CORVETTE TODAY #154-Betty Skelton, The First Woman of Firsts
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Jul 11, 2025
As we finish the month of March and Women's History Month, we honor the first woman inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame, Betty Skelton. Cindy Sisson, CEO of GSEvents and Pam Miller, Co-Producers of the documentary Betty Skelton: Boundless join your CORVETTE TODAY host, Steve Garrett, to highlight Betty's illustrious career. The list of Betty's accomplishments are too many to list here. She broke barriers that no woman had crossed prior to her. After watching and/or listening to this episode of CORVETTE TODAY, you'll understand why Betty is the first woman to be inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame. Enjoy this insightful episode about Betty Skelton on CORVETTE TODAY!
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[Music]
0:04
Welcome to Corvette Today, the podcast
0:06
that talks about everything Corvette
0:08
with your host Steve Garrett, MC and DJ
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at one of the largest Corvette weekends
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in the country, Corvette Funfest,
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president of the Corvette Club of Kansas
0:17
City, Missouri, and radio disc jockey at
0:19
the number one radio station in Kansas
0:21
City for over 40 years. Here's Steve
0:24
Garrett.
0:28
Thanks for listening and watching
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Corvette Today, the show that talks
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And a shout out to Corvette Forum and
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Corvette enthusiasts from around the
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world. The month of March is Women's
2:31
History Month, and what a better way to
2:33
pay tribute to women and Corvettes than
2:35
to talk about Betty Skelton, the first
2:37
woman of firsts. To give us some
2:39
perspective on Betty on today's show, I
2:41
have with me Cindy Sizzen, the CEO of GS
2:44
Events, an elite marketing group, and
2:47
Pam Miller, the director and executive
2:49
producer of Betty Skelton Boundless,
2:52
which was made for Fox Sports. Pam also
2:54
worked for the Velocity Channel and
2:56
Motor Trend, CBS Sports, and Fox
2:58
Broadcasting. Cindy Pam, welcome to
3:01
Corvette today.
3:02
Hi. Appreciate being here, especially
3:04
supporting Women's Histories Month.
3:06
Ladies, as I said at the beginning of
3:08
the show, the month of March is Women's
3:10
History Month, so it's really ideal that
3:12
we're paying tribute to Betty Skelton.
3:13
Right.
3:14
Absolutely. She charted a course for
3:17
many women in motorsports and also women
3:20
in space exploration, advertising. It's
3:23
amazing how many genres of professions
3:27
that she opened doors for post World War
3:30
II.
3:30
And we're going to touch on those in our
3:32
podcast today. Now, Pam, you produced a
3:35
terrific documentary on Betty for Fox.
3:38
Talk about the documentary and how
3:39
people can view that.
3:41
People can view it on Fox. We're working
3:43
on getting our streaming opportunities
3:45
together and soon it'll be on streaming.
3:48
But it came together. Cindy and I kind
3:50
of brainstorming during CO. One of the
3:52
beauties of CO was we all had time to
3:54
stop and think. We started talking about
3:56
ways we could remember women that have
3:58
been forgotten to history in
4:00
motorsports. And Betty was clearly the
4:02
top of the list. When you look at, as I
4:04
said, post World War II America, there
4:07
were few people who touched every form
4:10
of transportation more than Betty. I
4:12
mean, it was probably Betty and then all
4:14
the men. she just really had a lot of
4:17
influence and it really motivated us to
4:19
put together her story because we felt
4:21
that people should not forget and that
4:24
her fingerprints were still on those
4:26
industries today. And I'd like to add to
4:28
that, Steve, it's actually part of a
4:29
series that Pam and I co-produced or
4:31
co-created called the Left Behind
4:33
series. And you'll hear it first. Our
4:35
next documentary will air during Women's
4:37
History Month on March 30th on Fox
4:40
Sports One and it'll be on a woman named
4:43
Paula Murphy, the first woman or test
4:45
drove at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
4:47
in 1963. And believe it or not, she's
4:50
still alive with us today. 94 years
4:52
young, lives in Palmdale, California.
4:54
We're excited to tell her story as well.
4:56
That's awesome. God love her. 94 years
4:59
old.
4:59
Years young.
5:00
That's right.
5:02
Betty Skelton was known as the first
5:04
lady of first. Now this encompasses,
5:06
like we had talked about just a second
5:07
ago, aviation, racing, advertising, and
5:10
aeronautics. She was a true trends
5:12
setter and not just for women either,
5:14
was she?
5:15
Yes. She set a standard in her
5:17
aerobatics and the tricks she did in her
5:20
plane and the championships for men. She
5:23
did the same tricks as men. She did the
5:25
same competitions as men. She wanted to
5:27
be able to compete against the men. She
5:29
had all the respect of the men in that
5:31
industry and in everything she touched.
5:34
But she did open the door. She was the
5:36
first she was the first woman three-time
5:38
arerobatic champion. She was the first
5:40
woman to be part of the original
5:43
Corvette team with Zora Dunto and John
5:45
Fitch. She was the only woman to do the
5:49
astronaut tests at NASA with the actual
5:51
astronauts. Not the other group who are
5:53
amazing, but they did their tests at
5:55
Loveless, which was a different
5:56
facility. And then she was the first
5:58
woman advertising exec in that world of
6:01
mad men in the 50s that we all saw on
6:03
that great streaming show. So she was a
6:05
pretty amazing person, but she was the
6:07
first in so many categories.
6:09
Pam, let's not forget Bonavville either.
6:11
Correct. She went over 300 mph at
6:13
Bonavville.
6:14
That's amazing. And I'm glad you
6:16
mentioned that you two because in 1949
6:18
and 1950 she won the National Feminine
6:21
Aerobatic Championship with her plane
6:23
called the Little Stinker. That plane is
6:25
still around today. It's at the National
6:26
Air and Space Museum.
6:28
Yeah. It's basically the greeter for the
6:30
Air and Space Museum. It's the first
6:32
plane you see when you walk in. It's
6:33
upside down. You look up and there's
6:35
this tiny plane and when you look at it,
6:36
you go, "That's no way that's somebody
6:38
flew that plane. It looks like a toy."
6:40
It is tiny. And in fact, Cindy will tell
6:42
a great story. When we were working on
6:44
the documentary, we were fortunate to
6:46
have the Smithsonian to ourselves at
6:48
like 500 a.m. Wow. and she and I just
6:51
kind of laid on the floor and just like
6:53
looked up at the plane and you could
6:55
just feel the vibes coming out of it
6:57
from looking at how you would fly. I
6:59
mean, she flew between events in that
7:01
plane. She did all her best championship
7:04
moves in that plane. She was so daring
7:07
in that plane and when you look at it,
7:09
you just can't even imagine it.
7:10
That's cool.
7:11
It's an open cockpit plane. I mean, it's
7:13
unlike anything people would imagine
7:14
flying today. And to add to it, the
7:16
reason it's upside down and she was also
7:18
famous for clipping ribbons. So in those
7:21
days, you would take two poles with a
7:23
big ribbon and the pilot would try to
7:26
clip the ribbon on their on their wing.
7:28
Well, Betty actually flipped the plane
7:31
and did it upside down. And that's what
7:33
makes it so special.
7:34
That's amazing. Now, Betty met Bill
7:36
France, who was the founder of NASCAR,
7:38
and Bill convinced her to drive the pace
7:41
car at Speed Week at Daytona. Not only
7:44
did she drive the pace car, but she set
7:45
a stock car record as well. She became
7:48
the first female test driver and set a
7:50
land speed record, didn't she?
7:52
Yeah, it was actually the first thing
7:54
she did at the beach. Not actually in a
7:56
Corvette, it was in a Dodge and it was
7:58
in the Fire Arrow. And she set some
8:01
records in the Dodge first in 1954. And
8:04
then famously, she told Bill France that
8:07
she was bored with the Dodge and that
8:09
she heard about this little thing coming
8:11
out called a Corvette. and she said,
8:13
"Hey, can you help me out? Can you see
8:15
if they'll let me drive one of those?"
8:17
And the rest is history.
8:18
That's amazing. Well, ladies, let's take
8:20
our first break and when we come back,
8:22
we're going to talk about Betty
8:23
Skelton's relationship with General
8:25
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I'm your host Steve Garrett. With me
11:51
today is Cindy Sizzen and Pam Miller.
11:54
We're talking about Betty Skelton. In
11:56
this second segment, we're going to talk
11:57
about Betty's relationship with GM and
11:59
Corvette. Ladies, in 56, Betty started
12:02
working in advertising for GM as a top
12:05
executive and a spokesperson for
12:07
Chevrolet. She appeared on some radio,
12:09
TV, and print ads for General Motors.
12:11
And I think that was kind of a first,
12:12
wasn't it?
12:13
Oh, absolutely. In fact, there's a
12:15
famous TV appearance that GM did when
12:18
they would buy halfhour shows. So, she
12:20
is on the set talking to a national
12:23
audience promoting driving. And the
12:26
whole goal of the interview is to put
12:28
her in the same context as a renowned
12:30
stunt driver, a three-time Indy500
12:32
champ, and her and she's talking to
12:35
women about being comfortable driving,
12:37
taking U-turns, grabbing the wheel,
12:39
enjoying the car. And it really is
12:42
telling because they're putting her in a
12:44
category in prime time TV with these
12:46
very esteemed gentlemen and making her
12:48
an equal in the eyes of the viewer. It's
12:51
a pretty stunning piece of film that's
12:53
in the documentary and you can tell
12:56
they've given her talking points, but
12:58
she's kind of adding a couple zingers of
12:59
her own in there about how fun it is and
13:02
just do it and drive and it's pretty
13:04
amazing. But it's so communicative to
13:07
the average woman in a comforting way.
13:10
And I think that's part of why she was a
13:12
really great spokesperson. When you look
13:13
at ads, when you look at the visuals of
13:15
her driving the Corvette on the beach,
13:17
they were lucky to have found her. Also,
13:20
ladies, in 1956, February of 56, she
13:23
worked, as you had talked about a minute
13:24
ago, with Zora Arcus Dunto and John
13:27
Fitch at Daytona. She ran 145 m an hour,
13:31
which was only 3 m hour less than the
13:33
men's record.
13:34
Yeah. And if you talk to her, she
13:36
probably could have gone faster. She
13:38
felt like they held the horsepower down
13:39
on her. And if you look at the noses of
13:41
the cars, hers was slightly different.
13:43
So, she was really frustrated that she
13:46
wasn't allowed to go faster. It was
13:47
almost like they held her back a little
13:49
bit, but she was right there with them,
13:51
breaking down that barrier and fighting
13:54
the same conditions they were and
13:55
succeeding.
13:56
That's so cool. Also, in 1956, she
13:59
worked with Harley Earl and Bill
14:00
Mitchell, and they designed a special
14:02
Corvette strictly for Betty. The color
14:04
was really cool. It was a translucent
14:06
gold. Then in 57, she paced all the
14:09
NASCAR races that year, didn't she?
14:11
Yeah. I mean, and that was a stunning
14:13
car. I mean, she loved that car. She
14:15
called it her gold Corvette. She said
14:18
they put a special foot rest in it. One
14:20
fact about Betty that we both love,
14:22
Cindy and I, is that she flew barefoot
14:24
even at high altitudes and she drove
14:27
barefoot. She never wore shoes. So, she
14:30
loved this little pedestal they put
14:32
inside the car for her and she would
14:34
pace the field. And it's ironic that as
14:36
much as she would have loved to have
14:37
raced headto-head with the men in
14:39
talking to people like Paul Goldmith,
14:40
who was a Corvette teammate of hers, he
14:43
felt like she would have been able to
14:44
hold her own against the men of the era,
14:46
they would not allow her to race with
14:48
them on an oval track, but they let her
14:50
lead them to the green. So, it's kind of
14:52
an interesting juxosition that they were
14:54
okay with that, but not so okay with her
14:56
racing the guys. the publicity when you
14:58
read the newspapers of the era of that
15:00
car coming to town and Betty Skelton the
15:03
aerobatic champion and Corvette champion
15:05
coming to town. She's in every newspaper
15:07
every day with that car for a whole
15:09
year. It was a pretty amazing campaign
15:11
and also an amazing level of respect
15:14
that Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell had
15:16
for her to create a car just for her.
15:18
That is so cool. She also became the
15:21
first woman to receive the Automobile
15:22
Association of America racing license.
15:25
That's really a milestone. Yeah, because
15:27
the AAA had outlawed women from even
15:30
getting a license back as early as 1910,
15:33
I believe. So, a woman hadn't had a AAA
15:36
license in at that point almost 50
15:38
years. So, the fact that she earned that
15:41
license and had the respect of the
15:43
industry spoke volumes for her talents
15:46
and for what the men, her peers thought
15:49
of her ability. And Steve, I want to add
15:50
to that that Joan Newton Counia was
15:52
actually that woman who had that first
15:54
license and it was taken away. And the
15:57
reason why is they said manufacturers
15:59
were concerned if a woman was killed in
16:01
a car or their car, it would bode bad
16:04
for their marketing purposes. So that's
16:06
a remarkable 50-year spread. But the
16:09
other thing that Pam and I and I know a
16:12
lot of folks in the Corvette business
16:13
are seeking is that cold Corvette. So,
16:16
if anybody has any leads, if that car is
16:19
still with us today, we're on that
16:21
golden egg hunt to try and find that
16:22
car.
16:23
Yeah, it's basically a holy grail. I
16:25
mean, we've asked many experts and
16:26
there's much debate whether that car
16:28
still exists somewhere in somebody's
16:30
barn or if that car went to the crusher.
16:32
There's two camps and two schools of
16:34
thought on that. So, it'd be curious to
16:36
find out.
16:37
Interesting. Also in 1959, and we
16:39
touched on this a little bit ago, she
16:41
became the first woman to pass the NASA
16:43
physical that the male astronauts had to
16:45
pass in order to get into the Mercury
16:47
program. She played a big part in
16:50
getting all those astronauts into
16:51
corvettes as well. Talk about that
16:54
because that's a huge deal that she
16:55
passed, the male physical, but helping
16:58
get those corvettes to the astronauts
16:59
was a big deal as well.
17:01
Yeah, it was funny because she knew
17:03
realistically that she was doing the
17:05
test for Look magazine. There was no way
17:08
that a woman was going to be allowed
17:09
into space because one of the criteria
17:11
was that you had to be able to fly a
17:14
fighter jet. She had never had the
17:15
opportunity to fly a fighter jet. But
17:17
she did pass those tests. And in passing
17:20
those tests, she knew a lot of those
17:22
astronauts from her days of flying early
17:24
pre-war when she was growing up at the
17:26
airfields in Pensacola. She had met them
17:28
and also flying later on after the war.
17:31
So she had known a lot of those guys.
17:33
Her goal was to get that visual from a
17:36
marketing perspective of these are the
17:38
great American heroes of the era and how
17:40
do you put the great American heroes
17:42
together with the great American car?
17:44
Well, it was definitely a match. And so
17:46
she figured out a way through a dealer
17:48
in South Florida to recreate a program
17:51
for astronauts. And I believe Cindy can
17:54
correct me if I'm wrong, it still exists
17:55
today.
17:56
Wow. And you those visuals, you can go
17:58
online and see through time the era of
18:01
which astronaut and which Corvette
18:03
matches because they're still driving
18:05
around in Corvettes.
18:06
That's amazing.
18:07
And they did have to buy them, by the
18:08
way.
18:09
Yeah. I think the cost was very minimal,
18:11
though. I want to say as low as a
18:13
dollar.
18:13
GM leased them for a dollar a year to
18:15
the astronauts.
18:16
That's I mean, it was a very low number.
18:18
I didn't want to oversp speak, but I
18:20
think it's a dollar.
18:21
I'd like to talk to GM myself about
18:23
leasing a Corvette for a dollar a year.
18:25
That'd be great.
18:26
Just pretend you're an astronaut.
18:28
Exactly.
18:29
Exactly. That would work, wouldn't it?
18:30
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Exactly. Well, ladies, let's take our
18:34
final break and when we come back, we're
18:35
going to talk about Betty Skelton and
18:37
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18:39
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You're enjoying the only current podcast
21:00
on Corvettes. Corvette Today.
21:03
Thanks once again for listening and
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21:30
I'm your host Steve Garrett. With me is
21:32
Cindy Sizzen from GS Events and also Pam
21:35
Miller, the director and executive
21:36
producer of Betty Skelton Boundless. In
21:39
this third and final segment, we're
21:40
going to talk about Betty Skelton a
21:42
little bit closer to Corvette and the
21:43
Corvette Hall of Fame. First volume two,
21:46
Betty was inducted into 10 Halls of
21:48
Fame, which included the Corvette Hall
21:50
of Fame, where she was inducted in 2001.
21:53
As a matter of fact, she was the first
21:55
woman to be inducted into the Corvette
21:57
Hall of Fame.
21:58
Yeah. And I don't know of any other
21:59
women that are in aviation halls of
22:01
fame, advertising halls of fame, the
22:03
Smithsonian, and the Corvette, and many
22:05
other motorsports halls of fame. It's a
22:07
pretty remarkable achievement when you
22:09
think about it.
22:10
She's not inducted into the automotive
22:12
hall of fame, which is something we are
22:13
working on as well. In fact, the
22:15
automotive hall of fame since 1939 has
22:17
said 800 inductees and only eight women.
22:20
The last one was Lin St. James last year
22:23
and this year it's Mary Bar, a big- time
22:25
General Motors person, obviously, will
22:27
be inducted into the automotive hall of
22:29
fame.
22:29
How cool is that? That's awesome. As a
22:31
matter of fact, well into her 80s, Betty
22:33
still drove a red C5 Corvette, didn't
22:35
she?
22:36
Oh, yeah. She was cruising around
22:37
Florida all the time in that Corvette.
22:39
She loved a Corvette and she drove a
22:40
Corvette till the end. Pretty amazing.
22:42
In fact, I think the Corvette Hall of
22:44
Fame found one of her Corvettes in Ohio
22:47
a couple years ago. It was sitting in a
22:50
barn and it was one that had her name in
22:52
the plate that had been made for her
22:54
years ago.
22:55
Wow.
22:55
I think in the late60s maybe
22:57
restored I believe as well. So that's
22:59
important.
23:00
That's really important. Now, Cindy and
23:02
Pam, you're going to be conducting a
23:03
seminar at the NCM Michelin Bash at the
23:06
National Corvette Museum. Give us some
23:08
details and talk a little bit about the
23:10
upcoming seminar.
23:11
Well, I'm so honored to be invited. Pam
23:13
can come. I don't know if she's going to
23:15
be able to make it because one of the
23:16
things about Pam we haven't said is she
23:18
is the producer for all the NASCAR Fox
23:20
Cup races. So, she's a busy busy gal,
23:23
but we were approached last year and
23:25
presented Betty at the National Corvette
23:27
Museum, made a presentation and was
23:29
very, very exciting. And we then got a
23:31
call from General Motors. They invited
23:33
their women of General Motors to watch
23:35
Betty. They had over 500 women show up.
23:37
Wow. The
23:38
following week we did a Zoom with Pam
23:40
Miller, Lindsay Mandia, who's our other
23:42
co-producer on the documentary. And they
23:44
got to ask us questions how we came
23:46
together and how we produced the
23:47
documentary. A lot of folks really like
23:49
that. So on April 28th at the Bash, I
23:52
put together a panel called You Don't
23:54
Have to Be a Pro to Be a Racer. And on
23:57
the panel is Tracy Gadu. She is a
24:00
fantastic Corvette racer. Ken and
24:02
Kristen Lincolnfelter. He builds the
24:05
engines for Tracy. And we just found out
24:07
recently that Kristen, his wife, just
24:09
became a racer. And then Lorie
24:11
Everheart, who is a founding partner
24:13
member of Apollo Sports and
24:15
Entertainment. She's actually the legal
24:16
firm for the Corvette Museum and the
24:18
Racetrack. And we're going to talk about
24:20
how women could start racing, but you
24:22
don't have to be a pro to be a racer.
24:24
There are still tickets available. It's
24:26
Friday night from 5:45 to 7:30. $60 for
24:31
non-members and $55 for members of the
24:34
National Corvette Museum. We're really
24:36
excited about being able to put that
24:38
event together. And the beneficiary of
24:40
the event is Women in Motorsports North
24:43
America, a new foundation that was
24:45
created April of 2022 with Lynn St.
24:48
James, the legendary indie car racer,
24:50
and Beth Petta, who actually fielded a
24:52
all women's team or mostly all women's
24:54
team two years ago at Indie. This
24:56
foundation was created to support and
24:58
promote all women in motorsports, just
25:01
not racers. You could be a PR person, an
25:03
engineer. You can work at Fox and
25:06
produce races. We're all coming
25:08
together, men and women, to really
25:09
advocate for women in motorsports.
25:12
Now, you've got an upcoming summit
25:13
coming up for women in motorsport North
25:15
America, too, don't you, Cindy?
25:17
We do. It'll be November 7th and 8th,
25:19
the week after the NASCAR Championship
25:22
weekend. Mobile One is our primary
25:24
sponsor. Why that's important is because
25:27
Mobile One is also a big sponsor of the
25:29
National Corvette Museum. We've done
25:31
this now, it'll be our third year. Each
25:33
year has sold out. Bringing the
25:35
brightest, most excited people about
25:38
advocating for women in motorsports
25:40
together. The network that's done, the
25:42
new business that's done is
25:43
unprecedented. So, Steve, if you want to
25:45
come out, we'd love to have you. That'd
25:46
be fantastic. I'd love to come out.
25:48
Cindy, also GS Events has a terrific
25:51
podcast as well. Talk about your podcast
25:53
and where people can listen to it. Sure.
25:56
It's called Women Shifting Gears. We've
25:58
had over 51 women, some of the biggest
26:01
names in the motorsports and automotive
26:03
industry participate. But if you go to
26:05
my website gsevents.live,
26:08
at the top of the tab, you can see women
26:10
shifting gears podcast. It's hosted by
26:13
none other than Amanda Busk who is
26:16
becoming the voice of I think every
26:17
racing series in America. Her newest
26:20
stunt or stint if you will is with Fox
26:22
in the truck series. She does NH SRO
26:27
Ferrari Challenge. I mean the list goes
26:28
on. A very talented woman and just
26:30
brings out the best in people. In fact,
26:32
one of my favorite podcasts is Sharon
26:35
Bronner, the CEO of the National
26:37
Corvette Museum. That one will make you
26:39
cry. It's really, really, really good.
26:41
And I encourage those who are listening
26:43
to listen to Sharon.
26:45
I listened to that podcast and as a
26:47
matter of fact, Sharon was a guest on
26:48
Corvette today as well. And I really
26:51
enjoyed listening to your podcast. She
26:53
did a fantastic job on that one as well.
26:55
Yeah, she's amazing. And she's really
26:57
done a great job at the National
26:58
Corvette Museum, the new exhibits and
27:01
just the expansion that's going on there
27:03
and so supportive of what we're doing.
27:05
And it's because of Sharon actually that
27:07
we met the Mobile One team who has
27:09
become one of our biggest supporters. So
27:11
big shout out to Sharon. We'll make sure
27:13
she hears this podcast.
27:14
Absolutely. Ladies, if somebody wants to
27:16
get in touch with you, how can they do
27:18
that?
27:18
Well, for me it's cindygsvent.live.
27:22
That's my email address and you can
27:24
check out my website. And Cam, you can
27:27
just reach me and I'll get you.
27:28
Yeah, exactly. I think that's the best.
27:30
You are the great connector. Why don't
27:31
you connect everybody?
27:33
It's easiest to go through Cindy.
27:35
Everybody,
27:35
everybody does already.
27:37
That's right. gsevents.live.
27:40
Ladies, it has been so wonderful having
27:43
you on Corvette today. I've learned so
27:45
much and hearing about Betty Skelton
27:47
from people like you who know about
27:49
Betty Skelton has been fantastic. Thank
27:51
you so much for being on the show.
27:53
Thanks for having us. We appreciate you.
27:55
Thanks for listening to Corvette Today.
27:56
And please be sure to tell your family,
27:58
friends, and other Corvette enthusiasts
28:00
about the Corvette Today podcast. And
28:02
thanks to our sponsors, Wheelcraft. Want
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28:11
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28:13
exchange for most models and it comes
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28:17
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28:42
You've been listening to Corvette Today
28:44
with Steve Garrett. If you'd like to
28:46
contact Steve with any thoughts on the
28:47
podcast or ideas for guests on Corvette
28:50
today, you can email him at stevegared
28:52
djgmail.com.
28:55
That's Steve Garrett DJgmail.com.
28:59
Garrett has two Rs and two T's. Or
29:02
connect with Steve on social media on
29:04
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29:07
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29:09
listening to Corvette today.
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