Natioinal Corvette Museum

by Chris Mulvihill

DAY TRIP: NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM

As I made my way home from a great 12 Hours of Sebring race, it was appropriate to stop at the National Corvette Museum (NCM) in Bowling Green, KY. Opened on Labor Day 1994, it celebrates all that is Corvette. First introduced at the 1953 GM Motorama, Corvette production began in late June 1953. Hand-assembled in Flint, MI, only 300 1953 Corvettes were produced. All were white convertibles with red interiors powered by an inline-six 150HP engine and married to a 2-speed automatic transmission. MSRP for the new 2,840lbs roadster was $3,498. The 1954 model year offered 4 more color choices (with the same powertrain) and sales remained anemic. Production for the 1955 model year moved to St. Louis and an optional 265 cubic inch V8 was offered with a manual transmission. This new powertrain option was a hit with consumers and sales began to increase.

The walking tour of the museum begins with a short movie on Corvette history and how it has become a part of American culture. As you continue through the facility there are examples of Corvettes from all body style eras, a few significant racing Corvettes from the late 1950s and early 1960s along with mid-1960 and early 1970 prototypes. An interesting note on the 1965 prototype as it was designed by Ray Shinoda who later became a Ford Mustang designer on the 1970 Boss 302. in the main exhibit hall and swallowed 8 Corvettes. All those cars are on display with some too damaged to repair. The museum devotes a section of the main exhibit hall to this event and even has a glass top cover allowing you to peer into the sinkhole.

The Corvette assembly plant is conveniently located across the street from the Museum. The close proximity allows a ‘museum delivery’ option when ordering your Corvette from the dealer. For those of you who have already taken delivery, the museum has a library and archives department. For a fee, they offer window stickers/build sheets (from 1981 to date) as well as sales brochures and marketing materials. These documents are a must

for owners as you should gather as much factory documentation on your Corvette as possible.

The NCM Motorsports Park is also located in Bowling Green. This 3.2-mile racetrack offers the opportunity to drive a new Corvette (owned by the track) in a variety of programs. This experience is definitely on my list for later this year. The NCM attracts over 200,000 visitors a year. If you are a Corvette owner or just a sports car fan this is definitely worth the trip. I found a newer, clean and very reasonabilitypriced hotel just blocks from the museum making the day even more enjoyable. Plan on spending 2 to 3 hours in the museum and a look in the gift shop. Before Covid, there were also assembly plant tours and hopefully, these will resume in the near future. At the conclusion of your fun day, you will fully understand why the Corvette is, “America’s Sports Car.”

National Corvette Museum 350 Corvette Dr Bowling Green, KY 42101 270-781-7973 corvettemuseum.org 6

TGR: What got you into racing? I recently had a chance to sit down for a quick chat with Hyundai racing driver AJ Muss to discuss his career behind the wheel as well as how he transitioned from Olympic Snowboarding to racing driver. Muss is currently driving for Bryan Herta Autosport in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Series, racing the #2 TCR Hyundai Elantra N. We also chatted about my recent track day with Hyundai where I got to take the street version of the Elantra N around Atlanta Motorsport Park.

AJ: I've always chased adrenalin, from snowboarding to skydiving, to drifting and eventually road racing, it's just something I'm drawn to. TGR: Tell me about what happened in 2014, you had a major health scare?

AJ: I was having surgery on my shoulder, and I ended up with postoperative pulmonary edema. The doctors weren't too optimistic that I would recover, or ever compete again. I was put into a medically induced coma for two weeks. Due to the lack of oxygen, I suffered minor brain damage. I had to relearn everything, including walking and talking, it was an intense process, but I wasn't going to give up.

TGR: You’ve had a bit of an unlikely path for a racing driver, most drivers start in karting and work their way up through the ranks, but you kind of jumped right into professional racing pretty quickly.

AJ: Yeah, I started out in drifting and quickly transitioned into Formula D as a pro. It was through a friend that I met Brent Brush, who I hoped was going to help me find some more support for my drifting career. Brent introduced me to Hyundai and I ended up driving for Copeland Motorsports in the (IMSA) TCR class in a Hyundai Veloster.

TGR: What do you like most about driving for Hyundai?

AJ: The cars are very good considering how short of a time that Hyundai has been in motorsports. The Elantra N is very balanced, but what is most impressive is its reliability. We run multiple races on the same engine and could likely run a whole season if we wanted to.

TGR: What are your next plans for your racing career?

AJ: Of course, every driver wants to race Le Mans and other big races, but I believe you have to learn to win at every level, so for now I am focused on winning in TCR.