New latest car Corvette Crush: Passion remains true for all-American sports car

PRESCOTT - When Joe Pennacchio found out that a rare 1956 tuxedo-black Corvette Roadster was for sale over the Internet this past year, he wasted no time chasing down his dream car.

Although the vehicle was resting safely in a collector's garage halfway across the country for the past five years, the Prescott resident flew from Arizona to Pennsylvania the day after he found out about the car's availability and snagged it.

Saturday at the second annual Prescott Vette Sette Car Show, a gathering designed for Corvette enthusiasts from northern Arizona and beyond to share their models with the public, Pennacchio proudly displayed his two-door convertible 'Vette with a classic wraparound windshield on a closed-off section of Cortez Street.

"I used to own one of these when I was growing up," said Pennacchio, 66. "When this car came up, I liked what I saw, and I called the guy."

Chevrolet produced only 3,467 of the '56 model. Pennacchio's was the 284th one - built on Feb. 28, 1956, with the first-design motor.

General Motors constructed the first Corvette in 1953, making 2008 the 55th anniversary of the all-American sports car.

"I bought this car painted the way it is, but because it was sitting so long, a lot of the stuff wasn't working," said Pennacchio, one of 138 members in the local Prescott Vette Sette Car Club.

Pennacchio reworked the car's motor, redid its beige leather interior, put on a new top and repainted the side cove - which was white, unlike the original.

Pennacchio said he eventually wants to repaint the entire vehicle in its original Arctic blue hue.

Today, everything is operable on the sleek, streamlined car that has a unique power-operated top, two circular lamps, a vintage 13-tooth polished chrome grille and whitewall tires.

The '56 model, which goes from 0 to 60 mph in 7.3 seconds with a top speed of between 121 and 135 mph, holds the distinction as the first Corvette in which the manual transmission, 225 horsepower V8 engine was standard equipment along with rollup windows and the power top. It was also the first racing Corvette.

"I'm working to get this car inspected by the National Corvette Owners Association in hopes of winning the Top Flight Award - the highest award based on a grade," said Pennacchio, originally from Boston.

In 1955, production on the Corvette almost died only two years into its existence. But after Chevrolet hired Zora Duntoff - who made cams for big motors in racing vehicles - to build a racing Corvette, the line took off, complete with its unique fiberglass body.

"I'm bringing my car back to the way it came out of the shop," said Pennacchio, who does not have a racing cam. "You can't buy any of these parts, because a lot of them they don't make anymore. So you either restore them or do without."

On Saturday, Pennacchio's model was one of 164 Corvettes from the early 1950s to the present day that lined both sides of Cortez and Goodwin streets on the Courthouse Plaza.

The inaugural show in 2007 had 140 entries, with a large contingent from Phoenix and Tucson.

This year, Corvette club members in Arizona and Nevada were the main participants.

"We used to have a show up in Williams, but the logistics of doing that got to be kind of hairy," said Dennis Stringer, chairman of this year's Prescott Vette Sette show. "We decided that we really wanted to do one here because you're in a historic city on the square."

Vehicle owners entered their cars into a contest, with first-, second- and third-place winners in each of the Corvette's six generational classes - C1 through C6 - receiving a plaque. In addition, awards were handed out for Best of Show, which the public voted on, and for the finest looking stock and custom 'Vettes.

The Corvette line is still going strong in 2008. This year, GM is producing 45,000 Corvettes, about 5,000 less than a year ago, and their 400 to 550 hp engines average an economical 30 miles per gallon.

In 1953, Chevy manufactured just 300 of the first edition, all of which were mostly hand built. The '53 model is so rare that one in good condition is worth about $300,000.

"The interest in the Corvette is that you can get the feel of having a fast sports car without having to go out and pay Lamborghini and Ferrari prices for it," Stringer said. "You can get a nice new Corvette for about $55,000 versus going out and getting a nice new Lamborghini for $230,000."

Added David Weinroth, the club's 68-year-old publicity chairman who owns a 2006 convertible and a 1967 coupe, "It's the American sports car. Visually and performance-wise, it's a love affair."

During the five-hour show, Corvette vendors were on hand selling memorabilia, such as hats and T-shirts, to the crowd.

All proceeds from the non-profit club's show benefit one specific charity. Stepping Stones Agencies of Prescott Valley, which supports women and children who are victims of domestic violence, was this year's recipient.

Driving an American Sports Car Icon: the 1958 Corvette

Icon: an image or representation. American sports car icon: a first generation Corvette, red with white coves, thank you very much!

55 years after the concept was first unveiled at Motorama in January, 1953, the Corvette is still America’s most beloved sports car. Through six generations, more than a million Corvettes have been delivered to lucky owners. While there have been faster, better handling cars, the first generation Corvette has retained a place in hearts and minds as the favorite.

It’s actually the second design of the first generation that is best remembered. Corvette production vehicles debuted with rocket taillights, mesh-covered headlights, side-curtains and a “Blue-Flame” six-cylinder engine. Instead of axing the dismally selling vehicle, Chevrolet opted for a sleek restyle in 1956, featuring the historic option of color-contrasting exterior coves, which helped increase sales five-fold

In 1958 the Corvette grew ten inches longer and received European-inspired luxury appearance modifications with quad headlights, hood louvers and chrome trunk strips. When new, critics called the extra design touches tacky, so the hood and trunk adornments were ditched for ’59. 1961 cars got a new ducktail, and the contrasting cove option was deleted for 1962, the last year before next-generation Stingrays hit the market in 1963.

9,168 Vettes were produced in 1958 and given the one-year-only trim, and now all are extremely valuable classics. One of 1,399 original Signet Red cars, the example I’m about to pilot for today’s Sound Classics profile is also one of the roughly one-third of all 1958s receiving the $16.15 contrasting exterior cove paint option, in this case the desirable white. Powering this vehicle is the optional $150.65 245 horsepower dual-quad carburetor setup mated to the $188.30 Powerglide automatic transmission. It is also a dual top car, with folding soft-top and a removable auxiliary hardtop, which stays stashed in the owner’s garage.

GM Rolls Out Its Dynamic Corvette Centennial Concept

General Motors used the Chicago Auto Show to introduce the world to its latest concept vehicle, the Corvette Centennial, which will be featured in the upcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen movie on June 26th. According to GM, the vehicle is nothing more than a styling buck that was influenced by the original 1959 Stingray racer when it was spotted by director Michael Bay while he was touring GM's operations looking for inspiration for the first Transformers movie. Don't expect this concept to spawn any sort of production vehicle, which, needless to say, is a shame.

In robot mode, the Corvette Centennial Concept will take the form of Sideswipe, who will reportedly be a skater with wheels for feet. The General doesn't have anything in the way of new product to show off here in Chicago, so it's using the blockbuster movie to drum up interest instead. It's working... sorta.
PRESS RELEASE:

AUTOBOTS® WITH BOW TIES: CHEVROLET-BASED CHARACTERS STARRING IN 'TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN' AT THE CHICAGO AUTO SHOW
Giant movie robot also on display with vehicles used in the upcoming blockbuster summer film

Camaro BumbleBeeCHICAGO – Visitors to the Chevrolet display at this year's Chicago Auto Show (Friday through Feb. 22) will be treated to an out-of-this-world vehicle display – the automotive stars from the upcoming DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures release, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

Five Chevrolet-based characters – including four all-new characters – are featured in the new film set to open in the United States on June 26. All of them are at the Chevrolet display. The four new movie characters include:

* SIDESWIPE – a stylized Corvette vision concept vehicle
* SKIDS and MUDFLAP – twin AUTOBOTS® based on Chevy's Beat (a concept that will go into production as the Chevy Spark in 2011) and Trax concepts
* JOLT – an AUTOBOT-based on Chevy's upcoming Volt extended-range electric vehicle

BUMBLEBEE™, the heroic AUTOBOT based on Chevrolet's Camaro concept from the first "Transformers" movie, returns with a high-performance attitude. Joining the vehicles on stage will be BUMBLEBEE in his AUTOBOT form, standing almost 17 feet (5.2 meters) tall and 13 feet (4 meters) wide.
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"Chevrolet is thrilled to again be part of one of the most anticipated movies in years," said Ed Peper, GM North America vice president, Chevrolet. "'Transformers' gives us a great opportunity to connect with young people on their terms, with a dynamic, environmentally friendly image. The new characters represent the change going on in Chevy showrooms. From the exciting Camaro, the 21st century sports car, to the game-changing Volt, there's more than meets the eye at Chevrolet today."

Directed by Michael Bay, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" sees the AUTOBOTS confront a new threat from DECEPTICONS® bent on avenging their earlier defeat on Earth. The new AUTOBOT characters in their current Chevy-based form square off against new, tougher foes determined to rule the universe.

"'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' goes way beyond the first film in terms of robot action and excitement," said LeeAnne Stables, executive vice president of worldwide marketing partnerships at Paramount Pictures, the distributor of the film. "The new AUTOBOTS add to the storytelling, and these Chevy vehicles went with our filmmakers to locations all around the world. GM has again provided incredible support to the production team working on the movie."

Along with the Camaro that's reprising its role in the new film, the other Chevy models to be seen on the big screen are new to movie-goers.

SIDESWIPE takes the form of a sleek, vision concept dreamed up by the Corvette designers at GM. The design is influenced by the original Stingray race car, introduced in 1959, but also draws on Corvette heritage cues from other generations. It brings them together in a futuristic shape that seems to be equal parts racecar and space ship.

"SIDESWIPE represents an exercise in exploration for the Corvette," said Ed Welburn, vice president of GM Global Design. "By giving my creative team the freedom to design no-holds-barred vision concepts, it helps them push boundaries and look at projects from different perspectives."

The Beat and Trax-based characters, SKIDS and MUDFLAP, remain faithful to their concept designs introduced at the 2007 New York Auto Show – although each wears new paint and other exterior accessories. And while they may be small cars, when they turn into fighting AUTOBOTS®, they pack a big punch.

The other new AUTOBOT, JOLT, appears in the production form of Chevy's 2011 Volt extended-range electric vehicle. With the capability of up to 40 miles (64 km) of pure electric propulsion, plus hundreds of more miles with the assistance from its Voltec powertrain system, the real-life Volt will change driving in America.

Of course, the AUTOBOT team isn't complete without BUMBLEBEE, the yellow Camaro based on the new, 2010 production model. Sporting new wheels and SS-model performance cues, BUMBLEBEE is more stylish and powerful than ever – and enthusiasts will be able to drive their own new Camaro when it goes on sale this spring. For more exclusive AUTOBOT movie information relating to Chevrolet, please visit www.autobotsrollout.com.

Chevrolet is one of America's best-known and best-selling automotive brands. With the largest dealer network in the United States, Chevy is the leader in full-size trucks and the leader in sales of vehicles priced $35,000 and above. Chevrolet delivers more-than-expected value in every vehicle category, offering cars and trucks priced from $12,120 to $103,300. Chevy delivers expressive design, spirited performance and great value with standard features usually found only on more expensive vehicles. More information on Chevrolet can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures present, in association with Hasbro, a di Bonaventura Pictures production, a Tom DeSanto/Don Murphy Production, a Michael Bay film, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, John Benjamin Hickey, Ramon Rodriguez, Isabel Lucas, Glenn Morshower and John Turturro. The film is directed by Michael Bay and written by Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. It is based on Hasbro's TRANSFORMERS™ action figures and is produced by Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce. Executive producers are Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay, Brian Goldner and Mark Vahradian. This film has not yet been rated

First Drive: 2009 Specter Werkes/Sports Corvette GTR

Last February, we got a look at the nearly finished clay model of Specter Werkes/Sports' latest riff on America's Sports Car, the C6 Corvette GTR. The car is now up and running and we just took it for a spin before its public unveiling at Greater Detroit's annual Eyes on Design Fathers' Day car show. First impressions?
Now that it's all smoothed out and coated in wet-look liquid-silver paint (a BASF concoction hitherto seen only on a handful of AMG cars that adds $5000 to the bottom line), what initially struck these eyes as perhaps a bit Darth Vader angular and study-hall-doodle immature in its unfinished clay-model form has turned out to be strikingly handsome.

It's sufficiently aggressive and different enough to draw attention, without straying into the realm of the tacky paper-tiger go-fast cliches. The only thing I'd change is the hood. The louvers in front (which aid cooling and release underhood air pressure) look a bit too much like sea-monster gills, and the high-rise isn't needed to clear the installed engine hardware but compromises the sight lines.

Low-volume hand-laid fiberglass can be formed in shapes that might not be practical in volume production, like the 3-4mm flat vertical surface with sharp corners on each side that defines the strong character line leading around and back from the front fender extractors. As you'll recall from our first look, SWS replaces the fascias, fenders, hood, door outer skins, rocker panels and rear quarters with completely new fiberglass parts that widen the car by 4.4 inches to envelop the ZR1's standard tires (Michelin Pilot Sport 2 Zero Pressure tires; 285/30ZR19 front; 335/25ZR20 rear) stretched over Forgeline wheels (11.0 x 19 inches front; 12.0 x 20 rear).

The revised fascias add 7.8 inches in overall length. The enlarged bodywork adds some 10-20 pounds to an all fiberglass Vette. GTRs get plenty of carbon fiber too, including the front splitter and rear diffuser, side mirror caps, and headlamp bezels. A CTS high-mount stoplight and unique taillamps finish off the rear. The engine is dressed up with carbon-fiber fuel-rail covers and a yellow intake manifold. An interesting touch: The door release buttons are tucked up in the rear wheel arches (we're assured they're totally waterproof).

Next generation Corvette set to debut this weekend at Mid-Ohio

After dominating the GT1 class in the American Le Mans Series over the last decade, winning 77 class races and eight straight championships, the team is jumping into the highly competitive GT2 ranks.

"I know questions are going to be out there, why the move? It should be fairly obvious to most who follow the sport that throughout the last decade after we dispatched the Viper and the Saleen and Ferrari and then finally Aston Martin, there was literally very little competition on a global basis to race in the existing GT1 category," Corvette Racing Program Manager Doug Fehan said.

Essentially everyone was racing for third place as Corvette Racing put out a pair of world-class cars at each event. Just this summer, the GT1 Corvette won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the sixth time.

Over the last few years, the racing turned into intramurals between the Nos. 3 and 4 Compuware cars as the other manufacturers dropped out.

"The past couple of years people think we haven't been pushing ourselves very hard, but you never race anyone harder than your teammate, especially when you have the exact same stuff," factory driver Johnny O'Connell said.

He and teammate Jan Magnussen indeed had a memorable on-track battle with fellow Corvette racers Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta at last year's Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. They got after each other so hard, race officials penalized them a lap for rough driving.

Now they'll not only have each other to race against, they'll have 10 more cars challenging them. Among the marques on the track will be Porsche 911 GT3s, BMW E92 M3s, a Ferrari 430 GT, a Dodge Viper, a Panoz Esperante-Ford and a Doran-Ford with a Roush-Yates engine.

"The cars lap times might be a little slower (compared to GT1), but if you look at the resumes of the drivers (in GT2), they are every bit as strong as those in the prototypes," O'Connell said. "You have some brilliant drivers competing there and some very strong teams with a lot of experience."

Rahal Letterman Racing has drivers Joey Hand, Bill Auberlen, Dirk Mueller and Tommy Milner in BMWs, while the class of the field are points leaders Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Long in the Flying Lizard Porsches. Jaime Melo and Pierre Kaffer are second for Risi Competizione in a Ferrari, while Dominik Farnbacher and Ian James are ranked third for Panoz Team PTG.

Mid-Ohio hosted a 50-year celebration of the Corvette a few years ago. This weekend will be another seminal moment for the famous American sports car as the new Corvette C6-R makes its racing debut in Lexington.

It is more closely linked to the cars fans see on the streets and highways as it is a production-based machine.

"If my e-mail is any indication, it's going to be a crazy weekend," O'Connell said. "Corvette owners across the country and in Europe and everywhere else are gaga for this car."

They plan on relishing the new challenge and the chance to possibly be the underdog.

"We change continually and we are going racing against Ferrari, against BMW, against Porsche, and I think it will be a lot of fun. It will be very tough at the beginning because those guys have a lot of experience in the category," Beretta said.

So they acknowledge it will take some time to sort out. They know the car is good, but they're unsure about how it compares to the other cars at various points on the track.

"It would be very cool to get a car on the podium -- hopefully the No. 3 car," O'Connell said. "But we're realistic, knowing we're kind of the new kids on the block with a ton of experience, but we're going to have to figure out how these guys race.

"We'll come away from this weekend with a lot of experience that hopefully will mean in a couple of races we'll once again be the guys that everyone is chasing."

Spectacular Corvette’s New ZR1

A word of advice to owners, or prospective owners, of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, Aston Martins, McLaren-Mercedes or any others among Europe’s luxury sports-car elite: do not even think about dismissing or patronising America’s latest take on the “supercar”, the ZR1 Corvette.

Over the years the car industry in the US has been really rather good at running over its own feet. While the European offshoots of Ford and General Motors have come up with some excellent, internationally competitive mainstream cars such as the Ford Focus and Vauxhall/Opel’s Astra, back in the US there is a long history of churning out hordes of indifferently designed and not very well-built cars of little interest to drivers anywhere outside north America or the Middle East.

As a result, there is a long-standing habit among the European automotive cognoscenti of deriding homegrown US products. And one must concede that the Corvette, even in its flagship ZR1 version, is not quite the last word in grace and beauty when measured against, say, Ferrari or Aston Martin. But there the disdain must end.

Its styling is distinctly butch and instantly recognisable as all-American. Think of the ZR1 as a jeans-clad, gun-toting Clint Eastwood of a vehicle in a car park full of Armani and Savile Row suits.

And it’s every bit as threatening as Clint in his prime. And then some. And then some more. Because in a performance shoot-out, all the cars produced by the hallowed European brands would wind up chasing its tyre tracks.

The ZR1 Corvette's interiorsThe ZR1 is a car of simply massive power and performance: 638 horsepower for starters but, more importantly, 603lb ft of torque from its 6.2 litre, supercharged V8 – and all in a car made largely of aluminium and carbon fibre and weighing just over 1,500kg. Ferrari’s flagship 599 has 611 horsepower, but only 448lb ft, while weighing 150kg more. Lamborghini’s hugely respected Murcielago has 631 horsepower, but “only” 486lb ft in a car weighing well over 300kg more.

The Mercedes SLR McLaren comes closest, but it, too, trails – in everything but price. And here the ZR1 really does outgun everyone. The discontinued SLR Mercedes cost more than £300,000; that Ferrari 599 goes for £193,000 before extras; the Murcielago for £197,000. The ZR1 costs £106,000, including jet fighter-style head-up display, touch-screen DVD navigation and other goodies.

It might be far more expensive than its still-fearsome smaller brother, the 510 horsepower ZO6 Corvette, at £62,000 – but it ranks as an all-time supercar bargain.

Except, of course, that we all know American cars are pretty hopeless at cornering, right?

Try telling yourself that as the ZR1’s massive tyres (the biggest in standard production) and racing car suspension hurl it through bends at more than 1g – roughly the same force experienced by a Ford Focus while emergency braking in a straight line.

It is simply impossible to take the measure of such a car on the road. So instead I took it to the test circuits at the automotive industry research centre in Millbrook, Bedfordshire. Apart from Ferrari’s sensational but slower F430, I have never driven a supercar that is so much fun and so capable. A slight misunderstanding at the safety briefing needlessly restricted the velocity at which I circled the high-speed bowl to 140mph, against a potential 205mph. But even at a 140mph cruise, we were simply dawdling.

Be warned: this is not a car that will protect you from yourself. There is no automatic gearbox option, only a meaty, six-speed manual. The second, on-highway day of the test saw the ZR1 negotiating damp roads. In second, third or fourth gears, and even with electronic stability programme and traction control fully engaged, the torque is so enormous that the car will snap sideways with very little provocation until, very late in the day by most supercar standards, the traction control finally intervenes to set you right.

Disrespect this car at your peril. But then what can you expect when, on a good, dry surface, it takes only about seven seconds to go from 0-100mph?

There is also a “competitive driving” mode; or you can switch all traction systems off completely. Both options are, perhaps, best left to the Lewis Hamiltons and Jenson Buttons of this world. But they have helped the ZR1 in expert hands to become the fastest-ever production car around Germany’s daunting, 14-mile Nurburgring.

Downsides? In aesthetic and style terms, the ZR1’s interior doesn’t hold a candle to rivals such as Ferrari’s seductively sensuous 599. It looks, and is, of a lower order altogether, well-designed and supportive leather seats notwithstanding. If style is important to you, the ZR1 will have a hard time justifying itself.

But it gives ground on nothing else: the massive, hydroformed aluminium spaceframe chassis around which the car is built is almost entirely free of flex, allowing the racing double wishbone suspension front and rear to work with utter precision.

The brakes are close to £10,000-worth of carbon ceramics, those at the front resembling dustbin lids of nearly 400mm diameter. All body panels are of composite plastics or carbon fibre.

Compare the shape with the standard Z06 and it becomes apparent that the ZR1 is meaner, wider and lower.

The tiger, however, can also be a pussycat. The adaptive dampers, for the first time on a Corvette, provide a ride that even on Britain’s bumpy backroads is more than tolerable for a supercar. Resist the temptation to mash the throttle, stay in a high gear and it becomes a quiet, refined, high-speed long-distance cruiser. There’s even a sizeable boot.

GM's New 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype

The General Motors and Chevrolet names have long been major players in the Grand Am world and the 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype will arrive at the Daytona International Speedway on January 26th-29th for the 50th annual Grand Am Road Racing Series Rolex 24 at Daytona.

“Racing and performance are the founding principles of Chevrolet, and bringing the Corvette Daytona Prototype to GRAND-AM is a tremendous opportunity,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet vice president, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “The opportunity for innovation is what makes the Daytona Prototype Class such a good fit for Chevrolet. “Sports car and endurance racing is an outstanding platform for manufacturers like us to test and learn. The design of this race car incorporates iconic Corvette styling cues and will be immediately recognized by sports car enthusiasts and fans of GRAND-AM Road Racing,” Campbell said. “We are excited to see the Corvette DP compete in the legendary Rolex 24 at Daytona next January.”

As you can tell from the gallery on the right, the 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype is a far cry from anything that we could be seeing cruising around public roads – at least not legally. The Daytona Prototype is much wider and lower than the standard production Corvette with a centrally mounted cockpit and a mid engine configuration being unlike anything that the Corvette lineup has ever seen in street use. Out back, the massive air intake begins in the roof and runs under the rear glass with that glass offering a modern take on the split-window look that was popularized by the 1963 Corvette. Oddly, the 2012 Corvette Daytona Prototype seems to be a culmination of all of the C7 Corvette rumors including the split window design, a midship engine placement and a revised look – but there is no real chance of this car ever being a production road model.

General Motors will have four teams with five cars competing in the 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype for the 2012 season including the #90 Spirit of Daytona Racing team, the #10 SunTrust Racing team, the #99 GainsCo/Bob Stallings Racing team and the #5 and #9 cars from the Action Express Racing teams.

“The 2012 Corvette Daytona Prototype was developed by a multi-faceted effort involving Chevrolet, Corvette Designers, Pratt & Miller and GRAND-AM. Chevrolet also worked closely with chassis builders Riley, Coyote and Dallara,” said Mark Kent, GM Racing director. “The IMSA GTP Corvette Prototype campaigned by Hendrick Motorsports in the '80s was the inspiration for this new Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype. And, like the GTP Corvettes, the new Corvette Daytona Prototype contains numerous styling cues from the street version of the Chevrolet Corvette.”

The last big 24 Hours of Daytona win came in 2001 when a Corvette driven by hall of fame racer Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, Chris Kneifel and Franck Freon was the overall winner. That same year, late NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt Sr. piloted a Corvette to fourth place overall with the help of his son, Dale Jr., Andy Pilgrim and Kelly Collins.

The 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype make its track debut on November 16th at a Grand Am test session at Daytona International Speedway. Check out the gallery on the right for a closer look at the new Corvette Daytona Prototype and stay tuned to TorqueNews.com for all of your auto industry news!