At the 50th annual SCCA national Runoffs, Corvette drivers won 3 national championships and a 2nd place. Sept 19-22, 2013. Road America 4 mile circuit in Elkhart Lake, WI, 53073. We invite you to explore Corvette photo galleries and records over this remarkable span that few other marques can surpass.
2013 Road America |
1978 Road Atlanta |
Corvette Photo Galleries
2013 Road America
(Tim Kemmis photos, tjkem@excel.net)
1984-2012
(Gordon Jolley photos, info@gordonjolley.com)
1965-1983 (and video slide show) |
Corvette Entrants & Results
Excel 2013
Excel 1984-2012
Excel 1965-1983
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 Facebook group page or e-mail as jpegs to wayne.ellwood@rogers.com |
Leading Corvette drivers at the Runoffs
Early era:
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John Greenwood, 1970 & 1971 AP national champ developed and raced Corvettes and sold Corvette performance parts that became the standard in FIA endurance racing, Trans-Am, IMSA and at Le Mans. Wayne Ellwood explains as part of this video. Bill Jobe, 1973 & 1974 BP national champ followed Allen Barker, 1969, 1970, 1971 & 1972 BP national champ, remarkably racing the same Corvette. Jerry Hansen, a Minneapolis stock broker won 1972 AP & 1980 BP national championships in Corvettes. He typically bought last years’ cars from leading professional teams, winning 27 national championships in all. Doug Bethke, 1981 & 1982 GT1 national champ was a relentless innovator. He built perhaps the ultimate C3 Club race car. It was rescued, restored and donated to the NCM by the late Leon Hurd in 1993 and recently refurbished. |
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Later era:
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John Heinricy was the national champ in 1993 GT1 driving for Tommy Morrison; and from 2001 to 2005 T1, driving for Phoenix Performance, the leading tuner www.phoemixperformance.com. As a GM vehicle performance engineer and accomplished driver, Heinricy contributed to the C4, raced in several pro series and is now a sought after consultant. Andrew Aquilante, 2007 T1 and 2013 T1 and GT2 national champ developed a talent as a young teammate of John Heinricy. His future looks bright.
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Read more: Fifty years of Corvettes at the Runoffs
Between 1967 and 1982, Corvettes grabbed their share of championships in “big bore” A and B Production and GT1 classes. This amazing run was finally upended by rules forcing Corvette entrants to conform to the latest fastback coupe version of the C3 slated to go out of production in 1983. Many stalwarts were racing Corvettes built on chassis dating back to 1968.
The new 1984 C4 found favor in the Showroom SSGT class. Many of the better racers gravitated to prize money offered in the Escort and Playboy Pro Series where the completely re-designed Corvette was an instant winner. Success in these series was followed by the Corvette Challenge and the World Challenge series. In GT1, new rules for all marques, influenced by the popular IMSA and Trans Am series, called for a tube frame chassis beneath a “silhouette” body which for the Corvette was more aerodynamic than the production C4.
When the C5 was introduced in 1997, one enterprising tuner (referred to above) found the winning secret in the Stock class now called T1. C5 and C6 Corvettes have forged a new run of success marked by championships in T1, T2, GT2 and a second place in GT1 at the 2013 Runoffs. The C7 should extend this run by all expectations.
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Read more: The Bedrock of Club Racing in America
The “Runoffs” have been a tradition since 1965. Drivers representing 9 regions across the country compete for points to qualify for the season-ending finale known as the “Runoffs”. Each race is a winner-take-all showdown for bragging rights. 2013 saw Corvettes racing in 4 different classes among a field of 709 entries, 28 classes in all. Corvettes were well represented in GT1 (11 out of 17 entries), GT2 (5/24), T1 (8/15) and T2 (8/17). Classes are grouped for (a) Production Sports cars, (Corvettes) and Sedans, (b) Sports Racing cars and (c) Open Wheel cars. Classes are further set apart by engine displacement and weight. Invitations are awarded in each region to the top 3 points winners in each class. Tracks hosting the Runoffs are Daytona 1965, 1967, 1969; Riverside (now defunct) 1966, 1968; Road Atlanta 1970-1993; Mid-Ohio 1994-2005; Topeka 2006-2008; Road America 2009-2013.
For more, www.scca.com (Runoffs link) |
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