Corvettes have reached a stature of their own in the Pro Am race at the SVRA Indy Invitational
Now in its 5th year and with 13 Corvettes taking up nearly 60% of the grid, the Pro Am race has become a major attraction on the vintage and historic circuit.
And with big blocks allowed, the Pro Am is a playground for friendly rivals like # 46 Jody O’Donnell (AP) and others to race with # 33 Mike Donohue (BP) and the rest of the field.
Mike was paired with third-generation pro Matt Brabham while Jody was paired with Matt’s dad Geoff Brabham, descendent of Australian F1 great Jack Brabham. Mechanical problems early on sidelined Geoff and former winners Al Unser Jr who was paired with # 59 Peter Klutt (see sprint races below).
Willy T Ribbs paired with Edward Sevadjian in the # 36 AP (owned by Jim Kitzmiller) broke the rear end on lap 14 opening the way for Donohue to win the 27 lap race.
Hats off to Indy Pro Dick Simon, 85 calling it quits after five fun-packed races paired with # 64 Jim Heck.
Group 4, 6, 10 & 12A Sprint Races
Legendary Motor Company’s Peter Klutt and his son # 46A Gary Klutt, TV stars on Velocity Channel had an impression to make in the Group 6 sprint races.
Each out-qualified their nearest rivals by a whopping 2 seconds. Gary was in an earlier Corvette that his dad built, sold and bought back - not the one as a newcomer out of Canada back in 2006, blew off the field at Watkins Glen to the consternation of Group 6 racers for years. The car has received all the latest tricks we’ve pretty much given up trying to figure out.
While the novelty has worn off for some, the Brickyard lures other Corvette drivers including this year # 84 Jim Sandberg, # 99 Tony Bosworth, # 68 John Malmquist, # 37 Danny Kellermeyer, # 65 Doug Tillman, # 65 Rick Ortman and # 11 Joe Robau.
Solid axle Corvettes, driven by two self-made entrepreneurs each prevailed in the dwindling ranks of Group 4. # 57 Dave Roberts in the ex Jim Swan had the faster car but sat out Saturday handing he victory to # 56 SVRA president Tony Parella who turned his dream for the Brickyard Invitational into reality.
Veteran racer Rick Dittman in the # 24A 2007 GT1 Corvette won the Group 10 race on Saturday while Casey Putsch runner-up in the # 3 1990 GT1 ex Hal Keck won on Sunday.
Jonathan Pfeffer # 93 1990 WC Corvette ex John Heinricy Snakeskinner won Group 12A over fellow Hoosiers Robert Pfeffer # 97 WC ex Tommy Morrison and Brett Henderson # 98 ex Corvette ChallengeTom Bell Chevrolet raced by Stu Hayner.
Fantastic photos thanks to Larry VanScoy @LarryVanscoy and Dennis Gray and Bill Wagonblatt www.historicmotorprints.com
Click on this link for a huge photo gallery of every Corvette at Indy: https://corvetteregistry.smugmug.com/Cars/Vintage-Racing-Today/Corvettes-at-Indy-SVRA-June-2018/
Corvette results summarized and compiled by Jan Hyde for Pro Am and Sprint races.
For complete results log on to https://svra.com/race-results/2018-brickyard-vintage-racing-invitational/
Video of ProAM race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4dAVYOZ6NU&feature=emb_rel_end
2018 proved to be another spectacular showcase of Corvettes for racers, enthusiasts and fans. Spread the word and help make more good things come from this experience.
