The National Corvette Museum has announced the following inductees to be recognized as part of the 17th Annual Corvette Hall of Fame Ceremony in 2014: Jerry Burton in the category of Corvette enthusiast/historian; John Heinricy in the category of GM/Chevrolet; and Dave MacDonald, in the category of racing will all be recognized with the highest honor bestowed by the Museum for their contributions to the past, present and future of Corvette.
The 2014 Hall of Fame recipients will be inducted into the
Corvette Hall of Fame during a ceremony and banquet on Thursday, August 28, 2014.
Their induction will take place as part of the Museum’s 20th
Anniversary Corvette Celebration and the Fifth National Corvette Caravan festivities
August 28-30, 2014.
Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee Jerry Burton’s involvement with
Corvette is immeasurable, serving as Founding Editor and Editorial Director of
Corvette Quarterly magazine; Motorsports Editor for AutoWeek magazine; Managing
Editor of Racecar magazine; and Editor of Haggerty Insurance Automotive
magazine. In addition to being an editor
and contributor to numerous other automotive magazines, Burton is a Corvette
historian, authoring “Zora Arkus-Duntov: The Legend Behind Corvette,” and
“Corvette: America’s Sports Car: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.” While heavily immersed in the Corvette World,
Burton met and became a trusted personal friend of the Duntovs, with full
access to all of Zora’s papers and documents and is personally acquainted with
many of Duntov’s associates. In
authoring the book he received full support of General Motors and the Chevrolet
Motor Division.
Burton holds a journalism degree as well as a
Master of Arts in telecommunications and film, and is the author of the
award-winning “Heartbeat of America” themeline for Chevrolet. He along with former Corvette Chief Engineer
Dave McLellan were interviewed and featured on the Speed Channel’s documentary
on the fifty year history of the Corvette.
Burton also served as a Member of the NCM’s Board of Directors.
Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee John Heinricy’s influence on the car
and hobby can
be seen by visitors of the National Corvette Museum in the 1989 Corvette ZR-1
“Record Run” display featuring not only the car, but also the statues of those
involved – a display that pays homage to the team that set 12 international
world time / distance speed records in a ZR-1 and L98 Corvette, averaging as
high as 175.885mph over a 24-hour period. Heinricy has won 11 SCCA national
championships driving a Corvette, was intimately involved in developing the
Corvette showroom stock racing program that won 19 consecutive races between
1985 and 1987, and was a key member of the Corvette Racing C5R effort in 1999.
Heinricy worked for decades behind the scenes
to create the kind of finely tuned driving dynamics that allowed modern
Corvettes to compete with and beat the best sports cars in the world. He has also logged more racing miles and hot
laps in Corvettes than any other.
Heinricy served for many years as the manager of the Corvette
Development Group at the GM Proving Grounds at Milford, Michigan and in 1990 was
named Corvette Assistant Chief Engineer responsible for the C4 through 1996,
including the 1995 Corvette Pace Car, 1996 Grand Sport and Collector’s
Edition. Most recently, “Heinrocket” set
multiple lap records in a Cadillac CTS-V at tracks in China and the Middle East
and continues to do engineering, consulting and automotive work as president of
his own company.
Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee Dave MacDonald was recognized by Zora
Duntov as one of the two best Corvette drivers in the world, sharing pilot
duties with Dick Thompson in the 1963 Stingray being filmed by GM for
“Biography of a Sports Car,” a national ad campaign for the car. As a driver during the glory days of Corvette
Racing, MacDonald had a better win percentage than any other Corvette racer
with 47 victories and 69 top three finishes in 110 career starts. In 1963 he achieved his dream of becoming a
professional race car driver, driving the Ford Cobra for Carroll Shelby
professionally – but continuing to drive his beloved 1963 Stingray Corvette
personally – even to work each day at the Cobra speed shop! It was Corvette that left MacDonald and not
MacDonald who left Corvette, as General Motors pulled out of factory supported racing at that time. He ran 33
races on the SCCA, USAC and USRRC circuits and won 15 times, including the LA
Times Grand Prix at Riverside and the Monterey Pacific Grand Prix at Laguna
Seca.
By then end of 1963 MacDonald was considered one
of America’s elite drivers, attracting the attention of team owners from all
types of racing. Dave managed to squeeze
in two late season runs on the NASCAR circuit; a 2nd place finish at
the Golden State 400 driving the Woods Brothers #21 car and 2nd
again at the August 510 driving for Holman & Moody. In 1964 MacDonald remained committed to
Shelby America to run the major races in the US while also signing an Indy 500
contract with Mickey Thompson and a 21-race NASCAR contract with Bill
Stroppe. He scored three major wins on
the USRRC circuit and finished 10th in the Daytona 500, but sadly
his racing career and life were cut short in an accident at the Indy 500.
The National Corvette Museum established the
Corvette Hall of Fame in 1998 to confer the highest honor and recognition upon
the most influential individuals in the history of the Corvette. The award
recognizes those who have made significant contributions to their respective
fields, each having reached the highest level of accomplishment. Inductees must
also reflect the highest standards of integrity and character to positively
enhance the prestige of the Corvette and the National Corvette Museum.
Additional information on reserving a spot at the
prestigious Corvette Hall of Fame banquet will be available in the coming
months via our website at: www.corvettemuseum.org or can be obtained by
subscribing to our weekly eNewsletter “NCM eNews” at: www.corvettemuseum.org/ncmenews/. Corporate tables are available for the dinner
and can be reserved by contacting Karen Renfrow in the Events Department at
270-467-8804 or email karen@corvettemuseum.org.
The National Corvette Museum is a member-driven,
non-profit foundation dedicated to educating the public through the
preservation of the Corvette’s past, present and future heritage. Open daily
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT, the Museum is located at Exit 28 off I-65 in Bowling
Green, KY.
