The World s First Corvette Club

Transcription

1 The World s First Corvette Club Celebrating our 62 nd Anniversary Year President - Kelly Ryan November 2018 Last week I caravanned with several other club members to the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Museum near Hershey, Pennsylvania. The National Corvette Museum was hosting a fund raiser which featured members of the Corvette Racing team. Corvette Racing (CR) is the GM sponsored racing team which, since 1999, has participated in IMSA racing events and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. What made this event fascinating was the opportunity to listen to CR program manager Doug Fehan and driver Tommy Milner describe how their racing strategy evolves during the course of the race. Specifically, they were discussing their experience and racing strategy during the season finally at the Motul Petit Le Mans. Coming into the race the #3 Corvette was in position to win the 2018 GTLM team and driver championship. Unfortunately, things turned south when the #3 ran into a tire wall coming out of the pits. Ford and Porsche quickly moved into first and second position with the #4 Corvette sitting in sixth place. The team was able to repair the damage to #3 quickly and get it back on the track but obviously their original racing strategy was blown. In order for CR to win the team championship, they would need to prevent the Ford from finishing first. As time went on, and as positons changed, the team came up with a new strategy. With only minutes remaining in the race, the #4 Corvette (now sitting in fourth place) pulled into the pits for additional fuel. The lead Ford and Porsche followed the Corvette into the pits. The Corvette s team pit position was further down pit row than the Ford s and the Porsche s and CR was therefore able to monitor their movement. Just as the lead Ford began to pull out of its pit position, the #4 Corvette completed its refueling and pulled out of the pits ahead of the Ford. The #4 was able to maintain its position, finishing in second, and preventing the Ford from winning (it finished in fifth place). The #3 Corvette finished in 8 th for the day but that was enough to allow CR to win first place for the season in the driver and team standings. In addition to the CR presentation we had an opportunity to tour the AACA s large collection of beautifully restored cars, trucks, busses and motorcycles. We also took in a tour of the Yuengling Brewery and Jerry s Classic Car Museum. All in all a very entertaining couple of days. I m sure this event will be offered again next year and I strongly suggest you consider including it on your calendar.

2 November 2018 Page 2 A quick suggestion to club members, you won t want to miss this: Tony Avedisian (Tony s Corvette Shop) is scheduled to present a technical discussion of problems and solutions relating to C1 through C 3 Corvettes on December 1 at his shop. Be sure to check the calendar on our website for more details or go directly to the page for this event This event, like so many other club activities, is designed to offer club members an opportunity to enjoy life with their Corvette and with other members of the club. Whether it an autocross, an HPDE event or our monthly business meeting (second Tuesday of the month at the Greene Turtle in Burtonsville) or shop night (fourth Tuesday of the month at Sport Chevrolet) please consider joining us. Kelly Ryan CCA President

3 November 2018 Page 3 Membership Director - Jean Wade CCA Membership Update MEMBER NEWS AND INFORMATION $50 Membership Renewals are due by Jan 1 st Please look for your renewal or go online at If not renewing, please click on Do Not Renew and complete the short survey. Welcome our Newest Members: Found Us/Sponsor Dave Lelm Myersville, MD 00 blk hard top Website Larry & Theresa Seiden Baltimore, MD 17 glen gray met sting Sandusky Stuart Sherman Elkridge, MD No Vette Website Tom Carney Bella Vista, AR 01 red conv. FaceBook Steve McCloskey St. Petersburg, FL th aniv. Website Len Brauchle Port Charlotte, FL 88 dr. Met. Red Dennis Peters Bob Kohut Tim Certain Edison, NJ No Vettte Website Rose & William Vance Hazelwood, MO 98 red c 14 sting sil Website Scott Kieler Ft. Wayne, IN 02 C Z06 red Corvette Forum Some new members tell us something about themselves. Larry Seiden NCM member. Also mentioned Lee Rock told him about CCA. Stuart Sherman previously owned 3 C5 s. Dream to own yellow or orange 17 Z07. Tom Carney is deaf and can only communicate & text. Steve McCloskey is a member NCM. Len Brauchle Dreamed of owning a Vette since I was 16. bought first on 73 rd birthday. Bob Kohut searching for 1960 Vette he sold in NJ during Want to buy it back. Rosie Vance New Vette owner and I love it. Scott Kieler Navy combat vet. Owned 74, 78, 84, and 92. God bless Chevy Vette of any yr! Love the racing! Member, Tim Danahey, who joined 1984 moved to NC, added another Vette 91 Steel blue coup 45,000. He also has 2007 Conv. He is happy now. Membership Update Member count: 213 single members, 105 secondary members. 318 total members. 73 new members joined in January through mid-november. We have members in 19 states, one in Poland, and one in Australia. Shop on Amazon Smile and help the National Corvette Museum. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the Museum. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. Designate the National Corvette Museum by clicking this link ( and log into your Amazon account.

4 November 2018 Page 4 Maryland CCA License Plate Representative: Mr. Wayne Hatcher from Hagerstown, MD Looking for CCA Organizational Maryland Plates for your Vette or even maybe the daily driver? Wayne will help , Windsor Dr. Hagerstown Md license_plates@vetteclub.org Upcoming Events & Reminders - come out and join us! Calendar - November Shop Night (Tuesday November 27, 2018). Bring your Corvette in to Sport Chevrolet in Silver Spring for a do-it-yourself shop night. Sport Chevrolet allows us to use their vehicle lifts; however, you must bring your own tools, fluids, etc Tuesday, October 23, 2018, 6:00PM 9:00PM (arrive before 7:30PM) Sport Chevrolet 3101 Automobile Blvd., Silver Spring, MD Check the event page on the website: C1, C2, C3 Corvette Restoration Presentation (Saturday, December 1, 2018, 10AM to noon) We are fortunate to have Tony Avedisian, one of the foremost Corvette experts in the country, as a member of our club. Tony will be conducting an interactive technical presentation on the restoration of the first, second, and third generation Corvettes and will have some partially completed examples for us to review. Come prepared to ask questions and bring your Corvettes if you need advice for your restoration or customization project. Everyone is encouraged to drive your Corvette of any generation to this event. For planning purposes, please RSVP directly to the event coordinator, Rich Taylor, at ritaylorz06@gmail.com or call Check the event page on the website: December Business Meeting (Tuesday, December 11, 2018). This is the club's monthly business and membership meeting with the Board and is open to all current and prospective club members. We discuss both past and future events as well as general club business. Arrive early at 6:30 PM if you wish to have dinner and chat before the meeting. Check the event page on the website: Planning Meeting for 2019 Events (Tuesday, December 18, 2018). This will be a special meeting held to plan and pick dates for 2019 events including the Car Show at the Burtonsville Greene Turtle. All members with suggestions for events are welcome. Check the event page on the website:

5 November 2018 Page 5 Cars & Coffee and Cruise-Ins Meet other CCA members and share your love for the club! The events listed below are believed to be year-round or will start back up on the date noted. Calendar - Jimmy Cone Cruise-In Jimmy Cone Parking Lot 1312 S Main St., Mount Airy, MD st & 3rd Saturdays, 6:00PM-Dark, April thru October 19 th Closed for winter. Bethesda Cars n Coffee (coupons for free coffee) Corner Bakery Café Westlake Drive, Bethesda, MD Saturdays, 8:00AM-10:00AM, started back up on March 31st Closed for winter. Katie s Cars & Coffee 760 Walker Rd., Great Falls, VA Saturdays, 6:00-9:00AM Closed for winter. Church of the Holy Doughnut Greene Turtle Parking Lot Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, MD All Year, Sundays, 7:30-11:00AM Clarksburg Cars and Coffee Clarksburg Village Center Sweetshrub Dr., Clarksburg, MD Every other Sunday, 8:00AM-10:00AM April 22nd, May 6th, May 20th Annapolis Cars and Coffee Annapolis City Dock 69 Prince George St., Annapolis, MD Sundays, 9:00AM-12:00PM Shady Grove Cruise-In McDonalds Parking Lot Crabbs Branch Way, Rockville, MD All Year, Sundays, 9:00AM-1:00PM Laytonsville Cruise-In 9840 Olney-Laytonsville Rd., Laytonsville, MD Fridays, 5:00PM-8:00PM If you know of any more cruise-in meet ups, please let me know. Membership Director Jean Wade, vettehon@aol.com , 2000 Red Coupe Z51, 1Red Hot

6 November 2018 Page 6 The Corvette Courier Editor Jon Thorn Corvette ramblings I d like to start off my Ramblings this month with a familiar reminder. Thanks to our NCM Ambassador, Terry Popkin, we have a photo above from the last business meeting on Tuesday, November 13 th at the Burtonsville Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille. The second Tuesday of each month the CCA Board and generally at least an equal number of the membership get together to go over club business. It is certainly not all work so we leave plenty of time for fun and fellowship. As with any club, we need the active participation of as many members as possible. I am probably a bit biased but the CCA Board is an exceptionally friendly and informal group. I cannot remember a time when a decision vote of the Board on some topic related to the club did not also include all members who were present at the business meeting. If you are local in the metro area and have not attended a business meeting, you really should start working on a New Year s resolution to show up at a meeting if only to see what goes on to keep the club vibrant, interesting, and useful for the membership and community. IMPORTANT: 2019 CCA Board Member Election Status In my Ramblings article last month I put on my Parliamentarian hat and reviewed the rules in the club bylaws governing club officer elections. Devin Streight agreed to be the Election Chairpersion. It is a requirement of the bylaws that the Election Chairperson not be a candidate for a Board position and in addition Devin is not currently a member of the CCA Board of Directors. I also said last month that all current club officers had indicated that they are willing to serve again in In the interim there has been a change to that statement and I will go over it shortly. On October 23 rd Devin sent a call for nominations to all current members with an address. A letter was also sent by U.S. Mail to those members without an address. Nominations were due on November 7 th. On October 30 th a reminder was sent to the membership. Unfortunately, the club received no nominations either by November 7 th or later for that matter. Following the distribution of the call for nominations, Jean Wade decided that, after 22 years, she wanted a rest and did not want to run for the Membership Director position. This left us without any candidate for that position. Jean is not leaving the club and we will all do our best to keep her busy <grin>, but if she wants a break after 22 years she has certainly earned it. Jean has been the glue keeping the flock together for far longer than most members can remember. I ve called her the club s Mother Hen and she has certainly earned the title. But, now that club has over 300 members and continues to grow, the role of the Membership Director has become a lot of work.

7 November 2018 Page 7 I am very happy to say that Paul Donohue, who has been a major factor in developing the club s autocross timing equipment and supporting autocross events, has agreed to step into the position of Membership Director. Paul is also the husband of April, our famous webmaster, and he has provided a lot of assistance getting the club website in shape. So, what does all this mean for the election process? Since we have the unusual situation of having no Board of Director positions with more than one candidate this year, it will not be necessary to hold an election for the 2019 Board. Therefore, still wearing my Parliamentarian s hat, I can announce that the 2019 CCA Board of Directors will consist of the following people: President, Kelly Ryan Vice President, Art Bell Secretary, Paul Vale Treasurer, Nita Armstrong Membership Director, Paul Donohue NCM Ambassador, Terry Popkin Competition Director, Bill Sandusky Parliamentarian, Jon Thorn Vendor & Club Relations, Van Vander Haar Webmaster, April Hussey Member-at-Large, Bob Atwell I would like to thank Devin Streight for being this year s Election Chairperson. And, of course, I would like to thank Jean Wade for her incredible 22 years of service as Membership Director. And again, I want to encourage all members to participate in the club to the extent that they are able. We have a unique car club with an unmatched history that is closely associated with the development of, and the growth of, America s Sports Car, the Chevrolet Corvette. And like many Corvette Clubs we take seriously the opportunity to provide charitable support and giving back to the community. If the club is to exist for the next 62 years we need the support of an active membership. Be thinking about this as we begin another year! I am closing out my Ramblings this month with FOUR reminders. First, do not forget about the C1, C2, C3 Corvette Restoration Presentation (Saturday, December 1, 2018, 10AM to noon) at Tony s Corvettes in Gaithersburg. See the reminder on Page 4 of this newsletter. Second, please plan on attending the December Business Meeting (Tuesday, December 11, 2018). You will find more information on this on Page 4 and Page 45 in this newsletter. Show up, you will be glad you did. Third, we are holding a special meeting to plan for 2019 events. Again, there is more information on this on Page 4 of Jean s Membership Update. Finally, there will be NO Shop Night in December. So plan on attending the November Shop Night at Sport Chevrolet. It will be the last one this year. Details are on Page 45 of this newsletter or as always check the event calendar on the website ( Save The Wave!! Jon Thorn CCA Corvette Courier Editor

8 November 2018 Page 8 Competition Director - Bill Sandusky Corvette Competition Competition Report - October 2018 The autocross season ended on a high note. Weather was a bit brisk, but mostly dry after the early morning runs. We had 44 entries, another great turnout for what I think was our most challenging course of the year. With each event I tried to increase the difficulty to test each driver s skills. The course turned out to be a nightmare for me, as I continually kept hitting cones and even had a DNF. At the end of the day, our own Steve C. took top FTD honors besting a Ford Focus RS by.3 seconds and a Porsche Cayman was a close third. The 2019 season will start up sometime in April, so watch the website for dates once the club calendar is set. There is a catch though. We have been informed by Lincoln Tech that their insurance provider will not allow automotive events effective immediately. If you happen to know of a location we can check into for next year, please contact me. I would say we had a very successful season as my first year directing the program. However, it would never have happened without the volunteer support that was there all year. Our talented crew of instructors also added an element that helped our novices enjoy our events and become better autocrossers. THANK YOU EVERYONE!! The rally I did this past July will air the first episode on December 5, 2018 on MAVTV at 6 pm and 9 pm. If you have Fios, its channel 810. I do not know what channel it would be for any of the other cable systems, so check with your provider. Bill Sandusky Competition Director competition@vette-club.org

9 November 2018 Page 9 HIGH PERFORMANCE DRIVING EVENTS by Pat Roney Tony & Marnie Kreafle Wedding Oct 5, 2018 I was honored to be invited to Tony and Marnie s wedding as they have been good friends over the past several years and are as enthusiastic Corvette Racing and IMSA fans as I know. I couldn t help thinking back to a text that Tony sent me from the 2015 Sahlen s 6 hours of the Glen IMSA race. I had been keeping up with the events for a couple of days and knew the weather was cold and rainy. Tony and Marnie were camping out in that mess. The text message included the picture below of Marnie at one of the competitors tents trying to get dry. When I saw the beautiful smile on Marnie s face during what had to be a pretty miserable situation with the weather and camping out, I texted Tony back that he better put a ring on her finger quick as there are not many that would still be smiling. Tony has been a member of the Corvette Club of America and I am sure he and Marnie will be again once things settle down.

10 November 2018 Page 10 Corvette Racing is sending something similar to this C6R window to Tony & Marnie. This one was sent to Tony s sister Gina when she and Matt were married. Gina is a big race fan also.

11 November 2018 Page 11 CHIN AT NCM MSP Oct. 13 & 14, 2018 It was a well attended event as you can see from the pits. I drove out a few days early to spend some time with my son s family. More on that later. I got there in time to help with Tech and catch up with my Chin buddies at dinner. We were up early Saturday and doing tech again and then I helped out fellow instructors on track giving them rides and showing the line. My other duties were doing check rides for drivers that wanted to move up to the next group or to drive solo in the novice group. Later in the day I took over for an instructor that was under the weather. Tough duty, in a 2018 Camaro 1LE ZL1. We had fun and even got out for a couple of sessions in the rain on Sunday. Andy Pilgrim stopped by to say hello and I introduced him to Jim Pomroy, Chin Event Manager for this event.

12 November 2018 Page 12 Andy was back again Sunday in the rain and offered to take Chin staff members Jim Pomroy and Maria Hererra-Hicks out for some fast wet laps. I climbed the tower at the starting line and got this picture of Andy and Jim on track.

13 November 2018 Page 13 Matt Busby, NCM MSP Operations Manager, spotted a 1969 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTA and we checked it out. This is one of Matt s all time favorite cars. Here is Matt with the car and owner. The Alfa was fast and the owner was really putting it through its paces on the wet track.

14 November 2018 Page 14 Danny and Linde J. in the garage Danny uses to keep the NCM MSP cars and go carts in good shape. The black Corvette C6 Z06 is getting a rebuilt differential installed and the go carts are always needing a lot of attention.

15 November 2018 Page 15 I had to include a picture of my car as I am thrilled at how well it did on track, not to mention making the 10 hour trip out here and back. And a couple of pictures from my visit in Louisville, KY. Hanging with my son Patrick and Hazy Lu. Muttons taking me for a walk with Hazy Lu.

16 November 2018 Page 16 COLONIAL CHALLENGE CUP AT SUMMIT POINT MAIN Oct. 19, 2018 Back in 2010 I went up to Summit Point to check out an event called the Colonial Challenge Cup. I had done 9 track days already and loved every minute of my time at the track. I had a good time at this event and even paid to get a ride in a new Corvette ZR1 and a Porsche GT3. When I got the this year asking for instructor help I thought it would be a good idea to check out this event again. Ben P. was the chief instructor and here he is preparing the drivers for the track. Note in the background our own Competition Chair s C7 Corvette on the screen. I also saw Nick C s C7 Corvette in the slide show.

17 November 2018 Page 17 This picture doesn t do justice to the attendance as it was late in the afternoon and many had already left. Check out this beautiful Shelby Daytona Coupe that was on track with us.

18 November 2018 Page 18 I had the pleasure of working with our own CCA member Stephen W. and he did good. Congratulations to Stephen on moving up to the intermediate group and being approved to drive solo. I also worked with Scott S. and we made some good progress and had a good time.

19 November 2018 Page 19 CHIN AT VIR October 21 & 22, 2018 I rode down to this event with fellow CCA er Bob C and it was a very interesting trip. Bob had a problem with his truck Saturday morning so we were a few hours late by the time the problem was resolved. The drive down was fine and Bob and I had plenty of time to solve some world problems. I got there in time to tech just 2 cars and was kidded about that all weekend. This was a big event and we had about 120 cars to tech which kept the team busy. After getting there late and Bob trying to get his car ready for the event more problems slowed the progress. Bob was preparing to unload his car and could not get to the remote for the wench as the toolbox lock was stuck. After about an hour of working with the toolbox he finally got it open. Bob sure has a lot of patience and kept calm with all that had gone wrong that day. CCA had a smaller turn out for this event with 4 of us enjoying this great Chin Trackdays event. We were busy so I just got a picture of us without the car. L-R me, Bill S., Michael E., and Bob C. Notice Chin Event Manager Jack Beachem and Pro Driver Jade Buford looking sad that they are not in the picture with us.

20 November 2018 Page 20 Bill S. and Bob C. pitted together here. Bob C. checking his car out after a session with Bill S and I watching.

21 November 2018 Page 21 Michael E. stopped by after a run on track. His C5 Corvette is very nicely set up and does very well on track and Michael knows how to make it perform.

22 November 2018 Page 22 Another bonus at this Chin Trackday event was having Johnny Miller of TrackdayTires.com making a presentation on Hoosier track tires. I learned several things here. Track tire performance is determined by the number of heat cycles which is pretty well known. Heat cycles are counted when the tire temperature exceeds 175 degrees F. The main factor in tire temperature is the tire sidewall flexing during cornering caused by what is called the slip angle. Slip angle is the angle between the direction the wheel is pointing and the direction the tire contact patch is traveling. This is a result of the elastic properties of rubber, which deform under friction. Evidently there is a sweet spot in slip angle that successful pro race drivers use, where any more slip angle will excessively overheat the tires without any significant decrease in lap time and will cause excessive wear. Johnny Miller is a pro driver that participated in the ALMS series race, the NAS- CAR ROLEX GRAND-AM CAR series for several years and in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for a few years. Note that Johnny s track car is a Corvette.

23 November 2018 Page 23 FATT AT SUMMIT POINT CIRCUIT 11/4/18 CCA had 5 members show up for the last Friday At The Track of the 2018 season and all seemed to have a good time. Our Competition Chair Bill S. Remington Sanford Racing driver & CCA member David C. Stephen W. with his Corvette C5 Stephen on grid ready to head out on track. I was busy working with 2 students and doing a check ride for a driver that wanted to be tested for the Advance group. In addition I managed to get out for a couple of sessions myself.

24 November 2018 Page 24 Karl B. was busy sharpening student drivers car control skills on the skid pad.

25 November 2018 Page 25 VISIT OUR CCA HPDE PAGE ON OUR WEBSITE Our Website team led by April have been working their magic on our CCA website and has upgraded the HPDE page. She has added a schedule of events our members are planning to attend as well as a list of tracks and videos that our members have done. I am really impressed with the excellent job she has done. Thanks for all of your hard work and creativity April. Here is a link to the new page: WANT TO TRY YOUR CAR OUT ON TRACK? Please remember to keep it to the speed limit and stay alert on the street as, in my opinion, and experience, it is much more dangerous at the speed limit on the street than on the track at speed. If you would like to hear more about the tracking experience, please feel free to ask myself, or any one of our tracking group about how easy it is to give it a shot. Tracking Schedule (Keep an eye on this schedule as it will be updated regularly) Nov. 17, 2018 FATT at SPC Instructor Appreciation Nov. 24 & 25, 2018 Chin at Road Atlanta As usual, Karl has a few more track days scheduled FATT-IAD Summit Main Registered Turn One CMP Registered Turn One CMP Registered Chin Trackdays 2019 schedule is out now and we are currently planning on which events we will be attending. Pat Roney Corvette Club of America KEEP IT TO THE SPEED LIMIT ON THE STREET! THE TRACK IS A MUCH SMARTER PLACE TO SEE WHAT YOUR CAR CAN DO..

26 November 2018 Page 26 NCM Ambassador - Terry Popkin National Corvette Museum Report Not an NCM Member? Become one! Learn More! The NCM Fall Giving 2018 Campaign is on! Support your NCM. Information here. National Corvette Museum Events Calendar and Registration is located here. Terry Popkin, NCM Ambassador, ncmambassador@vette-club.org,

27 November 2018 Page 27 Corvette Racing Weekend November 9 th & 10 th By Jon Thorn Kelly covered this event in his comments at the beginning of this edition of The Corvette Courier but I am going to provide a little more information and a few pictures. We had nine CCA members attend this year. It was not our largest turnout but the club was well represented. The NCM held the third annual Corvette Racing Weekend this year. The first was held at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum close to the Philadelphia Airport in 2016 and since then it has been held in Hershey. It was originated to provide an opportunity for Corvette Racing fans to have a couple of days with the team members, review the events of the racing season, and of course to raise some money for the National Corvette Museum. I no longer recall the actual count but we had a large group caravan up for the first event. Here is a photo from Friday October 21 st, 2016 that was taken during the autograph signing session. The event was initially modeled after the Corvette Racing Banquet that has been held on the West Coast for several years in early September but it was quickly expanded beyond just having a dinner with the team. The schedule this year included a Poker Run (limited to 60 people) that started with a Driver s Meeting at 8AM on Friday. We went up to Pottsville, PA to tour the Yuengling Brewery which is the oldest operating brewery in the U.S. We spent a couple of hours at the brewery and of course a liberal amount of time in the Yuengling Brewery Company Store. We naturally had a tasting as well because it was the polite thing to do! Many of us found a new beer that we really liked. In my case it was Yuengling Golden Pilsner. There initially was some discussion about skipping the Poker Run because of the cold, wet, and very windy weather. I was one of the group that was thinking that a nice warm museum could be more of an attraction but I m very glad that I decided to go. I think everyone else had a great time too and was very glad that they decided not to stay in Hershey for the day. Following the brewery tour we went to Jerry s Car Museum in Pottsville. I think we could have spent a whole day looking around without seeing everything. The place was loaded with automotive related memorabilia. We also had lunch there which was provided by the Yuengling Brewery. A little after 2PM we headed back to Hershey.

28 November 2018 Page 28 Friday evening began with a cash bar at 6:15PM which of course was heavily attended! Registration for the dinner was limited to 150 people and I think the attendance was very close to that. Dinner began about 7:15PM and included the Corvette Racing Seminar. Along with Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing Program Manager, we had our local favorite Virginia team driver Tommy Milner. Other special guests included Gary Claudio, the NCM Hall of Fame member that was involved in the earliest days of the startup of the current Corvette Racing program, and Alex MacDonald, GM Head of Vehicle Performance. Just listening to these guys for an hour and a half made the trip to Hershey well worth it for a Corvette Racing fan. The terrific thing was that you did not have to be a diehard, fanatic Corvette Racing fan to enjoy the weekend because there was such a variety of activities going on. For early risers there was a Caffeine Behind the Scenes Tour of the AACA Storage Collection so those that were able to get up for the 7:30AM session had a chance to see areas of the museum that are not generally open to the public. That was followed by Doug and Gary doing their Historical Perspective of Corvette Racing discussion. Getting these two together and talking about the early days of the racing program is always a real treat. That hour was followed by an always interesting update from Lee Willard who is the Michelin engineer assigned to Corvette. Alex MacDonald from GM had a very interesting discussion on developing the Corvette from a vehicle dynamics point of view. Following those sessions there was an auction of items run by Doug and Wes Wong of the NCM. It is always fun watching this as a spectator - and I was a spectator this time. Doug is a super valuable guy to GM and the Corvette Racing Program but he missed his calling. He could have been rich as an auctioneer. I remember one time at a Road America Corvette Corral that he sold the shirt right off of Tommy Milner s back when the auction items ran low and people still had some money left. To be anything other than a spectator can turn out to be pretty expensive. One item that went for over two thousand dollars was the race suit that Antonio Garcia was wearing for the last race of this year at Petit Le Mans in Atlanta when he put the lead Corvette into the wall coming out of a pit stop. That brief lack of concentration did not prevent Corvette Racing from winning the Driver s & Team GTLM IMSA Championship for the third year in a row. But Doug joked that the incident left some bodily fluids in the race suit. I m sure he considered that an extra bonus since he would not let Antonio have the suit cleaned. In the end, a lot of money was raised for the NCM and as always it was an entertaining auction. After lunch Doug and Tommy did a recap of the 2018 race season and another autograph session. Some of us had followed the season closely already and wanted to get home before dark. I was one that did not stay for the very end. But it is safe to say that everyone had a very enjoyable two days at this event. The good news is that the scheduling issue that caused the event to slide into November has been resolved and next year it will still be at the AACA Museum but back on the previous October dates the week after Ocean City Corvette Weekend. It makes two very nice Corvette weekends in a row and I am already looking forward to it. I hope you will be able to join us!

29 November 2018 Page 29 Nine CCA members gathered for dinner on Thursday evening at Troegs Independent Brewing in Hershey before the event at the AACA Museum. Some early arrivals for the driver s meeting before the poker run on Friday morning. It was bitter cold and windy but at least the rain from Thursday had ended. Vettes starting to line up at the AACA Museum for the drive up to Pottsville.

30 November 2018 Page 30 The oldest brewery in the U.S. There are huge hand dug caverns under the brewery that were used starting in 1829 for beer fermentation before refrigeration existed.

31 November 2018 Page 31 Iconic stained glass ceiling in the brew house. Brewing area. The Pottsville Nine sampling beer after the tour. Canning equipment. Bottle chandelier at the entrance to the Yuengling Gift Shop & Store.

32 November 2018 Page 32 A very small section of Jerry s Car Museum.

33 November 2018 Page 33 Gary Claudio (on the left) with Doug Fehan during the talk on Corvette Racing s history. Alex MacDonald discussing the engineering of ride and handling systems for Corvette.

34 November 2018 Page 34 Another nice thing about the Corvette Racing event is the venue itself. There is a lot to look at and always a lot going on at the AACA Museum. This car was in a corner of the lobby. I walked by this car four or five times before I realized it is not a Ferrari 250 GT California. But it is the actual car from the Ferris Bueller movie. It is a replica made for the movie because an actual Ferrari was too expensive for the studio to rent or use. Even replicas can have a very interesting history. The car, made in 1985, is a fiberglass bodied, tube framed, custom chassis with a Ford V-8 and a C-4 automatic transmission. It is listed as a 1985 Modena Spyder California with the National Historic Vehicle Association. There is a lot more information on the car here: The current owner of the car lives in Burtonsville, MD. How s that for a small world? Even more interesting is the HVA itself. The Historic Vehicle Association is developing a National Historic Vehicle Register to carefully and accurately document America s most historically significant automobiles, motorcycles, trucks and commercial vehicles. In March 2013, the HVA entered into a collaboration with the U.S. Department of the Interior to explore how vehicles important in American and automotive history could be effectively documented and recognized. This project is the first of its type to create a permanent archive of significant historic automobiles within the Library of Congress. The address for the Historic Vehicle Association is 7960 Cessna Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD. It truly is a small world! Plan on joining us next year for the NCM Corvette Racing Weekend and see what you can learn.

35 November 2018 Page 35 CCA 15 th Annual USMCR Toys For Tots Drive Firebirds Wood Fired Grill Gaithersburg, MD Saturday November 17, 2018 We had an excellent turnout for Toys For Tots and everyone seemed to enjoy the chance to get together at Firebirds this year. Here are some photos from the event.

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37 November 2018 Page 37 Special thanks to Stuart Sherman for helping out with the photos of this event! It is very much appreciated. Van (on the left) won the 1 st place trophy for his C5 picked by the Firebirds staff. Here it is being presented by our Toys for Tots organizer Dan.

38 November 2018 Page 38 Above, Barry hoists his first place award for his C7 chosen in the show by Paul Gunther. And at left is our Toys For Tots Montgomery County Coordinator, Paul Gunther.

39 November 2018 Page 39 Editor s note, Van enhanced the NCM article from last month by adding additional photos and links. Racing to Save History - From NCM's OCT-NOV-DEC America's Sports Car Enhanced by Van Vander Haar National Corvette Museum Curator Derek Moore is a busy man these days. Having just installed the lighting on the last of the three historic Corvettes that he brought in for the Hall of Fame, he steps back to replicate the guest experience. He approaches the cars from different angles and levels before nodding in approval and pulling off the latex gloves. The two Greenwood Widebody cars are already drawing a crowd, along with the two-time Le Mans winning C6.R, all on loan from Steve Goldin, of Miami, Florida. The red white and blue Spirit of Le Mans car, originally owned and raced by Rick Mancuso, sits alongside the Spirit of Sebring chassis #001 widebody, to remind visitors of the cars that promoted Corvette racing at a time when Chevrolet didn't openly race. "These are the iconic cars of that time," Derek explains. "When you think of Corvette racing in the mid-seventies, the Greenwood cars come to mind with the Owens-Corning race cars not far behind. When asked about the historic Corvettes that he is bringing in to the collection next, Derek is as tight - lipped as the GM staff are about the new C8. "That's part of what makes our world so exciting," he smiles. "Something really good is always right around the corner." Cars are not all that Derek is after though. Waiting from him in the Library and Archives are the very kinds of materials this space was designed to preserve -- a significant collection of artifacts that actually belonged to another racer - the Flying Dentist, Dick Thompson. Back in the early days of Corvette, Thompson was a part of a group of racers that included Bob

40 November 2018 Page 40 Bondurant, Dave MacDonald and John Fitch, who were all making headlines for America's sports cat. Thompson drove nearly all of the important cars of that time including the SR-2, Bill Mitchell's XP-87 Corvette Racer, the original Grand Sports and the 1963 Z06 for the Gulf Oil Team. He was one of the drivers in the famed Briggs Cunningham team that brought Corvettes to the Hours of Le Mans for the first time. While his car retired 20 hours into the fight, teammates John Fitch and Bob Grossman would take their Corvette across the finish line for its first ever class victory in the world's largest sports car race. Championship winning Dr. Thompson would win many races while serving as a development driver and spokesman for the performance prowess of the Chevrolet Corvette. A new set of gloves go on as Derek makes his way through the neat stacks of photographs already being analyzed and organized in the archives. ASC: So how did we come to obtain this donation? It all really comes down to the relationships we have with the Corvette community. Eve Thompson, Dick's wife, is a supporter of the Museum, and still is very much a Corvette enthusiast. She joined us on one of our Museum in Motion trips to Le Mans where she struck up a friendship with our Events Manager, Karen Renfrow. Through getting to know Karen, at some point Eve approached her about. Dick's collection of personal artifacts, wondering if we'd have an interest in them. This led to me taking a trip with Karen to go through what he had saved through the years, which Eve donated to us, with the promise of more to come. ASC: What are the highlights of the collection? The photographic documentation of Dick's racing career is outstanding. We have photos of him driving the SR-2 Corvette at speed and him with the Grand Sport and XP-87 amazing images like we've never seen before. We even ran across photos of the Grady Davis #2 Gulf Oil Z06 that is a part of our

41 November 2018 Page 41 collection. Discovering photographs of that car actually participating in races was quite and exciting find for all of us. Not only will they help us tell the story of this car, but they are also excellent reference photos for assessing its originality. We also were able to get information on Dick's family. Yesterday I came across a family tree and pictures of him and his dad in his dad's Corvette. We have other items relating to his dentistry practice as well, which is another important part of who he was. While all of the items we received from Eve are not Corvette specific, they all come together to tell his story in a more complete way should anyone in the future want to research his life. ASC: So, what happens next? The collection will get organized and categorized into topics. Corvette racing will be one part of the archives, and then there will be folders set up for the other cars he drove such as Porsches and Masarati's. We'll then create what we call a "finding aid" which helps researchers get right to specific images and documents, eliminating needless contact with unrelated parts of the archive. Ultimately it will be digitized, but a priority list will be created during the organization process, making the Corvette specific items available for use first. ASC: What would you say to others who think they might have historic documents about Corvette or the people involved with it? With history in general, we have lost so much of it, due to inaction, or from a failure to realize its value. I've seen it happen all too often from my point of view in previous jobs. I can speak to this directly from when I was with the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland was one of the most important automobile manufacturing towns in this country back in the late 1800's and early 1900's. We know in a very opportunistic spot right now in Corvette history. The Corvette is essentially still very young in the automotive world and we know that important records like the ones donated by Eve Thompson, still exist. Allowing us to house the documents, photos and artifacts from the past here at the museum will give us the opportunity to preserve them and use them to tell the story of Corvette history in its entirety. If you have any artifacts important to Corvette history, please contact Derek at or derek@corvettemuseum.org. Notes: Dick Thompson was inducted in the Corvette Hall of Fame in 2000, in the Le Mans Drivers Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Sports Car Club of America's Hall of Fame in Links for you to watch: Corvette Wins National Champion Sports Car Championship Race 1960: watch?v=sfto0nkwf4g Stingray Racer 1959 at Elkhart Lake: Corvette SS Preps for Race at Sebring 1957: hrs of Le Mans Corvette Documentary:

42 November 2018 Page 42 C4 Corvette Parts For Sale CCA club Secretary, Paul Vale, has a number of C4 items for sale. For more information or questions contact him by at secretary@vette-club.org. C4 Corvette front brake set, consisting of calipers, rotors and caliper mounting brackets. These calipers were in great shape when I removed them and replaced them with C5 Calipers and Rotors. Special CCA member price: $25. C4 Corvette Smoked Roof Panel. This is the later style panel that fits ~1990 to 1996 Corvettes. It is complete with all of the (supposedly) captive T40 installation bolts that are frequently missing from these tops. The weatherstripping is probably original, and did not leak when I had it installed on my 92 coupe. Price: $350. C4 AC Compressor (OEM Denso). I replaced this with a new Denso compressor when it seemed to lock up. When I took it off, it turned with little resistance, so I think it still works. I am including a new AC Clutch. Both for $25. C4 Bose Radio 1993 Bose CD Radio complete with 4 speakers. This was in a box when I bought the 93 vert. It is still in the box, and is in unknown condition except that cosmetically it looks fine. Might make a good core if You re getting your Bose radio fixed! Price: $10. Two C4 License Plate Fillers. One is red and fits early model C4s up to ~1988. The next one is teal and fits the updated C4s from 89 to 96. Both are in very good shape. Price is $25 each. New C4 rear Hub- This is a white box hub, and I suspect it was manufactured in China. Price: $25. New Taylor C4 Spark Plug Wires- I bought these for my red 92 coupe and never got around to putting them on. Price: $40. Late C4 Blend Door Motor- I bought this on ebay to fix an AC problem. When I took my car to Tony, He told me the existing blend door was fine just unplugged!! (Previous owner had replaced heater core and forgot this step. ) It s used, but I ll honor a 30 day warranty! Price $10. C4 (LT1) Water Temp sensor. This screws into the front of the engine at the water pump. New! Price $5.

43 November 2018 Page 43 C6 Corvette Parts For Sale Corbeau A4 Leather Racing Seats in great condition with tracks C6 LT3 Eboney seats in excellent condition C6 Torch Red Hood With Heat Shield in excellent condition Stock Valve Covers with Oil Cap Coil Covers $650 OBO $1500 OBO $400 OBO $50 OBO $50 OBO Contact: Al Becke H C vettegs450@gmail.com

44 November 2018 Page 44 Torch Red 2004 C5 for sale. The car is completely sorted and in great shape. Located in MD. -manual miles -$14,900 -Dewitts radiator -Oil cooler -160 degree thermostat -Calloway Honker cold air intake Call Vic at with any questions. -Johnny O'Connell sway bars -Billstein shocks -Corbeau race seats -Corbeau 5 point harnesses -Shark Harness Bar -AFE tow hooks -RKT transmission performance upgrade -Clutch packs -New torque tube -C6 Z06 shifter -Battery disconnect -Clutch bleeder

45 November 2018 Page 45 Business & Membership Meeting Location: The Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille Old Columbia Pike Burtonsville, MD (301) Second Tuesday of each month at 7:30 PM Next meeting: December 11 th CCA Monthly Meeting Locations Shop Night Location: Sport Chevrolet 3101 Automobile Blvd. Silver Spring, Maryland Fourth Tuesday of each month except December when it will be the THIRD Tuesday because of holidays. Shop Night begins at 6:00 PM. You must arrive no later than 7:30 PM or the shop may be closed. Next Shop Night: November 27 th

46 November 2018 Page 46 Sponsor Directory The Corvette Club of America is indebted to our sponsors. Without their help and support the club simply would not exist. We maintain an area on our website to recognize the help they provide to us and we encourage you to review this information. If your needs for products or services align with their offerings please be sure to check them out and let them know that you heard about them from the CCA. Each one has our unconditional recommendation. Click on a logo for more information. Charities The CCA has a long history of philanthropic and charitable support. From the earliest days of the club, there has always been a strong desire to give back to the community. The present day CCA continues that heritage through a combination of direct donations to worthy charities and volunteering of member's time and effort. Currently our principle efforts are focused toward these nine organizations and activities. While the CCA occasionally provides support for other organizations, many of these nine have been on our principal list for a decade or more. The Charities link above will take you to detailed information on the CCA website.

47 November 2018 Page 47 The Corvette Courier The Corvette Club of America is proud to be exclusively associated with Sport Chevrolet. Be a Sport fan too!! 3101 Automobile Blvd Silver Spring, Md Contact Kyle Bacon, General Sales Manager for a new or used car - (240) The Corvette Club of America was founded by John Ralph and Charles Eyre who organized the first club meeting on July 17, 1956 at a Chevrolet dealership in Arlington, Virginia. By the end of 1957 the club changed its name from the Capital Corvette Club to the Corvette Club of America, since it was the intent of the members to make the club a national organization. Before the end of the following year the club had over one hundred members. In 1959, the Corvette Club of America held an organizational meeting of Corvette clubs at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. The result was the formation of the National Council of Corvette Clubs which today has about 19,000 members and is the largest non-profit association of Corvette Clubs in the United States. For a variety of reasons, the CCA did not join the NCCC until July of 1966 and was awarded club #1 for its efforts in establishing the organization. In July 2016, the CCA notified the NCCC that it would terminate its 50 year membership at the end of the year. There were a number of factors but the CCA felt that focusing our limited resources on the National Corvette Museum would provide more benefit for the Corvette Community as a whole. The Corvette Club of America is a very active club today with a strong mix of competitive, social, and charitable activities. Through the years the CCA has seen many fine members come and go; however, one thing remains unchanged. The membership is composed of individuals both male and female, young and old, that share a common interest, America s Sports Car - The Corvette! President Kelly Ryan (240) Vice President Art Bell (410) Secretary Paul Vale (301) Treasurer Nita Armstrong (443) Membership Director Jean-Marie Wade (301) NCM Ambassador Terry Popkin (301) Competition Director Bill Sandusky (301) Parliamentarian Jon Thorn (301) Vendor & Club Relations Van Vander Haar (410) Webmaster April Hussey Member-at-Large Bob Atwell (240) Non-Board Member Positions Courier Editor Jon Thorn (301) The Corvette Courier is published monthly by the Corvette Club of America, Inc. P.O. Box 3355, Gaithersburg, Maryland Copyright 2018, Corvette Club of America, Inc.