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

 

Profile of a Corvette racer, Ron Fellows, first of a series

Raised in Windsor, Ontario, Ron Fellows idolized Gilles Villeneuve, the fiery Canadian runner-up 1979 world champion.  But as Ron grew taller, he felt he was too tight a fit for a Formula 1 car, at least for the cars at that time. After working in the gas fields, Ron began racing sports cars.

Some years later in 1999, he caught the eye of Gary Pratt who GM hired to operate its new the new Corvette Racing Team. Ron won his share of races in the C5.R and C6.R models which led to serving as GM Ambassador for his easy demeanor and natural way with people.

With retirement in the cards, the Corvette Racing Team honored Ron with this C6.R # 33 Corvette trimmed in white. 

GM offered enthusiasts a Ron Fellows special edition 2009 C6 Corvette they could order from dealers.

Ron received an interest in Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, (formerly known as Mosport), granted by billionaire owners Carlo Fidani & Allan Boughton.

He holds naming rights for the Ron Fellows Racing School at the Spring Mountain resort in NV.

Meanwhile NASCAR team owners hired Ron to be their “ringer” in cars and trucks on road circuits.

Team owners doing the SCCA World Challenge series and the Trans Am series hired Ron to race their Corvettes.

Ongoing tribute comes from owners who put Ron in the driver’s seat of their vintage Corvette race cars.

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Ron teamed up with John Paul Jr. and Chris Kneifel to win the GT2 class in the ARRC at the Daytona 24-hour race in 1999.   This was the first outing for the C5.R chassis 001 shown here clad in black & silver that drew sponsorship monies from GM Goodwrench dealers.

Ron was behind the wheel in 2000 at Texas World Speedway for the Corvette’s first win in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) founded by the ebullient entrepreneur Don Panoz and his millions of dollars.

In one of the more memorable outcomes, Ron Fellows (CDN), Johnny O’Connell (USA), Chris Kneifel (USA) and Franck Freon (FR) in the GTS class # 2 C5.R Corvette outdistanced the faster prototype cars to become the OVERALL winner at the 2001 FIA Daytona 24-hour race. 

That win was bittersweet as Dale Earnhardt Sr, (teamed with Dale Junior and Andy Pilgrim in the # 3 C5.R Corvette), was killed a few weeks later in the last turn on the final lap of the NASCAR Daytona 500.  The crash remains a mystery to this day.

Dave Roberts, the savvy owner of the Carlyle Holding Company, hired Ron and Mike Skeen in 2008, to share a C6 Z06 Corvette in the SCCA Pro World Challenge Series that advertised Cragar wheels. 

Team owner and car builder Jim Derhaag snatched Ron to drive a C6 GT1 (Corvette-styled body on a tube frame chassis) in the 2016 Trans Am series at CTMP, Ron’s home track, where he won easily.  These “modern relics” are powered by 366 cubic-inch SB-2 styled NASCAR style engines that make 850+ hp.

Later that year, Ron was back in the C6 Z06 SCCA World Challenge Corvette of Dave Roberts, now in red and renumbered # 02 at the vintage HSR Classic 24 at Daytona.

Wallis Owens reached out to Ron to pilot his C4 1987 ex-Gregg Pickett Trans Am/IMSA GTO Protofab Corvette, celebrating the marque’s 70th anniversary at the 2023 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion where he won his class.

Photo credits: Ron Kielbiski, Remy Solnon, Richard Prince, Matthew Boyce, Rex McAfee, Larry VanScoy

We hope you liked this Profile of a Corvette Racer series and wish to see more: jhydercrc@gmail.com

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

Many Thanks!

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The Lure of Le Mans

Customer teams (vs the factory Corvette Racing team) will carry the flag for Corvettes at Le Mans for the second straight year and the foreseeable future.

The 24-hour race on June 14-15, 2025 is the fourth (and most important race) in the eight race World Endurance Championship Series. 

WEC rules require teams to enter all eight races. 12 cars are signed up for the LMGT3 Class.

The UK-based TF Sport team has two Z06 GT3.R Corvettes.  Ben Keating from Texas is the lead driver for the # 33 and Tom Van Rompuy from Belgium the is lead driver for the # 81.

The Canadian AWA Team of Andrew Wojteczko received a special invitation from the WEC for their Corvette that normally races in the IMSA GTD Class.  Orey Fidani is the lead driver for the # 13 Z06 GT3.R, decked out in red for the occasion.

 Back in the days

The Briggs Cunningham (3 cars) and the Camoradi team (1 car) were the first Corvettes at Le Mans in 1960.  John Fitch & Bob Grossman piloted the # 3 Corvette to a dramatic win while the 2 others dropped out; and the # 4 Camoradi Corvette fell short of the distance to be classified.

The Corvette team of Frenchman Henri Greder appeared in 1969 through 1975, assisted by Belgian-born Corvette Chief Engineer Zora Arkus Duntov who also had raced at Le Mans.

John Greenwood entered Le Mans three times under Zora’s tutelage: in 1972 & 1973, shod with BFG tires and in 1976 with his eponymous widebody design.

Reeves Callaway and his Callaway Competition cohorts from Germany entered their slick fourth-generation Corvettes from 1994 through 1997.  At their first outing, Race Officials strongly advised Callaway to enlist a French driver.  Well after the sun went down, Michel Maisonneuve missed instructions to stop for fuel, ran out of gas on the Mulsanne straight and walked away into the night.  Of course those officious Race Officials disqualified the # 51 Corvette.

A shoestring effort by Doug Rippie entered “the mother of all” IMSA supercharged ZR1 Corvettes in 1995.  The car was sold off in Europe after it blew up just past halfway.

The GM-backed Corvette Racing Team followed with the revolutionary new C5, C6, C7 and C8 Corvettes that won the most races for GT Sports Cars in the history of Le Mans.

Nigel Dobbie catalogs C5 thru C7 in his book which you can order.

https://corvettestore.com/products/corvette-racing-the-first-20-years-by-nigel-s-dobbie?srsltid=AfmBOooUL5a-xI-lVNYj35NIjRqg7ls-dxPEjfE1bI99owBCbMt45kTO

Photo credits: WEC, AWA, Greenwood Archives, Richard Prince

 

 

 

 

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