2014 Corvette Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

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 20^th 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 2^nd place finish at the Golden State 400 driving the Woods Brothers #21 car and 2^nd 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 10^th 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.

2012 Corvette Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

The National Corvette Museum has announced the following inductees to be recognized as part of the 15th Annual Corvette Hall of Fame Ceremony in 2012: Gary Claudio in the category of GM/Chevrolet; Patrick Dolan in the category of Corvette enthusiast/historian ; Bob McDorman also in the category of Corvette enthusiast/historian; and Andy Pilgrim, a champion driver for Corvette 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 2012 Hall of Fame recipients will be inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame during a ceremony and banquet on Friday, August 31, 2012. Their induction will take place as part of the Museum’s 18th Anniversary Corvette Celebration festivities August 30 – September 1, 2012.

Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee Gary Claudio spent over 27 years at General Motors, starting in the Pontiac Division but transferring to Chevrolet in 1998 as Manager of the Chevy Race Shop. Claudio worked with Doug Fehan (current Corvette Racing Program Manager) to develop the Corvette Race Program. While Doug handled the technical issues, Gary handled everything else including securing the original sponsors, plus obtaining additional funding from Chevrolet Management which allowed GM to race two cars and to race at Le Mans.

Claudio developed and implemented Corvette Corrals, negotiated the participation of Dale Earnhardt and Dale, Jr. to drive the #3 Corvette in the 2001 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, was intimately involved with several special edition Corvettes, presided over the successful launch of the ZR1, landed two noteworthy drivers to pace Indy (Jay Leno and Colin Powell), helped develop and name the Corvette Racing mascot “Jake” and served on the NCM Board of Directors for two years. Though he retired from GM in 2008, his Corvette and Corvette Racing marketing accomplishments and support of the Museum continue to be noticed today. Claudio continues to be a true fan and supporter of the Museum, uniting eight Corvette Clubs in the Detroit area for the Motor City Corvette Concours naming the Museum as a beneficiary of the annual show.

Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee Patrick Dolan first started collecting Corvettes at age 9 with a 1953 large scale model and at age 22 purchased his first Corvette – a 1966 white convertible. Dolan has owned a Corvette each year since 1967 and currently owns five. He joined the Royal Corvettes of Western Michigan in 1968 and started participating in circle track racing in 1969. Dolan was very active in the NCCC competition program from 1973-1991, racing in numerous autocrosses throughout the country – winning his class and posting the Fastest Time of Day in 95% of the events he entered.

Dolan has been very active in NCCC, serving as VP of Competition, President for two consecutive terms, Director of Charity and developing the NCCC sponsorship program. In total, he has served on the NCCC Executive Board for 22 of the past 23 years. Dolan is a Founding Member of the National Corvette Museum. He was present at the first general meeting in Cypress Gardens, FL in January 1989, served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors and headed the Acquisition Committee from 1991-1994. His dedication and continuing involvement with the NCM was crucial to its initial success.

Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee Bob McDorman has been one of the premier Corvette enthusiasts for more than 50 years. His automobile collections have literally contained hundreds of Corvettes, many of which have been the most sought after and prized Corvettes in the world. McDorman’s collection once included 150 collector cars, all GM, and mostly Corvettes housed in eight buildings on the grounds of his dealership in Canal Winchester, Ohio. Bob spent 16 of his early years working in GM dealerships learning the ins and outs of running a successful business. In 1965 he purchased the Ralph Smith Chevrolet dealership in Groveport, OH and in 1968 moved it to the 33-acre lot in Canal Winchester where he remains today.

Each September McDorman hosted an annual “Corvettes and Chevys on the Canal,” which raised over $275,000 for the local children’s hospital. In addition to being a Lifetime Member of the National Corvette Museum, he has loaned Corvettes for Museum use, including several rare Corvettes for display, and has supported many programs of the Museum including bricks, membership, events, advertising and donations. McDorman was awarded the Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award in 1978 and 2007, 2010 Bloomington Gold “Great Hall” Inductee and numerous other humanitarian and achievement awards.

Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee Andy Pilgrim joined the Corvette Racing team in 1999 after a successful career in IMSA racing where he earned four championships in four consecutive years. Teamed with Ron Fellows, Pilgrim scored the team’s historic first victory at Texas Motor Speedway in September 2000. In 2001, Pilgrim finished second in GTS in the Sebring 12-Hour and Le Mans 24-Hour endurance races, and was on the winning team for the Petit Le Mans season finale at Road Atlanta.

In 2001 he was selected as Dale Earnhardt and Dale Jr.’s teammate in the 24 Hours of Daytona, finishing second in the GTS class behind the sister Corvette C5-R. Pilgrim left the Corvette program in 2004 but stayed with General Motors, driving for the winning team at the Daytona 24 in a Doran-Pontiac, and spent the rest of the season driving for the new Cadillac CTS-V factory team in the SPEED World Challenge GT Series. Pilgrim won the driver’s championship in the CTS-V, and finished 3rd and 2nd in the series in 2006 and 2007. He also made his NASCAR Busch Series debut, driving two road course races for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s JR Motorsports team. In 2011, he joined former Corvette Racing teammate Johnny O’Connell in driving the factory Cadillac CTS-V Coupe in the World Challenge and made his Sprint Cup debut driving the 46 car for Whitney Motorsports, finishing 26th.

Pilgrim started the Andy Pilgrim Foundation in 2008 to educate new street drivers and raise awareness of the problems of distracted driving. He has a long history of attending and serving as an instructor at the Museum’s High Performance Driving schools, and has hosted golf tournaments in conjunction with the Museum’s annual C5/C6 Bash with proceeds benefitting the Museum.

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/.

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.

National Corvette Museum Announces 2011 Hall of Fame Inductees

The National Corvette Museum has announced the following inductees to be recognized as part of the 14th Annual Corvette Hall of Fame Ceremony in 2011. Ron Fellows, a champion driver for Corvette Racing, Clare “Mac” MacKichan, a key designer for the first and other early Corvettes, and Ray Quinlan, donor of a 1953 Corvette to the Museum taking the project from an archives facility to museum will be recognized with the highest honor bestowed by the Museum for their contributions to the past, present and future of Corvette.

The 2011 Hall of Fame recipients will be inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame during a ceremony and banquet on Friday, September 2, 2011. Their induction will take place as part of the Museum’s 17th Anniversary Corvette Celebration festivities September 1-3, 2011.

Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee Ron Fellows’ impressive skill as a driver for the Corvette Racing Team has earned him the respect of Corvette fans everywhere. His 27 wins, three ALMS championships and two wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, along with his unprecedented four consecutive "Most Popular Driver" awards from ALMS fans, testify to his track record of success. Although he has not raced for the factory team since 2008, he remains one of the most recognizable, respected and popular personalities to ever represent Corvette's racing heritage. As evidence of his enormous popularity, GM paid tribute to Ron by creating the "Ron Fellows ALMS GT1 Champion Corvette Z06" in 2007.

While he still races in NASCAR events and is tied with Terry Labonte for the most road course wins in NASCAR history, Ron has served as an advisor for the GM/Pratt & Miller factory team and an ambassador for Corvette in general, showing up at races, Corvette Corrals, Corvette functions and charities, often auctioning off passes to the Ron Fellows Driving School for worthwhile causes.

Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee Clare “Mac” MacKichan was instrumental to the design and success of all Chevrolets in the mid-twentieth century. In his position as Chief Designer of the Chevrolet Studio, General Motors Design Staff, he was directly responsible for the design of all of the Corvettes from number one, through the 1950s and early 1960s. It was under his guidance that the 1954 Waldorf Show Corvettes were designed. In addition to his position as Chief Designer for Chevrolet, Mac also served as Director of Design for GM's Adam Opel AG in Germany, and later as Executive in Charge of Advanced Design and Engineering for Design Staff.

While he didn't always work on the Corvette brand, he continued to own one and participate in many Corvette activities - appearing and speaking at car shows and event all over the country. He would even decorate his office with parts of Corvettes that had been thrown away. Mac bought Corvettes and truly loved having a role in the creation and evolution of America’s sports car, even though it was unrecognized due to Harley Earl’s policy of giving credit only to himself, and later to Bill Mitchell. Sadly, Mac passed away but his contributions to the Corvette live on.

Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee Ray Quinlan is probably the first Museum enthusiast, and it's fair to say the Museum might not be where it is today without the support of this NCM Lifetime Member No. 001. When the idea of a Corvette Library & Archives first came about, it was Ray who came forward and said he would donate his 1953 Corvette if the plans would incorporate a Museum... a place to house not only historical documents but also artifacts and cars. Memberships were the sole means of raising money in the early days, and Ray was right there, joining at the beginning.

While Ray owned a number of collectible cars, Corvettes were his passion. He was a member of the Corvette Club of Illinois and active with the National Council of Corvette Clubs and National Corvette Restorers Society. Ray always loved the Museum and all it represented, talking to visitors that were looking at the 1953 on display and sharing with them the history. Today, every visitor passing through the halls of the Museum hears the story of Ray and how his donation started the Museum.

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: http://www.corvettemuseum.org/ncmenews/.

The National Corvette Museum is the ‘Gateway to All Things Corvette’ and a member-driven, 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation. Weekly news on the latest Corvette developments, racing updates, event features and raffles are available by subscribing to “NCM eNews” at: corvettemuseum.org/ncmenews. Dedicated to the mission of celebration, education and preservation, the Museum is open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT - located at Exit 28 on I-65 in Bowling Green, KY.

National Corvette Museum Announces 2010 Corvette Hall of Fame

The National Corvette Museum has announced the following inductees to be recognized as part of the 13th Annual Corvette Hall of Fame Ceremony in 2010. Grady Davis, a pioneer for corporate sponsored private racing, Fred Gallasch, steward of the Corvette legacy, and James Ingle, 40-year GM development engineer will be recognized with the highest honor bestowed by the Museum for their contributions to the past, present and future of Corvette.


The 2010 Hall of Fame recipients will be inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame during a ceremony and banquet on Friday, September 3, 2010. Their induction will take place as part of the Museum’s 16th Anniversary Corvette Celebration festivities September 2-4, 2010.

Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee Grady Davis graduated from both the University of Texas and Harvard University, gaining employment with Gulf Research and Development Company where he spent the first 20 years in Venezuela. During his 44 year career with the company, Davis created the country’s first corporate sponsored private race team, around Don Yenko and Dr. Dick Thompson, as a dynamic test lab for Gulf Oil Company’s lubricants and fuels. With Corvette being his first love, Davis began a racing program around it that started in earnest in 1961, and continued until 1966. The Davis program successfully competed regionally, nationally and even internationally, earning the Corvette marque legions of fans that exist to this day.

With the extraordinary results of Davis’ initial venture into the racing business, the program earned four national championships, two runners-up, three regional championships and the awarding of more than 214 trophies. “His efforts established the Corvette as a genuine competition sports car, and set the bar that others would shoot for,” said Carroll Shelby, veteran automotive designer and racing driver. Donna Mae Mims, champion race car driver, credits Davis with her being the first woman driver to win a national race championship. She added “Grady lived and breathed Corvette. Grady sold the Corvette to the world.” Davis passed away September 29, 1995 at the age of 87 in Boca Raton, FL.



Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee Fred Gallasch has a long history of accomplishments which have and continue to enhance the prestige of Corvette, beginning shortly after he earned his Doctorate of Philosophy and Masters in Economics from North Carolina State University. Gallasch spent his first 12 years with General Motors in the Societal Analysis Department of the research laboratories refining his marketing acumen and acute sensitivity to the ever changing needs and wants of GM’s customers. During that time, he also published over 35 research documents, several of which appeared in professional journals.

Gallasch’s direct association with Corvette began in the late ‘80’s when he became Assistant Brand Manager for Corvette. His work helped GM to strengthen its customer focus and reinvent its product line up. According to Dave McLellan, “he constantly helped make Corvette programs happen when investment capital was scarce and the Corvette needed inside support… From an engineering perspective, I credit Fred with holding engineering’s ‘feet to the fire’ until we found the right fuel tank solution for the C5.” Gallasch has written articles for Corvette Enthusiast and Corvette Fever, and often speaks at Corvette gatherings. “If you own a Corvette, names like Duntov, McLellan and Hill are always heard or mentioned in discussion,” wrote Robert Truilzi, General Director, General Motors Asia Pacific. “At the same time, quietly and unobtrusively, the name Gallasch is also spoken frequently in those gatherings, and usually Fred is not too far behind… doing what he does best, listening to the Corvette owner and sharing his passion!”

Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee James Ingle had been the source of Corvette development engineering from the mid 70s until the launch of the C5 when he moved on to Quality Rides Group Manager conducting ride trips for all General Motors North America products. Ingle’s efforts were the result of a very disciplined engineering approach to problem solving and an ability to understand the Corvette customers and translate those into a development solution. Ingle became the quintessential Corvette test driver, logging numerous hours behind the wheel, testing new and future Corvette designs on the GM Proving Grounds. He was responsible for the published performance numbers for Corvettes from the 70s to the 1997 model including the famous ZR-1.

Long drives were his enjoyment and he became so proficient at checking out every feature of a new product that GM decided to have him develop a consistent and uniform quality drive audit process for new vehicle launches. “Jim was an excellent development driver, able to wring out a car by the seat of his pants,” said Dave McLellan. “Jim made major contributions to the C4 Corvette out through the ZR-1 in both test and development. The ZR-1 Power Key was his idea.” Ingle retired in 2006 after 43 years of work at GM.

The National Corvette Museum established the Corvette Hall of Fame in 1998. The purpose is 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: http://www.corvettemuseum.org/ or can be obtained by subscribing to our weekly eNewsletter “NCM eNews” at: http://www.corvettemuseum.org/ncmenews/. 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.