At Watkins Glen on a track tailor made for Corvettes, 25 examples, C1 thru C6 raced in various groups for bragging rights at the US Vintage GP.
Corvettes are a big favorite in Group 6 for A and B Production cars up against Mustangs, Jags, Porsches, Cobras and Camaros.
The advanced “state of the art” prepped 1969 # 46 Jody O’Donnell (1st AP), 1969 # 59 Peter Klutt (1st BP) and 1963 # 33 Mike Donohue (4th BP) topped the 38-car field.
Rick Mooney 1968 # 42 BP beat the odds finishing 2nd in front of more potent cars in the one-hour Vintage endurance race. Jim Heck 1964 # 64 teamed up with Tony Bosworth for 18th in the 38-car field.
John Reisman 2011 # 33 won the one-hour Historic endurance race in his Corvette DP. The same car that Eric Curran drove for Team Whelen Engineering in the Grand Am series.
Bill Schwacke 1955 # 55 outran the 1960 # 24 “resto mod” of Bill Treffert and 2 other straight axle Corvettes in the race of his life winning his class in Group 4.
Ray Zisa 1990 # 4 won Group 12 unopposed in his impeccable ex Kim Baker SCCA World Challenge Corvette. Ray also posted FTD against all comers in the autocross sponsored by Jaguar in the north paddock, winning a fully paid race weekend valued at $ 700.
Fans could not help but admire the Corvettes of Ken Mennella 1963 # 000 Group 5 Grand Sport Replica DNS, Rib Regna 1981 # 177 Group 10 SCCA GT1 9th and 1968 # 99 Group 6 SCCA BP Tony Bosworth 29th. Check out our Facebook Group page for more.
Watkins Glen racing heritage tops them all.
The original circuit start/finish on Franklin Street was laid out on 6.6 miles of public roads. It is on the national register of historic places.
Crowds line the course every year for the race re-enactment, part of the downtown festival. Did you know the Corvette was conceived by GM stylist Harley Earl after witnessing his first road race at Watkins Glen in 1951?
The dedicated circuit, now 3.4 miles opened in 1957 is perched high on a hillside southwest from downtown at the foot of Seneca Lake. For 20 years (1961-1980) Watkins Glen was the richest paying race on the formula 1 calendar.
The International Motor Racing Research Center founded in 1990 houses the largest collection of books, films and records chronicling sports car, stock car and Indy car racing in the US.
Racing at Watkins Glen enjoys support from two of the most venerable Corvette Clubs in the nation, Rochester and Syracuse; and a regional Chevy Dealership specializing in new and older models.
Even State politicians understand that racing benefits the Finger Lakes region by voting funds in 2015 to re-surface the track.
Thanks to Rich Martin for fantastic photos
