January 30
ROLEX 24 at Daytons - POST RACE QA
The No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype (DP) led the way for Chevrolet bringing home a fifth-place finish in the 50th running of the Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona. In Grand Touring (GT), the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R was the top finisher for Chevrolet crossing the line in fourth place in class and 14^th overall. The No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Corvette DP finished eighth, with the No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette DP crossing the finish line in ninth place. The No. 88 Autohaus Motorsports Camaro GT.R made a hard charge at the end to grab the ninth finishing position in the GT class and 20^th overall.

DARREN LAW, CO-DRIVER WITH DAVID DONOHUE AND CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI,  NO. 5 ACTION EXPRESS RACING CORVETTE DP, FINISHED 5^TH IN CLASS AND OVERALL: ON THE RACE: “You know what, that was probably one of the toughest 24 Hour I have done. We had a lot of adversity. We had some engine issues prior to the race; we had to miss qualifying. The first probably eight hours of the race, we had an electrical misfire, which really cut the motor back and we struggled. But, the guys worked really hard – Action Express, Chevrolet, Corvette – they all did a great job. I’m proud of the car. I’m proud of the team. You know, I mean, we didn’t get the win, that was what we really wanted. But the other thing I am very proud of is that we were the very first Chevrolet out of all the group out there. A top-five is a good start to the season and we are happy to finish it.”

DID YOU SEE A LOT OF PROMISE FOR THE FUTURE WITH THE NEW CORVETTE DP? “Yes, for sure. There is so much potential in this car. We literally got this car delivered to us the first of December so we barely had any time on it. For us to be in the top-five and run as well as we did; we see a lot of potential.”

YOUR ORGANIZATION HAD TO MAKE HUGE CHANGES TO GO INTO THIS SEASON: “Yes. I would say we’ve got the most adversity out of all the Corvette teams because we shifted chassis, engines and bodywork. Most the guys are just switching over bodywork. We still have a lot to learn, but we are competitive with everybody so we are happy with that.”

JOHN EDWARDS, CO-DRIVER WITH ROBIN LIDDELL AND RONNIE BREMER, NO. 57 STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS CAMARO GT.R, FINISHED 4^TH IN CLASS AND 14^TH OVERALL: A FOURTH-PLACE FINISH IS A VERY GOOD WAY TO START THE SEASON, ISN’T IT? “Yeah, absolutely, especially with the endurance championship that’s going on later in the year. We got some good points for that, but it’s always hard to go through a 24-hour race, be chasing down a podium, but not quite get it. We knew this race we weren’t going to out-race the Porsches, but we tried to out-strategize them a little bit. We cut our fuel close, didn’t have to splash at the end, but in the end we still couldn’t get around or catch up to any of the top three Porsches.”

FOR THE MOST PART, IT SEEMED LIKE A PRETTY CONSISTENT RUN FOR THE TEAM THIS WEEKEND. WAS THAT THE CASE? “It was for the most part, but we actually had an incident shortly after sunrise when I was going around a lapped car in turn one. I drafted by him on the banking and left him room into one, but he must’ve missed a downshift and spun. I saw him spinning and tried to go out wide  and not get hit, but he was accelerating across the wrong way of the track for me to avoid him. So, we did get hit and lost a lap from that, but we got our lap back later on.”

THE RACE SEEMED TO BE PRETTY INTENSE FROM START TO FINISH: “There’s always a different mindset in the middle of the night at Daytona or at the start of the first day than there is at the end, so the last stint that I drove was basically like a sprint race, as I was trying to pull away from the Ferrari behind me and catch up to the Porsche in front of me. So that intensity the same as a sprint race. But there is a different mindset to driving and you’re just trying to log laps and stay on the lead lap: You don’t take as many chances in traffic and you’re nicer to the car. We were saving fuel on a lot of stints. But the intensity of hitting your marks and staying focused is always at its peak.”

CAN YOU CARRY ANY MOMENTUM FROM THE RACE TO THE NEXT? “Well, the 24 is a very different race because it is 24 hours and the rest of them are less than three, so I think it’s important to have momentum and keep that going, but a lot of it depends on the tracks, depends on how we can get the car set up at certain tracks and how it’ll suit our car at different places. This track at Daytona is obviously, you know, a Porsche track, it always has been, kind of their place with the high banks and the extra horsepower they have on the straightaways. So a lot of tracks that are a tighter will suit us a little better. I think the street course in Detroit is going to suit us better, which is great because that’s where Pratt and Miller and Chevrolet is based. So, I think we’ll do well at certain places, but we always struggle to keep up at the high banks at Daytona.”

CORVETTE DP

January 26

MECUM AUCTIONS TO  AUCTION OFF REGISTRY “C5 SHOW” CORVETTE TONIGHT!
Members – Tonight around 8:30 pm EST at the Mecum Auction in Kissimmee, the current owner of the 2001 Registry “C5 SHOW” Corvette (Lot T276) will auction it off to the highest bidder. Director Jake will be present for the auction and may speak about the history and the significance of the Registry “C5 SHOW” Corvette. http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?CFGRIDKEY=FL0112-120619   

Director Jake Drennon with C5 Registry Show Car

 Many of you will remember that this Registry “C5 SHOW” Corvette has been shown all around the USA and Western Europe. It has been paraded on various tracks including Daytona International Speedway and Le Mans, France. This Z51 optioned Millennium Yellow (black interior) 6-Speed Coupe has been around the world and back!

The Registry's “C5 SHOW” Corvette was present at the 2001 24 Hours of Daytona when the C5-Rs (the Chevrolet factory race Corvettes) made history by winning at Daytona. It was signed under the hood by the drivers of C5-R #2 Ron Fellows, Chris Kneifel , Franck Freon and Johnny O’Connell and also by the drivers of the C5-R #3 Andy Pilgrim, Dale Earnhardt Sr, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelly Collins.

The story of this Corvette continues as it was shipped to France where it led the American contention of Corvettes through the downtown streets of Le Mans in the famous Parade des Pilotes with 250,000 screaming Frenchmen cheering it on!  After the C5-R's dominated at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 15 - 16, 2001), the Pratt & Miller victorious race team signed under the hood. It was also present in March at the 2001 Sebring Race.

This “C5 SHOW” #3 with its unique graphics package has been to the National Corvette Museum, Corvettes at Carlisle, Petite Le Mans at Road Atlanta, and to the NCRS event in Orlando. It was featured in the November 2001 issue of Corvette Fever magazine (page 31) leading a salute to victory at Le Mans!   

Members, Tune in and watch a piece of Corvette history happen right before your eyes tonight between 8:00-9:00 pm EST on the Velocity Channel. The “C5 SHOW” is Lot T276.  http://velocity.discovery.com/tv-schedules/daily.html

 

January 24
UPDATE…ROLEX 24 CORVETTE CORRAL
Members – GREAT NEWS !!! The Corvette Corral at the Rolex 24 is filling up fast and Chevrolet is very excited!  This good news has led to the Corvette Brand Team sending Art Spong, Group Manager of Brand Quality Performance Cars/Corvette, from Detroit to be at the Corral to answer any of your Corvette concerns.  Art is very knowledgeable about the 5^th and 6^th generation Corvette, and we at the Official C5/C6 Registry are excited to have him present!  So if you ever wanted to know something about your Corvette that you didn’t know, make sure you stop by and ASK ART!

For those of you who have been thinking about going to the race, you need to quit thinking and start dialing!  This is going to be a fantastic historical event!  This is a great opportunity for all of us to support the Corvette Daytona Prototype as it makes its debut in the 50^th Anniversary of the GRAND-AM Road Racing Series Rolex 24. You better pick up the phone and call TJ Wagner now at the Daytona International Speedway for your tickets!  

T.J. Wagner
Daytona International Speedway
Corporate Sales Account Executive
Phone:  (386) 681-5529
E-Mail:  twagner@daytonainternationalspeedway.com

January 24

Veteran Corvette Specialist Will Compete In 50th Anniversary Of The Rolex 24
Longtime friend of the C5-C6 Registry, Driver Jeff Nowicki announced today he'll be joining Michael Baughman Racing to race this year’s GRAND AM Rolex Series' 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona. The team will field the #46 Katech powered Corvette C6 in the highly competitive GT division. Action gets underway with a 10:00am practices session Thursday, January 26 with GT qualifying scheduled for 4:15pm the same day. The 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona will take the green flag at 3:30pm Saturday, January 28.

This will be TeamMBR's sixth Rolex 24 at Daytona. Managed by Michael Baughman who brings 30 years of motorsports experience, both as an owner and driver. He has competed in GRAND AM since the Series' inception.  CLICK HERE FOR FULL PRESS RELEASE
 

 

January 12

 

Corvette Marks 60 Years of Performance with 427 Convertible