American Heritage Award Corvette Race Cars at NCRS 50th Anniversary Convention in Hampton, VA

By Jan Hyde, Registry of Corvette Race Cars, administrator of Facebook Group Business Page, NCRS member 4175

Founded in 1974 to preserve Corvettes exactly as they left the factory, the NCRS has grown over the years to include the American Heritage Award.  These cars are judged exactly as they appeared at a given race instead of on the day they were born.

 Owners of American Heritage Corvettes typically prefer a spotless shine.  Compare that with “real life” look in the hands of the original owners going for the win.

Luke Lukens, from Maryland, shared photos of American Heritage Corvette race cars on display in Hampton, VA, site of the national convention Aug 4-8, 2024 celebrating 50 years since the NCRS was established.   

 Having tracked more than 2,000 Corvette race cars of every year, model, racing series and performance, we believe what matters most is (1) a winning record, (2) in top internationally sanctioned races (3) piloted by recognized drivers in their day.

 Our ranking of the cars at Hampton goes something like this:

# 1 1963 Z06 FIA Daytona, Sebring and SCCA AP driven by NCM HOF Dick Thompson.

# 1 1960 FIA Sebring and Le Mans, driven by NCM HOF Briggs Cunningham.

# 3 1957 FIA Sebring, driven by NCM HOF Jim Jeffords.

 # 1 1959 SCCA BP national champ, driven by NCM HOF Jim Jeffords (Purple People Eater)

# 4 1960 FIA Le Mans, driven by Lloyd “Lucky” Castner.

# 64 1966 SCCA AP, driven by Gary Gove.

 # 6  1960 FIA Sebring, driven by Chuck Hall.

# 8 1965 SCCA AP, driven by Marietta Bob Johnson.

# 81 1963 Z06 SCCA AP, driven by Al Forsyth.

# 4   1964 Z06 parts SCCA AP, driven by John D. Lewis.

# 15 1966 SCCA AP and Hillclimb, driven by Howard Fetterolf.

# 73 1957 SCCA BP, driven by Larry Leedy.

 In 1974, the same year the NCRS began, a like-minded preservationist formed a group to race (vs exhibit) sports cars strictly configured from the past.  Steve Earle’s ambitions grew into one of the most prominent vintage racing events in the world, now known as the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

# 614 1959 SCCA BP Cal Club champ driven by NCM HOF Bob Bondurant and Steve Earle would surely rank near the top.