Up next in 10
CORVETTE TODAY #165 - Corvette News & Headlines, Early June 2023
0 views
Jul 11, 2025
CORVETTE TODAY #165 - Corvette News & Headlines, Early June 2023 If you're a Corvette Racing fan, you do NOT want to miss next week's CORVETTE TODAY show. Corvette Racing dropped a huge bombshell on the future of Corvette Racing. Your CORVETTE TODAY host, Steve Garrett and Keith Cornett from CorvetteBlogger have all the details. Plus, there is never a shortage of Corvette news to cover! Here are some of the other headlines that Steve and Keith cover: 1. Chevrolet is adjusting its Rewards Program for Z06 owners 2. Chevrolet has surpassed over 40,000 C8 Corvettes built in the 2023 model year 3. Pratt & Miller hosts a live stream of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 4. The Stingray Grille at the National Corvette Museum is featured by Guy Fieri of Food Network
View Video Transcript
0:00
[Music] Welcome to Corvette Today, the podcast
0:06
that talks about everything Corvette with your host Steve Garrett, MC and DJ at one of the largest Corvette weekends
0:12
in the country, Corvette Funfest, president of the Corvette Club of Kansas City, Missouri, and radio disc jockey at
0:19
the number one radio station in Kansas City for over 40 years. Here's Steve Garrett.
0:28
Thanks for listening and watching Corvette Today, the show that talks about everything Corvette and the only
0:34
current podcast dedicated to Corvette. I'm your host, Steve Garrett. I appreciate you tuning in. Corvette Today
0:40
is brought to you by Wheelcraft. Want to dress up your Corvette with bright chrome or black chrome wheels? Learn
0:45
about their advanced PVD chrome finishing. They can refinish your wheels or offer a wheel exchange for most
0:50
models, and it comes with a 5-year warranty. Visit wheelcraft.com today or
0:56
call 833-639-4231. You can listen to Corvette today on all
1:01
podcast platforms. You can also listen on your smart device. Just say, "Hey Google," or "Alexa, play the podcast
1:07
called Corvette today and you're connected." Be sure and visit the updated Corvette Today website. It's
1:12
corvette.com. You can also access everything there, including the Corvette Today merchandise
1:17
store. You can also join the Corvette Today Facebook group there and sign up for Corvette Today emails,
1:23
notifications, and updates at corvette.page. And if you like YouTube, you can
1:30
subscribe to the Corvette Today YouTube channel. See all Corvette Today episodes on YouTube. And be sure and patronize
1:36
our flagship sponsors of Corvette today. Aerolari wheels, a true 4-in wheel with over 20 different unique styles to
1:43
choose from for your C8 and widebody versions of the C7, C6, and C5 Corvettes. It's an amazing value
1:50
starting at only 23.88 for a set of four fully forged wheels. And use the promo
1:55
code CT111 and get $100 off your purchase. Visit aerolari.com. That's a r
2:02
o l a r i.com and use the promo code ct111 for your $100 discount. And Soul
2:09
Performance Products developed and manufactured in the United States. The Soul Performance Products exhaust
2:15
portfolio has been tailored to elevate the experience of the world's most exciting sports cars, including the
2:20
latest generation of the Corvette. Soul Performance Products, the official exhaust of Corvette today. Also,
2:26
mid-engine Corvette forum.com. the forum that focuses on the new mid-engine C8 Corvette. Meet a lot of Corvette
2:32
enthusiasts like yourself at midengine corvette forum.com. And a shout out to Corvette forum and Canadian corvette
2:39
forum.com. Welcoming Corvette enthusiasts from around the world. It's time to bring you the latest Corvette
2:44
news and headlines with my pal Keith Cornet from corvette blogger.com. Keith is here every other week. We keep you
2:51
current and uptodate on what's happening with America's sports car. Keith, welcome back to the show. were the week
2:56
before Father's Day. Yeah, it's a good week. I always expect a lot of presents. It never happens, but
3:03
we can have high expectations, right? I'll get the call. That's good enough for me. And in fact, saw the kids over
3:08
this weekend. Anyways, it's just one of these things that we deal with and we move on. But yeah, happy Father's Day to everybody out there this week.
3:14
A happy early Father's Day to all the Corvette dads out there. Exactly. Keith, let's start our Corvette news as
3:19
we always do with Corvette production update from the Bowling Green assembly plant. Yeah, sure thing, Steve. So again, we
3:25
continue to see steady production of the 2023 Corvette since our last conversation. For the Stingray models, we're always just a little couple days
3:31
off here there. So the numbers are always going to be just a little bit more than what I'm going to give you. But right now, we're showing 34,650
3:38
Stingrays have been produced. Plus, we have another 3600 70th anniversary Corvettes. So our totals right now are
3:44
38,326 Corvette Stingrays for the model year, which again, if you said, "Oh, you're
3:50
going to build 38,000 Stingrays." Now, we also have Z06 numbers. And again, they're just continuing to grow. It
3:56
seems like they've reached a point where they found this happy medium between the Stingrays and the Z06s, and they're just
4:01
putting out these same numbers almost daily. Now, for the Z06, we're seeing 2,841
4:06
produced. And then another 573 of those are 70th anniversary models. That's a total of 3,400 Z06s already. And again,
4:14
we still have plenty of time to boost that number up. Totaling the Stingray Z06 numbers together, 41,740.
4:22
Again, just an amazing number. We talked about I think last time we were together, we had just broken through the 40,000 barrier. We're already at 41,740
4:30
and probably we're a little bit behind. We're already closing in on 42,000 cars. And guess what? 4200 of those are 70th
4:37
anniversary models. Wow. We've been looking ahead and obviously trying to figure out where we'll end up on September 1st when the 2023 model
4:43
year closes. We could have 5,000 70th anniversary models produced if they're still able to make them. We know that
4:49
there's been a little bit of constraints there. They actually took the bags off. The 70th anniversary bags are no longer available.
4:54
The luggage. But yeah, we could really see some really huge numbers for 2023 model year.
5:00
That's amazing that we've got over 40,000 Corvettes. And last week, Bowling Green built 150 E- Rays as well, which
5:07
is a great number. Oh, yeah. So, these are pre-production cars, but they're salailable VINs. So,
5:13
up until right around the bash, in fact, it was Kai Spandandy at the bash that that week they were just starting to
5:18
build sailable VINs. Prior to that, the VINs were EX VINs or experimental VINs. So, any car built with an experimental
5:24
VIN is getting crushed. But these cars are pre-production. So, they'll have a different VIN structure than when the
5:30
customer cars go through. But, they built 150 of these. I think it was between May 24th and May 26th. This
5:36
comes from Roger Keel who charged the production of the Stingray Z06 on Facebook and who we get a lot of our numbers from. Definitely shows that
5:43
these 50-rays were built per day over those three days. Really interesting. Again, what we think about the E-rays is
5:50
that they're going to use these cars for testing and evaluation and then eventually they'll end up being offered to dealers to sell as used vehicles. We
5:56
see the Corvette team members, they're among the recipients of getting these E-rays and they'll be driving them and there'll be some other VIPs around GM
6:03
that'll also be driving them. So, pretty cool to see those numbers out there. And again, we're getting closer to production on the 2024. So, it just
6:09
shows that everything seems to be moving along. That's so exciting. I can't wait to see these rays on the street, buddy. That'll
6:15
be great. Also, we had the first 2024 order cycle for Corvettes. We found out that's going to start at the end of
6:21
July. Yeah. So, we always seem to be getting these different things happening. Used to be used to set your clock to how they
6:27
would structure these order cycles, but now all of a sudden, it's like what was supposed to happen this week doesn't happen this week. GM doesn't tell the
6:34
dealers this. They just don't get the numbers to do any ordering this week. It was actually last week Chevy changed up
6:39
their ordering cycle again. We're supposed to see it probably June 22nd now. And then we're guessing June 29th
6:45
we'll see the final Z06 allocations go in. But yeah, what we did learn was that there was a memo that did go out and
6:51
according to that memo, it showed that we already had this news. The 2024 Corvette order guy will drop on July
6:57
10th and then a week later we'll get the build your own configurator with pricing for 2024s on July 18th. That's when
7:04
that'll go live. Good. This was the third part of that cog is that the first order cycle for the 2024s
7:10
will open on July 27th. If they do it like they've been doing it, we assume that that'll just be only for Stingrays
7:17
and then they'll probably follow up either a week or two weeks later with Z06 and maybe a week or two weeks later with those could be changed. We don't
7:23
know exactly how they're going to drop that. We don't even know if Ray is going to start right away. They're going to take orders right away or if the
7:29
Stingrays and the Z06 is going and then move into production. Again, we don't know that information, but we do know
7:35
2024 the first order allocations will happen on July 27th. Good. And we had something come out
7:41
called the 2024 Corvette -ray playbook. What is that? Well, Steve, it's actually something I
7:47
made up and I'll tell you how I got that name. It was back in 2020 when the Corvette
7:52
Stingray was preparing to launch. Chevy reps had access to a specialty website called the 2020 Corvette playbook. It
7:59
was a really slick website. It all had information to educate and inform them about the packages, the options. Of
8:04
course, this was a big move going from the front engine rear wheel drives to the mid-enine rear wheel drive cars.
8:10
There was a lot there to inform and educate the reps. Basically, it was a eight-page PDF guide that came out for
8:17
the reps and it was all about the -ray. There was some differentiation that showed the Stingray, the Z06, and the
8:22
-ray, what they're all good for, where they all excel at, and then of course all the options and the special stuff
8:28
that makes the -ay special with the battery pack and the front-wheel drive motors there. We called it the 2024 -ray
8:34
playbook because it mirrored the 2020 Corvette Stingray playbook. And again, just chuck full of great information.
8:40
Most of this information's already been out, but for the Chevy rep that wants to brush up on all the details and have it
8:45
all right there at their fingertips, it was a really cool PDF to see. It was actually shared by a guy on Facebook who
8:50
works at a Chevy store down here in Florida. It does come directly from Chevrolet. Nice. Also, speaking of Chevrolet, they
8:57
did adjust the rewards points programs for Z06 buyers, which I was really glad to see.
9:02
Yeah. So, I'll go through the details here real quick. Although many, I'm sure, are aware of everything that's going on. It was last summer, Chevrolet
9:09
announced a new program to reward buyers of the 2023 Corvette Z06 for their loyalty. With 500,000 reward points, and
9:15
these are valued at $5,000, they would get those reward points if they didn't sell their car within 6 months of taking
9:21
delivery. Obviously, for those buyers planning on owning their cars long term, this is great because you could use these points for parts and accessories.
9:28
You could use them for service visits. If you're financing your car through General Motors, you can even pay down your loan through GM Financials. It
9:34
sounded like you just sign on the dotted line. We saw the form that people had to sign off that they said, "Yeah, hold
9:39
your car for six months, you get the points." But it was never really understood that there were some extra hoops that a buyer had to jump through.
9:46
But we didn't find that out until Austin Speed Phenom on YouTube went live with a video saying that he had owned the car
9:52
for 6 months and reached out to Chevrolet and found out that he had been denied his points due to a technicality for not registering correctly within
9:58
that 30 days of ownership. Of course, that blew up. People were calling Chevy reps left and right. Thankfully,
10:04
Chevrolet jumped in and they corrected this pretty quickly. I'm glad to see this happen. So, what they've said now is that they're giving all 2023 Corvette
10:11
Z06 buyers until December 1st to enroll in the My Chevy rewards programs and to get that 500,000 point vehicle retention
10:18
awards. And I'm going to read you what Chevy said. They said, "Documentation signed by the customer will be updated
10:24
to state that enrolling in My Chevy rewards is required for claiming points. It will also alert customers that points
10:29
will be uploaded 45 days after the customer reaches six months of ownership and is enrolled in the My GM rewards
10:36
program. They give that 45 days because they actually contact the states, either the DMV, the secretary of states, or
10:42
whatever office handles the Department of Motor Vehicles in that state to inquire whether that VIN is still registered to that owner or if it was
10:49
transferred to somebody else. Some states do it quicker, some states take a little bit longer. So, they giving themselves 45 days to do that. As
10:56
we close out this model year, we're not sure if GM's going to continue this program into the 2024 models. We've seen
11:02
that over the course of the year. It really doesn't do much to discourage flipping. The real problem affecting Z06
11:07
sales and the perception of Chevrolet in the minds of Z06 buyers. It's the dealers that are the ones with exorbitant market adjustments. It's not
11:14
the flippers that are causing this. So, it'll be interesting to see, but we're glad to see that General Motors did step up and is making sure that anybody that
11:20
did buy a 2023 Corvette Z06 can register and get their reward points as they promised.
11:26
Absolutely right. I'm surprised that they don't get people registered when they take delivery of their Z06 at the
11:31
dealership. Some dealers are really good about it. You get points just for buying a car. It's not you're waiting for these
11:37
500,000 rewards points for owning for 6 months. And this is down to any General Motors product. You buy a car, you
11:43
register for the program, you get a certain amount of points just for the amount that you paid for that car.
11:48
That's even good for some service visits for parts and accessories and the accessory catalog. It's definitely worth
11:53
doing. A good rep will walk you through that process and have you all set up. That's great. Well, buddy, let's take
11:59
our first break. When we come back, we're going to flip things around a little bit. We're going to do the lighter side of Corvette. Coming up next
12:04
on Corvette Today, we all know that wheels make the car. Wheelcraft's PVD
12:10
chrome finish in bright chrome or black chrome will take your Corvette to new levels. And it comes with a 5-year
12:15
warranty. Whether you've taken delivery of your C8 or have one on order, learn how Wheelcraft can help you transform
12:21
the look of your Corvette and save you money. Durability is a defining feature of the Wheelcraft finish. Their PVD
12:27
chrome is superior to traditional chrome with a finish that is brake dust resistant and cleans effortlessly with
12:33
soap and water. We can also refinish existing chrome wheels. Wheelcraft offers factory wheels on exchange or
12:39
they can apply the PBD finish to your current wheels. No matter what generation you own, call Wheelcraft to
12:44
transform the look of your Corvette. With every Corvette comes a unique story, and Wheelcraft has embraced this
12:50
idea. When you purchase your new set of wheels, you receive a lifetime membership to the Wheelcraft Pit Crew,
12:56
granting you access to your own page on Wheelcraft's website, where you can post pictures and tell your Corvette story.
13:02
And don't miss Wheelcraft on the road. See their finish in person at Bloomington Gold in June and Corvettes
13:08
at Carile in August. Wheelcraft will also be located on the midway at Carile with their very own mobile tire
13:14
installation on site. Exchanges of the CH5-spoke, Trident, 20 spoke, and Z06
13:20
wheels will take place on Installation Alley. Call early and place your order for installation at Carile. Visit our
13:26
website at wheelcraft.com or call us at 833639-4231.
13:31
That's 833639-4231. Arrive in style with Wheelcraft. The
13:37
Radiator Grill store offers C8 Corvette A-pillar wind diffusers in beautiful carbon fiber or OEM gloss black that
13:44
help reduce wind buffeting when a window is open. Easy installation and OEM fitment. Plus, get 10% off your total
13:51
purchase with the promo code CT10 at radiatorstore.com.
13:58
When you want to buy a Corvette or any Chevrolet for that matter, get yours from Hendrick Chevrolet Shauny Mission
14:03
located in Kansas City. Hendrickk Chevrolet is the largest Corvette dealership and showroom in the Midwest.
14:08
With a knowledgeable sales staff and Corvette sales specialists on hand, they'll help you build the Corvette of
14:14
your dreams. And they ship nationwide. With Corvette certified master mechanics on site and a huge parts department with
14:20
over 24,000 parts and $2 million in inventory, Hendrickk Chevrolet is well equipped to take care of your every
14:26
need. From sales to service to collision repair, Hendrickk Chevrolet has you covered. Visit cheviusa.com or call
14:33
913-384-1550. Are you ready to take your Corvette to
14:39
the next level? Look no further than Classic Trim Customs. As the number one supplier for American Hydrocarbon, we've
14:45
manufactured some of the most impressive Corvette parts on the market. From engine bay panels to splitters and side
14:50
skirts, with over 30 years of experience in hydrographics, we've perfected the technique and use only state-of-the-art
14:56
materials and equipment to ensure the highest quality and precision. Visit our website at classicgcrimcustoms.com
15:02
or give us a call at 305-258-3090 to learn more about our products and
15:07
services. Whether you want to create a showstopping ride or just add a touch of personalization, the sky is the limit
15:14
with classic trim customs. Let us help you create the Corvette of your dreams. Vetfinders.com is the internet's
15:21
original Corvette classified ads website with classified ads starting at just $25. And every ad runs until your
15:29
Corvette is sold. If you're in the market for a Corvette, vetfinders.com has over 500 Corvettes for sale from all
15:35
around the USA and Canada and covering all eight generations. Visit vetfinders.com, the internet's
15:42
destination for buying and selling Corvettes. That's vefinders.com.
15:50
And now back to the only current podcast on Corvettes, Corvette Today with your host, Steve Garrett.
15:57
Thanks for listening and watching Corvette Today, the show that talks about everything Corvette, brought to
16:02
you by Wheelcraft. Summer is here and so is car show season and you want your Corvette looking its best. Dress up your
16:09
Corvette with bright chrome or black chrome wheels from Wheelcraft. Visit wheelcraft.com and learn about their
16:14
advanced PVD chrome finishing. They can refinish your wheels or do a wheel exchange and you get a 5-year warranty.
16:21
Wheelcraft.com or give them a call 833-639-4231.
16:27
I'm your host Steve Garrett. With me is Keith Cornet from corvette blogger.com. We keep you current and uptodate on
16:33
what's happening with America's sports car. We're going to cover the lighter side of Corvette in segment two here. Keith, the -ray is featured on the cover
16:40
of Forza Motorsports, which I thought was really, really cool. Yeah, for being a new car and out. It's always a cool
16:46
honor. You know, we always talk about, well, I don't say we always talk about, but I remember it was a big deal with my sons whenever the new Madden game came
16:53
out. You know, who was going to be on the cover, right? The Madden football game. So, when if we think about motorsports, it's
16:59
pretty cool that we'll see the 2024 Corvette on the cover. This is a racing game, too. And so, it's also on the
17:04
cover. It's going to be joined by the 2023 Cadillac V series R, the Lemons racer that we just watched at Lemons
17:10
this weekend. So yeah, they went a little pure racing with the Le Man's LMDH car and then of course the Corvette
17:16
which is a touring sports car. I had Forza Horizon back in the day. My son took the Xbox when he went to college.
17:23
So I'm not playing too much anymore. But this is a pure racing game as opposed to the Horizon game which just kind of open
17:30
wherever you could go, you could drive and stuff like that. But this is a kind of a huge update. They've got 500 cars
17:35
in the game. Over 100 new vehicles have been added and there's like 800 customizations. There's weather modes as
17:41
you race. The conditions on the track change. I mean, this stuff is so realistic these days. It's pretty amazing. In fact, you go through
17:47
YouTube, you sometimes get tricked. You think, "Oh, look. I'm watching racing." And it actually is just a clip from a
17:52
video game, but it's so damn realistic that you don't catch it right away. You might have to stare at a little bit longer before it realizes that, wait a
17:59
second, this isn't quite real. But yeah, this is a big news. He on the cover of Forza Motorsports might make me have to go out and buy another Xbox.
18:05
There you go. You know, I've never been a gamer, but it is amazing how realistic all these, whether it's Madden or the
18:11
Forza is. It's pretty cool. Yeah, people are serious about it, too. And of course, you know, there's the leagues, and remember during COVID, we
18:18
had the iRacing series, which was all virtual with real drivers. So, there's definitely a place for it. And there's
18:23
even that series, I recall, of a bunch of these guys that played the racing games, and then they got a shot to
18:29
actually go and race real cars and make it a career. So, yeah, this could open doors, you know, as you start off
18:34
younger. This is a great way to get kids hooked on cars and driving and be excited about motorsports. I'm all for
18:41
it. Pretty darn amazing, buddy. Also, this is so cool and kudos to all of our friends at the National Corvette Museum.
18:47
The Stingray Grill at the museum appeared with Guy Fiori on Guy's show called Guy's All-American Road Trip. How
18:54
darn cool. Yeah, that was a lot of fun. I I don't watch a lot of Food Network shows, but I know Guy Fiery. I actually saw him at a
19:01
SEMA show when they did a special car with him, kind of throwing around some ideas. I think it was black with some
19:07
yellow accents. He's actually a big Chevy guy. He's got Corvettes, a bunch of cars, and he's a yellow car fan, too,
19:13
as well. So, it's always fun to hear him. And of course, he just loves food, and when you're talking about the Stingray Grill, where else can you go
19:19
and get a Wagu beef stingray burger and then take some hot laps over at the motorsports park across the street?
19:25
Right. Exactly. It was a fun episode. Glad to see our friends up there getting some kudos. The
19:30
Stingray Grill has actually come a long way. It used to be this diner had kind of a 50s motif to it. It was cool and
19:36
all. They've really upgraded, made it special with the addition of calling it the Stingray Grill. It's really come a
19:41
long way. Yeah, I love it. It's a must every time I go to the National Corvette Museum is have a meal over there at the Stingray
19:47
Grill. Also, Keith, we saw the top 20 dealerships come out so far, didn't we? Yeah, this was kind of a surprise. One
19:53
of our sources inside Chevy sent us this report that details the top 20 Corvette dealers and it was through May 31st. So,
19:59
it gave us a good snapshot of those first five months. We're lucky as Corvette owners because we have options
20:04
when purchasing cars. Whether you go to a national dealer or you go to your local or regional dealer, there's no
20:10
real right or wrong answer. It usually just comes down to who can get me a car the soonest and who can I pay as close to MSRP as possible with. these high
20:17
volume dealers when compared to the regular Chevy dealers, they just have experience in selling Corvettes and that's why they do so well and that's
20:23
why so many people go to them. One of the downsides though of working with one of these national dealers is for their
20:29
in demand vehicles like the Z06 or the -ray, they've already had these lists that have been out for a long time and so getting on one of those now can be a
20:36
real challenge. And that's where working with your local dealer might pay off. So there's upsides and downsides to going national or going with your local or
20:42
regional dealer. We've got this list here. McMullen Chevrolet is still the world's largest Corvette dealer. They
20:48
took that title from Sioka in 2022 and they show no signs of letting up. They have a pretty commanding lead over Seio
20:54
Corvette right now. Sea is number two. For this report, we did see a little bit of shakeup in that top 10. Bomb
20:59
Chevrolet Dadeland has moved into the third position and Mike Ferman at Criswell Chevrolet is just behind him in
21:05
fourth. We've got the list up on Corvette Blogger. Hopefully, we're going to be adding to it through the year. We call it a guide. It's a great guide to
21:11
seeing who's selling Corvettes. It's your choice. It's good to have options. Absolutely right. Also, the ghost of
21:17
Henry Ford has kind of reappeared here. You know, Henry Ford said you can have any color car you want as long as it's
21:23
black. Well, in Japan, that's the same thing. You can get a C8 Z06 in any color
21:28
you want as long as it's black. Yeah. In fact, we use that in our headline. The first batch of all the
21:34
right-hand drive Z06s to be sold in Japan are actually going to be black coups with adrenaline red interior. And
21:40
you think, why would they do that? It's the logistics. is the logistics of customers ordering, you know, do you let
21:45
them order anything and then you have to build it and then you have to ship it over to Japan or do you come up with a
21:52
program release, which is what we've seen them do with these export cars on initial launches. I think as we go on,
21:58
people will eventually be able to get to order their own custom cars, but for these initial launches, this is what
22:03
we've seen. So again, in Japan, it's a black coupe with adrenaline red interior. And some of the additional
22:08
options include competition sport seats, torch red seat belts, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. None of these cars are
22:16
going to be Z07 performance package cars. So, they're all going to be the lower wing cars because it's an export.
22:22
They're all going to have the export exhaust systems with the quartermount exhaust, not the quad center exhaust.
22:27
And that means they'll have a slightly lower horsepower rating of around 636 horsepower because these quartermounted
22:32
exhaust, they have these gasoline particulate filters that are required over there. Anytime I do an export story, I get the naysayers saying, "Oh,
22:39
you should be serving the United States first." Yeah. Blah blah blah. Steve, we're talking maybe 15 or 20 cars,
22:45
right? That's what Chevy can produce at Bowling Green during a single shift. I don't make too much of they're stealing our
22:50
cars or we're giving away all of our allocations. What we're doing is we are seating these export markets with just
22:56
enough cars to make them very exciting for the people over there. They'll get to see them over there. They'll get to hear them over there. and then hopefully
23:03
they'll want to order one when the next allocation arounds come around for those export markets. Again, it's a great
23:08
strategy. It just shows what we call the world domination tour of the Z06 just continuing to happen.
23:13
I think it's a great thing that Corvette and the Z06 is a world car. I see nothing wrong with that. I'm looking
23:19
forward to seeing it out there in Europe and Japan and in the UK and everywhere else. They're Corvette fans everywhere. We
23:25
follow a couple guys over on Twitter. I don't know what they say. Everything they tweet about is in Japanese language
23:30
and stuff like that, but they are hardcore fans. They get together, they go on cruises, they do shows, they go to
23:36
the racetracks. It's a way of life. We do it here, they do it there. And we're glad that they're celebrating America's
23:41
favorite sports car. Absolutely right. All right, buddy. Time for our final break. When we come back, it's Corvette racing coming up next on
23:47
Corvette Today. Are you ready for a better insurance policy without the Corvette tax? With
23:54
agreed value protection, the value of your collector vehicle will never change. Plus, you'll save money. Get a
24:00
quick quote at ncm insurance.com. Welcome to the world famous Autodirect
24:06
Corvettes. America's best pre-owned Corvette destination. Familyowned for 70 years and three generations. The number
24:13
one Mid-Atlantic regional dealer of the year for 15 years in a row. Corvette enthusiasts nationwide all say we have
24:19
the best Corvettes in the USA. With 125 Corvettes and exotics in stock, we are
24:25
C8 and C7 Corvette heaven and proud to say 50-year Corvette specialists.
24:31
autodirectcettes.com 85646199. You're going to love our Corvettes as
24:37
much as we do. We guarantee it. Yogi Barra once said, "If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end
24:43
up there." At True Wealth and Company, we take that to heart. See, at True Wealth and Company, we believe your
24:48
retirement lifestyle travels through two doors. Door number one, the blue door, gives you more options. Financial
24:54
freedom. Your money outlives you. Every happiness you wish for in life is through the blue door. Door number two,
24:59
the red door, is where you outlive your money. You rely on family, friends, or even the state to take care of you. At
25:05
True Wealth and Company, we're not just financial planners. The best way to walk through the blue door is to have a
25:10
written plan. Make a work optional lifestyle a reality with our proprietary true life map formula. Look towards your
25:17
future with anticipation, not apprehension. Having a rock-solid fiduciary partner like True Wealth and
25:23
Company is essential to effective financial planning. There's no winging it. There's nothing left to chance.
25:28
Look, we don't want you to become another Yogi Baraism. Give us a call today at 913653
25:34
TRW. Visit us online at retirewithtr.com. Start your financial independence and
25:39
work optional lifestyle today. 9136538783. Visit us online at retirewithtr.com.
25:45
Investment advice offered through company LLC, a registered investment adviser in the state of Kansas. Car Capsule brings you the official
25:51
multi-awward-winning Corvette SC1 showcase. It's the ultimate form of protection, preservation, and
25:57
presentation for your Corvette. No dust, mold, or mildew. This officially licensed GM product features all eight
26:03
Corvette flag logos, Corvette branding on the panels, a carbon fiber look and feel, and interior chip onboard
26:09
lighting, plus the Intella Charge battery charger with the fan backup system. It takes only 5 minutes to
26:15
inflate, and it won't collapse when you open the doors or during a power loss. It's a freestanding drive-in driveout
26:21
operation. See it at carcapsule.com or call 219-9459493.
26:30
You're listening to the Corvette Today podcast with Steve Garrett.
26:35
Hey, thanks once again for listening and watching Corvette Today, the show that talks about everything Corvette, brought
26:41
to you by Wheelcraft. Summer is here and so is car show season. You want your Corvette looking its best. Dress it up
26:47
with bright chrome or black chrome wheels. Visit wheelcraft.com and learn about their advanced PVD chrome
26:53
finishing. They can refinish your wheels or do a wheel exchange and you get a 5-year warranty. Visit wheelcraft.com or
27:00
call them at 833-639-4231. I'm your host Steve Garrett. With me is
27:06
Keith Cornet from corvette blogger.com. Don't forget if you want a deeper dive into any of the stories Keith and I
27:11
cover on this show, you can always go to corvette blogger.com. In this final segment, we switch things up. We're
27:17
going to do Corvette racing and Corvette rumors here. First of all, Keith, Indie car drivers took a lap around the
27:23
Detroit Grand Prix in a brand new 2023 Z06 pace car. That was so cool to see,
27:30
especially because we're kind of crossing over into Indie Car a little bit, you know, and this is what happens though. You got Chevrolet as an
27:36
engine builder in Indie Car. And so, we've had the Indianapolis 500 and the Indie Pace car has always been the
27:41
Corvette. recently. They essentially just recycle that pace car from the Indianapolis 500 and then they use it in
27:47
different events going forward through the indie car season here this summer. So, we've seen this previously the last
27:52
couple years where leading up to the race, there's always a little bit of dead time here and there. And so, Team Chevy will put a couple of their Chevy
27:58
drivers into the Corvette, say, "Yeah, go around the track, you know, we'll put a couple cameras in the car and go have some fun." First of all, this was kind
28:04
of a different course because for the last few years, the Detroit Grand Prix was held at Bell Isle. They recently
28:09
moved it downtown. and it was a 1.7 milei circuit runs along the Detroit River. A lot of elevation changes with
28:15
these streets and of course you have the tight confines of the street course there. So it's always I think a little bit more exciting. Anyways, we had a
28:21
couple Chevy drivers, Callum Illlet and Augustine Canapino. I hope I said their names correctly. They got to drive the
28:27
redness car around. A lot of times it's the first time they've been in the new Corvettes. They'll be like, "Wow, there's a lot of carbon fiber. Wow, look
28:33
at this. Oh my god, this car is so fast." The reactions are a lot of fun and that's why we enjoy these because
28:39
generally during an indie car weekend this happens and so we were always looking for it. Again, it's just the fun
28:44
content there. And of course, the hero shots, the picture of the Z06 stationed in front of the General Motors
28:50
Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit. It's basically the car and the racing coming home for all the people that work
28:55
at General Motors in Detroit and the surrounding area. So, it's probably a big celebration for them as well. So, we just enjoy this. It's a great time to
29:01
see the car, to hear professional drivers remark about the first times they're in the car, it's always good
29:07
news. Yeah. And street courses are always so challenging, just like Monaco for Formula 1. I'm sure the Detroit Grand
29:13
Prix is going to be something similar. Yeah. You know, and again, we talked about this last time is they had this really unique format for the pit lanes
29:20
where it was split. So, the pit lane ran down the middle and half the teams were on the lefthand side and half the teams
29:25
were set up on the right hand side. It was almost like a zipper effect when the cars would come in and then they'd go back out again. Just a neat way to do
29:31
things. Every street course is different, but yeah, like you said, they're always challenging and accidents happen. That's the thing.
29:37
That's very, very true, buddy. In the rumor section, Keith, on Wednesday of last week, we got a bombshell dropped on
29:43
us and it talked about the possible ending of Corvette racing next year. Yeah, you know, we've alluded to this
29:48
the fact and I really torn on it. This is like your favorite sports team. Not just leaving the market, but folding and
29:54
going under and you never hear from them. Corvette Racing, we've been following this team for 25 years. The ups, the downs, the highs, the lows, all
30:01
the great drivers, all the great leadership, Doug Feehan included. And it's just the end of an era with all the
30:07
changing regulations with GT3. We just got away from having a professional
30:12
category of GT cars and everything now is moving towards the GT3 and the amateur drivers and independent teams.
30:19
So, the writing's been on the wall for quite a bit. It's really just coming home to roost. Now, on the flip side, I
30:25
always try to be an optimist, Steve. And on the flip side, what we're going to end up having is more Corvettes in every
30:31
race if everything goes correctly. We had two cars as professionals in the Daytona Rolex 24 Daytona. Next year, we
30:38
could be looking at four cars, two in a GTD Pro car and then two in a GT Amateur. So there are still things
30:44
there, but we're not going to see a factorybacked effort from General Motors and Corvette Racing and Prattton Miller.
30:49
And in fact, Prattton Miller, as we talked about with the live stream and everything they're doing at Le Man. They are actually transitioning away from
30:56
Corvette Racing and the Corvette Racing Twitter handle and now a lot of that stuff's under Pratt Miller Motorsports.
31:02
The writing's been on the wall for quite some time and we're going to get into, I know, talking somewhat about the support of GTE. I'm hoping, Steve, that we will
31:09
just have more racing, more Corvettes. Everybody's going to then have their favorite cars or teams, you know, and it
31:14
might not necessarily be the next one, but I think it's going to be exciting and it should still be good racing for the fans. Even though we're saying
31:20
Corvette racing is going away, the spirit of Corvette racing is still going to be with us. And in fact, we're going
31:25
to still see some of the same drivers. We're going to see some beautiful cars. I want to say that it's going to be okay.
31:31
Yeah, I hope it will be. And let's talk about the GT3R program because Prattton Miller is going to support the GT3R
31:38
program. Yeah. So again, we're looking at four teams in IMSA, maybe another two cars
31:43
over in Wet, the World Endurance Challenge. So six cars right away. We
31:48
think that they have to build 10 this year to meet homologation standards. They have to do 20, I think, overall to
31:54
homologate the GT3 correctly. Sounds like it's in the process. It sounds like people are moving. We're hearing that
31:59
teams are going to start getting their cars probably around November of this year in advance of January start and all
32:04
the racing that goes on there. The way that they're going to support the program is obviously through parts and service and engineering. They're going
32:11
to actually even provide race strategy help. And then of course there's the driver. So Chevrolet will still maintain
32:18
a cadre, a quartet. We don't know exactly how many drivers they'll have, but there'll be prolevel drivers that
32:25
Chevrolet will have and then they'll hand those out to various teams. So Jordan Taylor might be racing in one
32:31
team's car, Antonio Garcia might be racing in somebody else's car. They'll have different drivers, a silver or
32:36
bronze underneath them, but it still is a Corvette driver. There's a lot of things going on, a lot of moving parts.
32:42
They've been studying, especially overseas, how teams handle the GT3 supporting aspects of it. They've been
32:48
going to school on this, and so hopefully they get it all correct when it actually happens. And finally, Keith, we had a huge
32:53
monumental win at Lama last weekend. You know, what a way for Corvette racing to close out its 25th year with a class
33:00
win at Lemons. I think it was 2016 since we won there last. It was definitely due, but anything can go wrong in these
33:06
24-hour races. And generally, if it's going to go wrong, it does go wrong. But it sure felt like stuff was going to start to go sideways on us. But yet,
33:13
they put their heads down. They never gave up, which is again the great team motto from Corvette Racing, and they made it happen. Lemons is such a fickle
33:20
beast. These ups and downs that teams go through, it's just like none other. We had that great practice sessions, you know, and then Nico Veron had that
33:26
accident where the car went off and did some damage, significant damage actually to the side. They had to change all
33:31
these parts out. qualifying was just two hours later but they were able to get it done and went out and not only qualified
33:37
they qualified in third place and that put them in for the hyper pole which is this new competition surrounding the
33:43
poll. So they take the top eight cars in each class and they have what's called the hyper pole and then they use that to set the grid and of course and then Ben
33:50
Keading just runs this great lap in the hyperpole. Puts the C8 R on the start of the grid for GTE. We're sitting pretty I
33:56
think looking at the start of the race we're in the very first position. All right, let's get it done, right? And then the race gets going and you're all
34:02
excited. You know, I know a lot of Corvette fans were certainly worried when we saw that car back in the garage. I think it was in hour two of the race.
34:09
It was a suspension failure, but the crew changed out that right front damper. It was back out on the track again, but we lost two laps. And I got
34:15
to tell you, I was very nervous. I know the people online were nervous, too. But once I saw that rain starting to fall, I thought, "Okay, this is going to be our
34:21
equalizer. I think this will help us get those laps back." Of course, right around the three-hour mark, we had a chance to get a lap back, but the team
34:28
says that nope, they kind of screwed up at Lemons this year at that first time out with the safety cars. They said that
34:33
a group of cars, including the class leader, were allowed to leave the pit lanes before the safety car came around. So, not only did we not get our lap
34:40
back, but we lost out some advantage with our tires. We were ready to put the pedal to the metal and see what we could do there, but the only thing you can do
34:46
is just keep going. I got to tell you, Nico Veron, what he did there, 19 hours left to run, he was lapping the circuit
34:53
four to five seconds faster than the class leaders. And when you can do that just over and over and over again, you're going to get your laps back. We
34:59
finally did get one of those laps back with about 8 and 1/2 hours to go and we were on the lead lap. Keing then had a
35:05
triple stit in the middle of the night, which got us even closer. I mean, it just amazing. And he says for him, it was just real easy. He just gets in the
35:11
zone and he says it's not a physical track, so it doesn't wear you out. You just lock in the zone and go. It was interesting because I was waiting for
35:17
the team update last night. I was expected to come after 10 PM and it didn't come until 2:30, almost 3 o'clock
35:23
in the morning. So, I got that update and went to bed. We were running P2 in class at that point. I couldn't believe it. Woke up this morning. The team was
35:30
leading. All three drivers did fantastic and keeping their cars out of trouble again. Nico Veron late race with 3 hours
35:36
to go. He set the fastest time for all GTE drivers. And then he came back and beat the fastest time again. The fastest
35:42
time lap was 3 minutes 50 seconds. I mean, there was just no stopping the kid. Nikki Catsburg, final driver in the
35:48
race, he brought us home, win our ninth lemons. We beat the second place Aston Martin Vantage by two minutes and the
35:53
third place Porsche by nearly 3 minutes. So, not only did we win, we won with a great margins. We got three races left
35:59
in the WEC. We've already won three races. We are so far ahead. I think we only need like four points to secure the
36:05
championship. And there's three races left. So, I think that's going to happen. I think our next trip out, we got Monza coming up July 9th. Of course,
36:12
we won there last year. We've got a trip to Japan coming up in September. That's the six hours of Fuji. And then our
36:17
final race for the C8R will happen in November at the eight hours of brains. Just fantastic. Corvette Racing has a
36:23
commanding lead of something like 80 points over the other GTE cars. I think it's a great way to close out the C8R
36:30
era in the factory racing era for Corvette Racing. Just a remarkable win. I couldn't be more proud of my guys that
36:35
excitement around it. You're really going to miss that next year, but we'll have more cars racing next year. That's always the goal. Maybe that'll be the
36:41
great equalizer. Absolutely. Well, congratulations to Corvette Racing. They won the GTE Amateur class and it's the
36:48
100th anniversary of Lama. Well, Keith, thanks for being on Corvette today. We'll see you in two weeks, buddy.
36:53
Sounds good. Everybody out there, keep waving. Go to the shows. Tell everybody about Corvette racing and how well they did. Maybe one day you'll grow up and be
36:59
a race car driver, too. Thanks for listening to Corvette Today. And please be sure to tell your family, friends, and other Corvette enthusiasts
37:06
about the Corvette Today podcast. And thanks to our sponsors, Wheelcraft. Want to dress up your Corvette with bright
37:12
chrome or black chrome wheels? Visit wheelcraft.com to learn about their advanced PVD chrome finishing. They can
37:17
refinish your wheels or offer a wheel exchange for most models and it comes with a 5-year warranty. Visit
37:23
wheelcraft.com today or call 833840-5334.
37:28
Soul Performance Products at soulppp.com. The official exhaust of Corvette today.
37:33
True company at retirewithtr.com. Also, Aerolari wheels. Get $100 off your
37:39
purchase with the new promo code CT111 at aerolari.com. And Hendrickk Chevrolet
37:45
in Kansas City at chevyusa.com. You've been listening to Corvette Today
37:51
with Steve Garrett. If you'd like to contact Steve with any thoughts on the podcast or ideas for guests on Corvette
37:57
Today, you can email him at stevegared djgmail.com.
38:03
That's Steve Garrett DJ@gmail.com. Garrett has two Rs and two T's. Or
38:10
connect with Steve on social media on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using Steve Garrett DJ. Thanks again for
38:17
listening to Corvette today.