Calling All Cars! Kentucky State Police Team Up With National Corvette Museum to Offer Scenic Road Tour

Kentucky is known for horses, bourbon and history… but October 12-16, 2010 participants of a first-ever scenic Kentucky road tour will get to experience more than just that. The National Corvette Museum has teamed up with the Kentucky State Police to lead a fundraising event like no other – taking participants to some of the most popular attractions and best dining the Bluegrass State has to offer. The proceeds from the event will benefit both the National Corvette Museum, a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation, and the Kentucky State Police’s Trooper Island Camp, a free of charge, weeklong experience designed to help underprivileged kids age 10-12 develop their self image, build healthy eating and exercise habits, provide spiritual growth and further mental capabilities.

“The ‘One Lap of Kentucky’ Event is a great way to spend some time seeing the many wonderful sites our state has to offer,” said Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer. “The Kentucky State Police are excited to be a part of the event and are honored that a portion of the registration will benefit Trooper Island. Since 1965, the island has been run entirely on donations. It is from the generous contributions of people across this great state and beyond that we are able to continue to operate this magical place,” he added.

The road tour begins on Wednesday, October 13, departing from the National Corvette Museum down US-68/KY-80 to the Shaker Museum at South Union, the Jefferson Davis Monument, Metalsa Factory (formerly Dana) in Hopkinsville to see how Corvette frames are made and on to lunch at the Pennyrile State Park. The day continues with a visit to the “Land Between the Lakes” with dinner at Patti’s 1880’s Settlement in Grand Rivers and overnight at Kentucky Dam State Park Lodge.

Thursday takes the group to Paducah with visits to the Dippin’ Dots factory and Quilt Museum, time to browse Lowertown ending with dinner at the famous Moonlite BBQ in Owensboro. Friday includes a tour of the International Bluegrass Museum, taking the Kentucky backroads to Rough River State Park for lunch and wrapping up with visits to Churchill Downs and the Derby Museum in Louisville.

The trip comes to a close on Saturday with visits to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum, including a souvenir of your own custom bat, shopping and lunch at the Whistlestop Café in Glendale and finishing back at the National Corvette Museum. While caravanning is a signature Corvette activity, this road tour welcomes all makes and models of cars.

“Corvettes share a common passion for road tours, and we feel by hosting this tour with the Kentucky State Police this passion will rub off on others,” said Roc Linkov, Events Manager at the National Corvette Museum. “What better time to explore Kentucky than the fall!”

The tour fee is $625 for the driver, and $225 for their guest. The fee includes lodging for three nights, lunch on three days, admission to all attractions and dinner the first two nights. Registration closes October 4. For more information on the ‘One Lap of Kentucky’ Road Tour, visit our website at http://www.corvettemuseum.org/ or call (800) 538-3883. The National Corvette Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the Corvette’s past, present and future. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT, the Museum is located at Exit 28 on I-65 in Bowling Green, KY.

National Corvette Museum to Raffle Special Edition Corvette at 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, KY

While the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games will bring a lot of horses to Kentucky, the National Corvette Museum in conjunction with the Kentucky Department of Travel will bring a lot of horsepower to the games as well.

One lucky fan will get a high powered ‘souvenir’ to bring home from the games. On Sunday, October 10 a raffle drawing will be held at 12pm ET at the Kentucky Experience of the World Equestrian Games for a special edition 2010 Crystal Red Grand Sport Corvette Convertible. The car, VIN 14, has a strong Corvette show history and was used by Chevrolet to promote the new Grand Sport all over the country. In addition, Chevrolet's design team has made a few special, custom modifications to make it truly a collectible car, including special ‘one off’ centerstack and steering wheel finish, unique center console leather wrap, special detail on the steering wheel center and special rear badge and windshield decal.

“This is definitely a collectible Corvette with a rich history,” said Harlan Charles, Chevrolet Corvette Product Marketing Manager. “We’ve selected a special low VIN Corvette which has traveled the country with us at Chevrolet to promote the new Grand Sport model. Our designers have also made a few special modifications to the car, making it truly one-of-a-kind,” he added.

The Corvette will be on display by the Welcome Center of the Kentucky Experience during the 16 days of the event. In addition, a Corvette that visitors can try on for size will be located within the ‘Caves, Lakes, Corvettes’ section of the Kentucky Experience, making a perfect photo op for visitors.

“Bowling Green, Kentucky is the only place in the world Corvettes are manufactured,” said Mike Cooper, Commissioner of the Department of Travel. “It is only fitting that we offer one up for raffle so that an event attendee has the opportunity to bring a little piece of Kentucky back home with them.”

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear just this summer signed into law a bill designating Corvette as the official state sports car. "Sports car enthusiasts have been in love with the Corvette since it was first unveiled in the Motorama show in New York in 1953," said Gov. Beshear. "For nearly 30 years, Kentucky has been the exclusive home of this iconic sports car. We proudly honor this fine example of American ingenuity by designating the Corvette as Kentucky's official state sports car."

Both the General Motors Corvette Assembly Plant and National Corvette Museum are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky at I-65, exit 28. “I can’t think of a better piece of Kentucky craftsmanship and engineering to showcase at the games,” said Wendell Strode, Executive Director at the National Corvette Museum. “Who doesn’t get revved up and ready for action when they see a Corvette?”

Tickets for this one-of-a-kind raffle are only $20 each, and an unlimited number of tickets are available. They can be purchased at the Welcome Center of the Kentucky Experience, the National Corvette Museum and online at corvettemuseum.org/raffle. Additional information about this exciting car is also available online at corvettemuseum.org/ky.

The National Corvette Museum is a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit organization which celebrates, educates and preserves the past, present and future of Corvette. The Museum is open daily from 8am to 5pm CT.

National Corvette Museum to Host Corvette Pace Car Reunion September 22-25, 2010

Without a doubt, this year’s Pace Car Reunion offers some of the most exciting activities in the history of the event. The National Corvette Museum’s Pace Car Reunion celebrates Corvette’s legendary showing as a ten-time pace car for the Indy 500. Owners of the highly valued 1978, 1986, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 Indy Pace Corvettes will be in attendance, as well as Parade Corvettes, Brickyard 400 Pace Cars, Daytona 500 Pace Cars and a multitude of others.

Event participants will begin gathering on Wednesday, September 22, kicking off with a private group tour of the Corvette Assembly Plant and a visit with new BGAP Manager Dave Tatman, an update on the Motorsports Park and a guided tour of the Museum. Shortly afterward a lunch and a gathering of the cars will be staged along the front drive in preparation for the caravan to Indianapolis, the spiritual home of Corvette Pace Cars.

Thursday morning brings a full day of activities in Indianapolis starting with a tour of the Chip Ganassi /Target Racing team garage, a garage which normally does not provide tours. This is followed by a trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, and the Ray Skillman Car Collection - a large private collection of all kinds of cars and automobile memorabilia. The day closes out with a visit and dinner at Andy Wolf’s Car Collection.

Saturday morning the tour participants will depart for Troy, Michigan with a special stop in Auburn, Indiana at the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum. The highlight of the trip is a caravan out to Milford, Michigan for a special access visit to General Motors’ top secret Milford Proving Ground to check out the famous high speed oval. Of course, a few laps and group photos will wrap up the visit.

Pratt & Miller welcomes the group for lunch and a tour of the engineering firm’s race facilities including the C6.R cars and the transporters. This is the heart and soul of Corvette Racing and participants will be able to meet some of the people critical to the team’s success. After Pratt & Miller is a trip to Sterling Heights and the opportunity to view a portion of GM’s Heritage Collection. The event draws to a close with a dinner in Troy joined by a number of VIP guests. The Tour bears the hallmark of NCM events… go where the public can’t go, do what the public can’t do and have fun doing it! The price for the entire package is $690 for the primary registrant and $290 for their guest.

“The Chevrolet Pace Car Registry is thrilled to have never-before features included in the Pace Care Reunion Tour,” said Pace Car Registry Public Relations Director Jim Egan. “The Registry members are excited that the Target/Chip Ganassi Racing Team shop and the very restricted GM Milford Proving Grounds are part of this year’s long awaited Tour which is held every other year.”

For more information on the Pace Car Reunion, visit our website at http://www.corvettemuseum.org or call (800) 538-3883. The National Corvette Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the Corvette’s past, present and future. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT, the Museum is located at Exit 28 on I-65 in Bowling Green, KY.

National Corvette Museum Displays Rare Pace Car

The National Corvette Museum’s Skydome is home to not only rare Corvettes, but also a mini “Gasoline Alley” with a representation of every Corvette that ever paced the Indy 500. 1986 marked the return of the convertible to the Corvette line-up, and the return of the Corvette to Indianapolis. As with the first Corvette Pace Car in 1978, the 1986 Corvette needed no mechanical modifications to pace the race. In fact it was the first street-legal car to pace Indy since the previous Corvette. Test pilot and retired Air Force General Chuck Yeager was selected to drive the Indy Pace Car.

As with all Indy 500 Pace Cars, one is kept by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, one is presented to the winner of the Indy 500 Race, and one is given to the driver of the Pace Car. Displayed in the National Corvette Museum Skydome is the very car driven by General Chuck Yeager.

Current owner Bart Riebe of Grass Valley, CA acquired this Corvette from General Yeager himself. Yeager’s daughter, Susie, worked for Bart, and at the time Yeager was presented the Corvette at the Indy race, he already had a Corvette. He told Bart if he would buy him two Chevy pickup trucks, they could trade. After some negotiation with GM, Bart was able to get the Pace Car. Due to some modifications the track made to the car, it is not street legal and has only been driven in parades. According to Bart, very few, if any, real Pace Cars are ever released for private individuals to own.

See Chuck Yeager’s Pace Car now through April 2011. The National Corvette Museum is located at I-65 exit 28 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is open daily, 8am until 5pm central time. Regular admission prices are $10.00 for adults, $8.00 for seniors, $5.00 for youth age 6-16 and children 5 and under are free. For information call 800-53-VETTE (83883) or visit the Museum online at www.corvettemuseum.org.

National Corvette Museum Offers Buy One, Get One Free Admission with School Supply Donation

The National Corvette Museum is offering Buy One, Get One Free Admission now through Sunday, July 25 to any visitor who brings a donation of school supplies to the Museum. A Corvette will be “crammed” with the donated supplies, and then caravanned to the Tony Rose / Sam 100.7 “Stuff the Bus” on Monday, July 26. Sam 100.7 distributes the donated items to the many schools in South Central Kentucky.

“Last year visitors to the Museum and Museum employees donated six large boxes of school supplies,” said Katie Frassinelli, Marketing and Communications Manager. “We hope to top that this year, and the Corvette caravan over to the bus is always a fun way to wrap up the Sam 100.7 Stuff the Bus campaign.”

Anyone with a Corvette is welcome to join the caravan to the bus on Monday, July 26. The caravan will depart the Museum around 8:15am.

The National Corvette Museum is open daily, 8am until 5pm. Regular admission prices are $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for youth age 6-16 and children 5 and under are free. For information call 800-53-VETTE (83883) or visit the Museum online at www.corvettemuseum.org.

National Corvette Museum's Anniversary Celebration to Showcase Corvette Racing's Past and Future

Display Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Le Mans Participation

This year's 24 Hours of Le Mans marked the 50th anniversary of Corvette's first participation in the world's most celebrated sports car race. And this year’s NCM Anniversary Celebration will re-unite Briggs Cunningham’s No. 3 Corvette with the 2011 Special Z06 created as a modern version of the 1960 racer.

"When you look at the Corvettes that raced at Le Mans 50 years ago, it's impossible not to be impressed by the passion, the immense courage, and the physical stamina that was required to race for 24 hours in those vehicles," said Corvette Racing program Doug Fehan. "It was an astounding feat, and the men who drove them have my respect. Regardless of what Corvette Racing may have accomplished in the past or what we may accomplish in the future, we will always work in the shadow of these racers."

Briggs Cunningham's No. 3 Corvette was purchased by the late Chip Miller who went through great lengths to restore the car. His son, Lance, has carried on the passion by shipping the car to this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans race… a race where it finished first in the large displacement GT category and eighth overall at Le Mans in 1960.

Driver Johnny O'Connell enjoyed the rare opportunity to drive the No. 3 1960 Corvette during a photo shoot at Le Mans. "The race cars and technology have changed greatly over the years, but Chevrolet's approach to racing has been consistent," O'Connell said. "The Corvettes that raced at Le Mans in 1960 were very nearly stock vehicles, and to this day, Corvette Racing is still a tool to improve the breed. The relationship that the race team has with the production engineers definitely benefits Chevrolet customers.”

Lance will travel to Bowling Green, Kentucky September 2-4 with the Cunningham Corvette, and conduct a seminar as part of the National Corvette Museum’s weekend activities. His Corvette will be displayed side-by-side with the 2011 Special Z06.

The 2011 Special Z06 was created by Chevrolet as a one-off production Corvette Z06, the first 2011 Corvette manufactured with VIN 001. GM Design Center created a modern version of the famous white and blue stripe 1960 Le Mans winner, adding many special features. Event attendees will get the chance to photograph both cars together at the Museum.

KY Gov. Ceremonially Signs Bill Naming Corvette Official State Sports Car

Governor Steve Beshear today visited the Corvette Plant in Bowling Green, Ky. to ceremonially sign House Bill 104, which designates the Corvette as the official state sports car of Kentucky.

"Sports car enthusiasts have been in love with the Corvette since it was first unveiled in the Motorama show in New York in 1953," said Gov. Beshear. "For nearly 30 years, Kentucky has been the exclusive home of this iconic sports car. Today, we proudly honor this fine example of American ingenuity by designating the Corvette as Kentucky's official state sports car."

In 1981, General Motors moved production of the Chevrolet Corvette from St. Louis, Mo. to Bowling Green, Ky., where currently 471 employees build the distinctive high-performance vehicles. Approximately 50,000 people visit each year to watch the manufacturing process at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant, which has a tourism economic impact of more than $205 million. This figure does not include the nearly 150,000 who visit the National Corvette Museum, located directly across the street from the Plant, which attracts Corvette enthusiasts from all over the world.

"This is an exciting day for Bowling Green and the entire state of Kentucky as we celebrate the Corvette as the state's official sports car," said Rep. Jody Richards, of Bowling Green. "This passage of this legislation during the legislative session and the ceremonial bill signing that is being held today highlights the importance of the Corvette Assembly Plant to the Commonwealth and especially to the south central region of our state."

"I am pleased that we were able to move legislation through the lawmaking process during the 2010 session to highlight the importance of the Corvette Plant to Kentucky's economy," said Sen. Mike Reynolds, of Bowling Green. "Bowling Green continues to become more of a tourist destination. Therefore, drawing attention to our community and the Corvette's unique role in our American heritage can only boost economic development in our area. The Corvette has become a tangible symbol of our Commonwealth and I am grateful that Governor Beshear has taken the time to come to Bowling Green to make that symbolism official."

Kentucky ranks third in total light vehicle production, placing it at the hub of "auto alley," the strip of middle America that stretches from Michigan into the deep south. In fact, 9.8 percent of all cars and trucks produced in the United States are manufactured in Kentucky. As of early June 2010, more than 64,600 people work in Kentucky's 418 auto-related industries.

Governor Steve Beshear signs House Bill 104 with witnesses GM Bowling Green Assembly Plant Manager Bob Parcell, Warren County Judge Executive Mike Buchanon, Bowling Green Mayor Elaine Walker, Representative Martha Jane King, Representative Jody Richards, UAW Local 2164 Chairman Shane Colvard, Senator Mike Reynolds and Representative C. B. Embry.