attitude. Their attitude was you’re only as good as your last race. Well, twenty years later, we’re still here.
We have a photo of Dale on the high bank with a BIG smile on his face. You can imagine him thinking, “I’m having a lot of fun!” We’ll all remember him forever. Dale Sr. and Andy Pilgrim got along great; both very low-key guys. No one took credit; it was all the team. Dale was the kind of guy you felt like you knew for twenty years after five minutes.
Photo by K. Scott Teeters
Bill Tower: Andy is such a talent. He could “get” what the car was doing and relate it back to the mechanics.
Gary Pratt: Ron was faster in qualifying. Andy was a very patient driver, not quite as fast. He liked to save the tires and finish.
Ron Fellows: Looking back, Andy and I were the senior members. Gary wanted to hire drivers in their mid-30s who would be team players.
Photo by K. Scott Teeters
Gary Pratt: When we hired Ron, he was testing for GTP Cadillac and for Corvette. Ron felt the Corvettes were more fun.
Bill Tower: I loved the Cadillac racing. Did you feel you had more business stability with the Cadillac?
Gary Pratt: We had no contract with Cadillac; it was race-to-race. The Cadillac people wanted to win the very first race. The Corvette people saw Corvette Racing as more long-term.
Bill Tower: I thought the Corvette program put a lot into the Cadillac.
Photo by K. Scott Teeters
Gary Pratt: We didn’t have much to do with the Cadillac program. Our small shop only had 6,500 square-feet and we had one track driver that would set up the tent. Everyone just wanted to help. – Scott
To read and enjoy Pt. 2 of this story, CLICK HERE.
Is Racing “Entertainment”? Or, is it a Study in Automotive Engineering, Time Management, and Human Endeavor?
Dateline 12.11.20 – Mike Waal has gasoline in his veins when it comes to Corvettes and Corvette Racing. Mike follows the Corvette Racing Team and e-mail publishes qualifying results and hourly race reports. Mike and I have spent hours talking/griping about the arbitrary nature of IMSA’s BoP system and how it is the antithesis of what IMSA racing was in the 1970s when if a team had a better, faster car, you just had to work harder. The odd 2020 racing season is over and BRAVO to the Corvette Racing Team, another Championship, and achieved with a new car! Mike has some interesting thoughts about what is being passed off as “racing” today. Hit the gas, Mike! – Scott
Photo by: Pete Callaway
Good morning Corvette racing fans and enthusiasts, in actual fact ….. fans and enthusiasts of all automotive racing types. Trust this correspondence finds everyone well and safe.
Everyone appreciates the immense efforts by the Pratt&Miller C8.R Corvette and the Callaway Competition C7 GT3 Corvette Racing Teams. Albeit, it was a strange and challenging year in many ways for IMSA & ADAC organization management as well. We express our sincere Congratulations to both teams and organizations. And, we all look forward to a less stressful 2021 season for all.
Since we just experienced the 2020 season’s ending races in IMSA and ADAC, a few of you have sent Thank You notes for the Race Updates; truly not necessary. In truth, I thank you for putting up with my numerous Race Update emails. I truly enjoy sharing the Corvette racing experience.
Some, especially in racing organization management, look at racing as ‘entertainment.’ I do not. Never have. If I/we want entertainment we go to the movies, or, nowadays, watch a movie at home. I believe, truly, we fans and enthusiasts of racing look at racing as a ‘study in automotive engineering, time management, and human endeavor.’ Especially the enduro races; Daytona/LeMans-24s, Sebring-12, Rd Atl Petite LeMans-10, and Watkins Glen-6.
Who among us doesn’t think about all of the rotating parts and pieces of a race car when we watch a race; the constantly changing engine revs, the numbers of transmission shifts, the glow of brake rotors, and the strategies playing out? Especially when we watch thru the eye of the In-Car-Cam, seeing what drivers see and experience, albeit with the lack of accelerating, braking, and centripetal forces acting upon us.
Just a thought, but I believe true race fans and enthusiasts, like us, understand what is going on in every race. We try to figure out race strategies, calculate time, or laps, between or until the next pit stop, and we think about ‘can they make it to the end!’ Entertainment? I think not. We are ‘engaged’ racing fans and enthusiasts.
I talk about the technical aspects of racing during some of my Race Report presentations at club meetings. Not computer technology, but the mechanical technology. Ya know, 6000RPMs expressed in seconds is 100Revs/Second. Wrap your head around that for a ….. second! 1 rotation of a crankshaft in 1/100 of a second. During that 1 rotation, 1/100 of a second, 4 explosions have taken place in 4 cylinders, creating kinetic energy that motivates a car; 400 explosions in a second. I’m amazed at NASCAR engines that now rev to 9000RPMs, 150 Rev/Second, 600 explosions/second. I remember when 7000RPM was cutting edge.
A lot going on in that small-block racing engine that the mind’s eye can and does create images of, in addition to that crankshaft turning; camshaft spinning, push rods pushing, rocker arms rocking, valves opening/closing, springs compressing, so much can, and sometimes does, go wrong, in nanoseconds.
Illustration and Graphics by K. Scott Teeters
During an enduro race, like the Watkins Glen 6hr, just as an example, with 14 turns, and let’s just say on-average 2-downshifts then 2 up-shifts per corner, that tranny will see over 10,000 shifts in a race at a stressing race-competitive-pace. The design, engineering, metallurgy that goes into racing engines, transmissions, and transaxles, wheel bearing and spindles, shocks and springs, suspension components. Oh. Yea. And tires, being the retired tire and rubber guy. The average tire rotates at 13 rev/sec at 60 mph, that’s 26r/s @ 120mph, 39 @ 180, 45+ @ 210. Holy Kryptonite! Well, it’s all mechanically fascinating, isn’t it. Doesn’t sound or look like ‘entertainment’, does it?
Looking forward to a successful 2021 racing season for Callaway and Pratt&Miller in ADAC and IMSA, with hopefully more competitors in GTLM, although it doesn’t look promising, and my best wishes expressed for all to enjoy Thankful Thanksgiving, Blessed Christmas, and Joyous New Year Celebrations.
