Corvettes crash the party at SVRA 3rd annual Indy Invitational Races

The Pro Am race teams up Indy “Legends” drivers with owners of thundering ‘60s/‘70s Corvettes, Camaros & Mustangs for the most entertaining show in vintage racing, driver changes, ceremonies and all staged on the 2.45 mile road course at the IMS.

Even though a Corvette missed a third straight victory, small and big block models occupied over half the grid in the SVRA’s 3rd annual Indy Invitational Races.  The # 37 big block Corvette of Clair Schwendeman/Richie Hearn made the podium next to the winning # 91 Cobra 427 of Andre Ahrle/Robbie Unser and runner up # 98 Mustang GT350 of Gary Moore/Paul Tracy.

# 42A Peter Klutt/Al Unser Jr (2014 winner) small block finished 5th. 

# 46 Jody O’Donnell/Roberto Guerrero big block was 7th. 

A long anticipated showdown of the four fastest vintage racing Corvettes on record will have to wait.  # 1 Ray Evernham/Bill Elliott in the ex-Chris Hines ’65 Corvette big block broke on lap 6.  (The special 34th entry of ex Brickyard 400 NASCAR stars reflects the genius behind this event nonetheless).

For the first time in memory the # 33 small block hot rod of Mike Donohue was a scratch.

The # 1C (ex-Denny Long Corvette) of Don Henry/Pete Halsmer was 8th, a worthy replacement for the disabled # 11 of a disappointed Jim Glass. 

# 3 (ex Bud Deshler Corvette) of Kirk Blaha/Larry Foyt gave the Corvettes 5 in the top 10.

In Group 6 sprint races Klutt, O’Donnell and Schwendeman won or took top 3.

The beautifully restored IMSA Corvettes of Jeff (# 88 ex Lou D’Amico) and Jacqulyn Mincheff (# 15 ex Garcia Bros) turned heads appearing for the first time as Corvette owners.

In Group 10 the GT1 C4 Corvettes of # 90 Jeff Bernatovich and 4 Casey Putsch fought for 2nd & 3rd.  # 90 in car footage start of race.

The winner was # 05 GT1 C5 of David Fershtand who also races this car on the SCCA Pro Racing Trans Am circuit won by Amy Ruman last year.

Hats off to nearly 40 owners that fielded Corvettes including SVRA President Tony Parella.

Credit pro photographer David Ferguson for his exceptional images.  All the Corvettes that raced at Indy can be seen plus a myriad of others in this vintage racing photo gallery.

Corvette Results of Pro Am Legends Race compiled by Jan Hyde

Corvette Results of Group 6 & Group 10 Sprint races compiled by Jan Hyde