Ten Flashbacks from Daytona from a Corvette whisperer

The 2026 season kicks off with the Rolex Daytona 24 on January 24-25.

Origins

Big Bill France cooked up the Daytona Continental in 1962 to upstage the 12-hour race at Sebring, promoted by the flamboyant Alex Ullman. That first race was a 3-hour affair which Dan Gurney won.  It drew 47 entries before a crowd of 14,000 fans.

The first full-fledged 24-hour race at Daytona happened on Feb 4-6, 1966.  Daytona is now the world’s most important 24-hour race save for Le Mans.  Last year 61 cars filled the grid, shared by 235 drivers from 31 countries before a crowd of 50,000 fans.  

Roger Penske’s new team won the GT class in the initial 24-Hour race

Roger Penske started his now legendary team with this # 6 1966 L88 Corvette that was driven fresh from the factory in St. Louis.  He hired Dick Guldstrand to prep the car and drive it along with his buddy George Wintersteen and Ben Moore.  They came back from a crash during the night to win the GT class.

The trusty backup comes through

Two years later, the Sunray DX team brought two brand new 1968 # 29 & # 30 C3 “Shark” Corvettes to Daytona.  They were expected win but problems set them back to fourth and fifth while the 1967 # 31 C2 “backup” of Jerry Grant and Dave Morgan came through to win the GT class on Feb 3-4.

First overall followed by a huge loss

The two-year-old GM Corvette Racing Team made history when Johnny O’Connell, Ron Fellows, Chris Kneifel and Franck Freon drove the # 2 C5.R Corvette to finish first in the GTS class and an incredible first overall on Feb 3-4 2001.

Andy Pilgrim, the legendary Dale Earnhardt, Kelly Collins and Dale Jr drove the # 3 C5.R Corvette to fourth overall and second in GTS. 

Watch Dale Sr rave about his C5.R Corvette in this special 3-minute video

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM_ol3J_PYc

Dale Sr tragically left our world for good just three weeks later in a crash in the final turn on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 behind the wheel of his # 3 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.  That crash remains shrouded in mystery to this day.

Another incredible win for the Corvette Racing Team

The GM Corvette Racing Team again won the GTS class when Oliver Gavin in the # 4 C7.R Corvette edged out teammate Antonio Garcia in the # 3 C7.R Corvette in the closest finish ever on Jan 31, 2016.

A victory from last year to savor forever

The AWA team from Canada finished first among 22 cars in the GTD class with its # 13 C8 Z06 GT3.R Corvette piloted by Orey Fidani and Matt Bell on Jan 26, 2025.  The surprise victory against this huge field inspired the Orlando Company, the team’s deep-pocket sponsor to spring to buy a new and retire the Daytona winner for posterity.

A win from out of nowhere

Sierra “Smokey” Drolet was matched up with John Tremblay and Vince Giomondo to drive the little-known # 96 C2 1966 Corvette that won the GT class on Feb 2, 1969.  Luck was on their side as the highly touted Corvettes of Tony DeLorenzo and Jerry Thompson, backed by the Owens Corning Fiberglass Company failed to finish.

Money wins out a year later

 Jerry Thompson, paired with John Mahler in the # 7 1969 O-C Corvette won the GT class in 1970.  The Owens Corning brass was aghast at the black trim and insisted that star stylist Randy Wittine re-paint it for the next race at Sebring where Tony De Lorenzo and Dick Lang took the win.

Catch some race action we set to music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8jUZPnPS1c&t=1s

Greenwood goes for broke

John Greenwood blew up his # 75 1974 monster Corvette well before the sun had set on Feb 1, 1975.  John set fastest among 51 GT cars in qualifying as the manufacturers of exotic prototypes got hammered by hard times and left their cars at home.  

Insiders speculated that Greenwood, who was clocked at 236 mph on the back stretch, felt that the headlines mattered more than winning.  He just might have had a point!

Star actor reaches for center stage

James Garner got hooked on racing via his role playing Pete Aron, Formula 1 driver in the 1966 blockbuster movie Grand Prix.  

Garner formed his American International Racing team, and like the DX Team, brought 2 new 1968 model Corvettes to Daytona.  Dick Guldstrand, who in 1966 won for Penske, drove the # 44 Corvette and Scooter Patrick drove the # 45 Corvette.  Both cars fared poorly and were sold off.  The # 44 Corvette was discovered many years later.  It is now restored to original and offered for sale.

Photo credits: Joe Trybulec, Richard Prince, Rick Montgomery, Harry Hurst, Fred Lewis

 Still time to order our keepsake 2026 Corvette Racing Calendar

Photo art of thirteen C1 thru C8 Corvettes in action at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Road America and more.  New and renewing members can order here.   https://www.registryofcorvetteracecars.com/membership

The late Alain DeCadenet brings nine epic Corvette race cars to life (please click on images to watch each video)

Chevrolet Chief Engineer Ed Cole parlays Duntov’s challenge and rushes a 1956 Corvette into the 12-hour race at Sebring … and wins!

https://youtu.be/acm1Y71Gpzk

The celebrated Corvette SS Prototype fails the next year at Sebring while the lesser heralded production Corvettes finish 1-2.

 https://youtu.be/wIf6SKA5aY4

GM brass discovers and kills Zora’s secret lightweight Corvette in 1963.

https://youtu.be/jy9KeezUx9Y

But the C3 Corvette cleans up in 1969 as Carroll Shelby calls it quits and heads off on Safari to hunt big game in Africa.

https://youtu.be/2t7ev8IFs1Y

Intrepid privateers, Bob Bondurant, 1967 and John Greenwood, 1969 and others came up short at the 24 hours of Le Mans.

https://youtu.be/_jEf6msH3OY

https://youtu.be/-w1r-_6_090

Until the professional GM Corvette Racing Team wins in 2001.

Link to video: https://youtu.be/b_wHIW1-k2M

Zora tests the limits with his 1959 and 1963 CERV Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicles.

https://youtu.be/U3UJMMHAD04

https://youtu.be/sojyksRUdPc

Adapted from Victory by Design, a telecast that has become available.

Alain DeCadenet, Co-writer & Narrator, Robert Ecker, Executive Producer, Martin Stockham, Producer, Tony Mylam, Writer & Director, Francis Moloney, Editor, Lesley Sawl, Production manager, Martyn Brake, On-board camera, David Crute, Tracking camera, Matt Wyer, Steady cam, Guy Dewdney, Camera car grip, Enzo Cannatella, Sound mixer

Photo credits: BRE Collection, Bill Stowe, Bob Dunsmore, Fred Lewis, Greenwood Archives

Created and scripted by RCRC, edited by Maxine Motley

Our 13-month 2026/27 Calendar is a keepsake work of art that also makes for a great holiday gift.  It is available to new members and to those who wish to extend.  Offer includes free shipping plus last year’s edition 2025/January 2026.

Order here: https://www.registryofcorvetteracecars.com/membership

A Corvette Junkie tells how the C8 Z06 GT3.R made the top in two short years

(And don’t miss out on our 2026 Corvette Racing Calendar, see below)

1.The timing is right

John Doonan, president of IMSA proclaims that Sports Car Racing is going full blast with no end in sight.

In the second year of the Z06 GT3.R Corvette, the Pratt & Miller team wrapped up the IMSA championship before of a sell-out crowd on October 11 at Road Atlanta. The TF Sport team won the European Le Mans Championship in Portugal.

2. The Corvette teams have the bucks

The factory Pratt & Miller team is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oshkosh, a publicly traded $ 4.5BN company.  The AWA team from Canada happens to be owned by Orlando Corp, a $ 6BN Canadian Real Estate operation.  And let’s just say the JMR JOHOR team from the monarchy of Malaysia is a royal family that is loaded with loot.

3. The Z06 GT3.R Corvette has gone global

We also believe that Sports Car racing is riding the coat tails of Formula 1, and deservedly so.

Fans in North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Persian Gulf can catch the Z06 GT3.R Corvette at the track and on the tele.

TF Sport and Stellar from the UK and DXDT and Chouest Poveledo from the USA join the super-rich in IMSA, the World Endurance Championship and the Stephen Ratel Organization (SRO) World Challenge Series on 3 continents.  Word has it the legendary Bathurst 12-hour race in Australia is on the schedule for 2026.

4. The right people

The Pratt & Miller team stems from the GM Corvette Racing Team, a juggernaut, that trampled their foes for 25 years. The spirit of hard work, humility and camaraderie is gospel, starting with the C5.R in 1999, followed by the C6.R in 2005, the C7.R in 2014 and the C8.R in 2020 and now the C8 Z06 GT3.R Corvette.

5. Top notch Design, Engineering and Service

Pratt & Miller designs and builds the C8 Z06 GT3.R and services their customers 24/7. The mid-engine Z06 GT3.R joins ranks with the supercars McLaren, Lambo, Ferrari and Porsche.  

6. American Strength

The Corvette projects American strength around the world.  Strongmen that run China, Russia and the pudgy guy in North Korea take notice.

How to get your 2026 Corvette Racing Calendar

Click here to get it free, includes shipping by renewing or signing up for new membership, a $ 30 value.

Button https://www.registryofcorvetteracecars.com/membership

It is a collectible work of art, curated with photos by pros.  The 13-month 2026 edition features the Z06 GT3.R at Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans plus C1 thru C7 Corvettes in vintage and SCCA racing.

Photo credits: Phelis Cattus Cattus, George Sisak, Pete Gorski

How to make the best of things as Corvette racers confront “what’s next” at 2 historic tracks

Historic Festival 43 on the Labor Day weekend at Lime Rock Park (opened in 1957) in NW CT hosted a record field with nearly 400 cars entered in 9 race groups.

Eight Corvettes stood out among 42 cars in the Big Bore/Air-Cooled Porsche race.

Click on image for Photo Gallery by Bill Stoler (button for) https://www.registryofcorvetteracecars.com/keeping-track/2025/8/29/lrp-hf43

Created in 1982, this “one-off” event just keeps growing, starting with a 17-mile tour on local roads to Falls Village, reminiscent of the fabled road tour at Pebble Beach.

Crowds clamor on “quiet Sunday” for the colossal car show with a multitude of marques arrayed around the 1.5-mile track.

The US Vintage Grand Prix took place the next weekend at Watkins Glen in the Finger Lakes region of upstate NY where postwar sports car racing officially began in 1948 on a daunting 6.6-mile circuit over public roads.  

The downtown Festival on Franklin Street and the Historic Race Re-enactment were popular as ever; but action at the Watkins Glen International circuit plummeted by 50%.  A huge vintage race event since 1983 has become a shadow of itself, a jolting sign of things to come.

The new owners of the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) see the future with modern race cars at some dozen events at tracks across the country.

While Vintage Corvettes at the USVGP as we knew it are collateral damage, the C2, C3, C4, C5, C6 and C7 Corvettes in groups 6 and 12a combined delivered the best racing of the weekend.

Click on image for Photo Gallery by Visors Down Motorsport Photography (button for) https://www.registryofcorvetteracecars.com/keeping-track/2025/9/4/watkins-glen-usvgp

Take heart!  History lives on. The steadfast International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC) honored the legendary Brian Redman at its 11th annual tribute, a sell-out dinner at the stunning Corning Museum of Glass.

Photo credits: Bill Stoler, Pete Gorski, Jan Hyde

Profiling Jordan Taylor, a racer in his prime with a “thing” for the past

At first glance, one might take them as twins. Jordan Taylor grew up around racing as the younger son of three-time-champion Wayne Taylor & his wife Shiela, doing Karts and turning pro in 2011 early on at age 20.

Jordan and his older brother Ricky drove a C8 Corvette Daytona Prototype for their dad’s team in the Grand Am Series, winning a championship in 2013 and another in 2017 when the Corvette moniker gave way to the Caddy.  Yet somehow, we see them as “Corvette Guys”.

Ricky was the fastest driver for Jack LeConte of the French Labre team in the # 50 C7.R at selected races in the 2016 World Endurance Championship Series (WEC).

Jordan served as the third driver at selected races in the 2016 World Endurance Championship Series (WEC).

Jordan succeeded Jan Magnusen in 2020 to partner with Antonio Garcia through 2023.  They captured two GTLM championships in 2020 and 2021, a third in GTD-Pro in 2022 and a GTLM class victory at the 2021 Rolex 24.

Jordan chose to race his dad’s Wayne Taylor Racing Prototype Acura (cum Cadillac) GTP that paid more money vs staying with Garcia in the Pratt & Miller (Osh Kosh) # 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R in GTD-Pro.

Jordan consulted at Le Mans in 2024 for Rick Hendrick’s much-ballyhooed Next Gen Chevrolet NASCAR foray…

While hitting it off with the Corvette fans.

Jordan’s playful humor on social media with alter ego Rodney Sandstorm led to invites to race the 1980 # 88 ex Doug Rowe Corvette at Daytona

And the 1976 # 48 Greenwood customer car 012 at Laguna Seca.

 Check out the Action!

2019 at Laguna Seca:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx4vQ-pQbwI

2018 at Daytona: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEqVD_eOY1E

Jordan Taylor is the youngest driver to serve as annual membership chairperson for the International Motorsports Research Center (IMRRC) at Watkins Glen which is the birthplace of post war USA road racing and is the place where the Corvette was conceived by Harley Earl. 

Vintage racing broke new ground at Watkins Glen in early September. Watch for another story coming your way.

Photo credits: Wayne Taylor Racing, Richard Prince, Nigel Dobbie, Felis Cattus Cattus (Le Chat), Mike Matune, Jan Hyde

Profile of David Hobbs and role of Corvettes in his PROLIFIC racing career

Corvette racing fans might enjoy this profile of David Hobbs, born on June 9, 1939, as the affable witty Brit who drove a silhouette-bodied 1984 C4 tube frame Corvette that first appeared in the Trans Am series.

The Neil DeAtley team out of Portland Oregon was convinced that the new C4 offered Hobbs a better chance to defend their Trans Am title won a year earlier in a Camaro.

They lost out in 1984, mainly because John Dick, former INDY Car engineer had trouble with the adjustable tube frame chassis over the course of the season.  Mind you, electronic data collection, simulations, and the like were some years off in the future.

Hobbs on occasion drove a Corvette GTP for the up-and-coming Rick Hendrick in 1986 & 1987.

Hobbs and Jack Baldwin shared rides in the Peerless Corvette GTP in 1989.

 What makes Hobbs exceptional is that no driver who ever sat behind the wheel of a Corvette, has ever, nor likely will, come close to his appearances in other major categories of racing.

These milestones include 1974 Formula 1 in the Yardley McLaren M23 (Italian and Austrian Grands Prix) and 1974 at Indy in the McLaren 16C/D.

They also include Can Am, NASCAR, Le Mans, F5000 and of course the Trans Am.

During this time, David Hobbs gained acclaim on TV as a sportscaster, often hilarious, appearing with Sam Posey, Chris Economaki, Ken Squier, Andrew Marriott, Steve Matchett, Brock Yates, Bob Varsha, Leigh Diffey and others.

We offer an autographed copy of his book for $ 30, shipping included, to the FIRST reader who signs up, winner take all.  https://www.registryofcorvetteracecars.com/membership

Photo credits: Brent Martin, Dave Nicholas, Tony Mezzaca, Mark Spaulding, IMS

Here Comes Carlisle

The beloved Chip Miller cooked up the idea for a Racers Reunion as a way for drivers to reunite, re-live their days and poke fun at one-another.

The Racers Reunion has become a fixture at Carlisle.

Click here to see what’s coming

https://youtu.be/EAAwkEjh_gs

The first such gathering in 1998 hailed the great Dick Thompson, Dick Guldstrand, John Greenwood, Jerry Thompson, Doug Bergen, Marietta Bob Johnson, Frank Dominianni, Paul Reinhart, Joe Freitas and host of others.

2004 brought a huge turnout in honor of Chip after his tragic demise that year.

Chip’s son Lance picked up the ball and ran with it while adding to the Miller family collection of sought-after Corvette race cars.

Lance had a love for 1988 and 1989 Corvette Challenge cars which has become an annual gathering in and of itself.

Corvettes at Carlisle has become bigger over the years than the NCM bash in Bowling Green KY and Mike Yager’s Funfest in Effingham IL.  GM even created a special color called Carlisle Blue for the 2012 Corvette. 

This year promises to be special with Corvette racers from far and wide recruited by George Haddad of Fabulous Restorations in Florida.

Let us know how we might assist with your plans.

Photo Credits: Miller Family, Mike Guyette, David Palmeter, Jerry Keefer, Larry VanScoy

Profile of a Corvette racer, John Greenwood, Sebring Savior, 2nd of a series

Sebring has become synonymous with Corvette racing.  John Greenwood saved Sebring from oblivion.

The 1974 race was scratched because the FIA demanded long overdue safety improvements that called for a new pit wall.  Alec Ulmann, the original promotor, decided the cost was simply not worth it and walked away.

It’s easy to forget how the Watergate Scandal shocked our confidence, followed by the Arab Oil Embargo, gas lines, a recession and an economy on the brink.

Greenwood stepped up to promote the race in 1975 and guarantee a purse of $30,000.  

To be truthful, Greenwood cared less that the glitzy world-renowned Ferraris, Alfas, Maseratis and Jaguars were “no shows”.  

What Greenwood cared about most was protecting his nascent business that began with a fortuitous deal to race on BF Goodrich T/A Radial Street tires. (Shaved for racing).

John got into Corvettes via his dad, an executive at GM.  Drag racing on the streets of Detroit quickly gave way to club racing at the Waterford Hills 1.5-mile road course in Clarkston, MI.

The holy grail was beating the “unbeatable” Owens Corning Corvettes of Tony DeLorenzo and Jerry Thompson at the 1970 SCCA Runoffs.

Winning that championship paved the way to long distance racing at Sebring, Daytona and Le Mans plus the Trans Am series.

 John recruited drivers from a Who’s Who list: Don Yenko, Dick Smothers, Marietta Bob Johnson, Allan Barker, John Cordts, Ron Grable, John Greendyke, Mike Brockman, Dave Heinz, Jerry Thompson, Tony Adamowicz, Carl Shafer, Vince Muzzin, Gib Hufstader, Dick Lang, John Cargill and John’s younger brother Burt.

John ventured into supplying parts, authorizing dealerships and building cars for customers.  His wide-body fender kits were all the rage for racers, a product from hooking up with Randy Wittine (GM designer) and Zora Arkus Duntov (Corvette chief engineer).

Greenwood made his final appearance behind the wheel at Sebring in 1977 with Rick Mancuso and his brother Burt.

Author and historian Lou Galanos requested that we organize a tribute to John Greenwood when he passed away in July, 2015 after a long illness.  The event took place that November, fittingly at the HSR Classic 24-hour race at Daytona.

Photo credits: Greenwood Archives, SCD, Louis Galanos, Larry Van Scoy

We would love our viewers to share their stories. jhydercrc@gmail.com

We also hope to keep your support.  Membership contributions are voluntary but by gosh, they sure do help. https://rcrc.squarespace.com/membership