About 100 C5 Registry members and their co-pilots showed up to watch the factory C5R team run. While there was no podium finish for the Corvettes, both cars ran great races; the "short" car (#4 Pilgrim/Sharp/Collins) finished in fourth place and the "tall" car (#5 Fellows/Kneifel/Paul, Jr.) right behind in fifth place.
The Registry dinner, held Friday night at the BBS North America Distribution Center, was a huge success. 120+ Registry members and guests were there as well as Dave Hill, Jim Campbell, Lisa Stanych -- and visits from both C5R race teams. The food was great and, as always, so was the fellowship.
(I did catch a large ration of crap from all my "friends" about knocking Gael down with the C5, but...)
Thanks to Rob Buckalew for working the dinner out with BBS. A special "thank you" to BBS for hosting us all in their terrific facility -- and another to John Shaw and Corvette Only! for providing the beer and shooters...
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Here's a couple million bucks worth of C5s in the BBS parking lot. |
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Chevy came thru with special decals for the Daytona/Sebring Pace car to dress it up for Road Atlanta.
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Before dinner, the C5R teams both came by and talked with all of us; very nice of them and very informative.
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Because of a scheduling glitch, the promised Parade Lap for Saturday morning was (sadly) cancelled. So Dan suggested we organize our own Registry Parade for 6am (yes, 6AM!) from the BBS parking lot to the track (some 500 yards). The hearty ones who rose early enough to join the (short) caravan were rewarded with the best parking spaces in the Corvette Corral.
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| Here's one of Danny Hayes' brand new BBS wheels. No, he didn't win them at the BBS dinner... |  |
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This is Art and Barb Wachna's Y2K Yellow Roadster; love the oak top. |
| The tent that Chevrolet provided for us in the infield was huge -- but we filled it up! |  |
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Here are Len and Marga Atlas. |
| And Jennifer Terrell, Cindy & Robert Goldstein |  |
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Charley & Jim Robertson |
| The team from Corvette Only! |  |
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Here's Kendall from Steve Moore Chevrolet. He helped everyone understand the ordering process; thanks, Kendall! |
| The "short team" came by the tent and signed everything in sight! |  |
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Andy Pilgrim just before breaking into a big smile. |
| And I mean, "signing EVERYTHING..." |  |
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| No, Bob Hardt and Ed Duprey are not lovers... |  |
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Don Danysh, Joe Blumberg, Ed Duprey, Tony Brimer and someone I don't recognize. |
| The always helpful, always friendly Susan & Richard Clark |  |
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Here's Buzz Fyhrie with the absolute best ear protection at the race. |
This tickles me; here we are at one of the most beautiful racecourses in the world. The cars are zipping by 150 yards away -- and we're watching the race on TV!
At least we're watching the C5R on-screen; right, Rick and Linda?
Here's Dan on the phone to Jake telling him that he was missed and all was well.
So, what about the racing? From the speed the #3 car was making when it passed the tent I would have bet it would have beaten even the Prototypes!
Chevy had four 2000 model cars on display; the yellow one reportedly had polished wheels (but it wasn't there when I was; perhaps someone will send me a picture to put up).
Joe Blumberg has a Y2K Bowling Green Coupe on order -- but had never seen one. Well, we fixed that...
If he had any reservations when we walked up on this one, they're gone now!
When it comes time to replace the Goodyear EMTs, you might want to consider the new Michelin EMTs. They ARE a bit bigger but, hey, we needed more ground clearance anyway!
Thanks to George Borders, here's a shot of the C5R replica in the background and another Corvette based racecar in the Chevy display. The car in the foreground is the IMSA GTP car from the late 80's (thanks to Chris Hewitt for the info!)
Here's the Bear receiving the award at the Chevy tent (thankfully, I'd already gone home when Bob Hardt was able to break into Gary Hunsberger's C5 to get the award out)...
Here are Buzz and Jackie Nielsen, the Bear and Bob Hardt viewing the Ed Duprey-supplied plaque decorating the Award (thanks, Ed).
| The Bear signs the cone... |  |
Bob Hardt wears the cone...(Momma Bear on the side) |  |
| ...and here's the plaque... |  |
The Cone stands alone!
The race began at 11:00am and ran for 10 hours or 1000 miles whichever came first. The C5Rs started in positions #3 and #4 and held those positions for most of the race. Road Atlanta simply has straights so long that the Vipers' bigger displacement/more horsepower (it seems) just can't be beaten - yet.
Thanks to the aforementioned red Georgia clay, my reputation for having the filthiest C5 at ANY Registry gathering is secure. This is a new (unofficial) exterior color. RPO SHT: "Poop brown"...
Believe it or not, it was clean before I left home home...and washed right away when I got back!
If you have great pix of this event you want to share, email 'em to me or snail mail and I'll scan 'em.