Chevrolet and motorsports go back to the beginning of the age of the automobile. Not only is the Chevrolet name legendary in Indy car folklore, but also the drivers that piloted America’s premier brand to victory. Smokey Yunick, Jim Rathmann, Mark Donohue, A.J. Foyt, Andretti clan, Roger Penske are all legendary fixtures in the brickyard and are a huge part of Chevy history.
Beginning today, the National Corvette Museum and Intercity Lines, Inc., are hosting a retrospective of the Indy 500 at the National Corvette Museum. Featuring cars, memorabilia, videos and paying tribute to the iconic race’s enormous talents.
Included will be priceless cars from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, including racers from Smokey Yunick’s, Mark Donohoe and Zora Arkus-Duntov’s SS.
According to the NCM, “Even closer to home is an enthusiast known by many in racing circles as the ‘quilt lady’ of the Indy 500. Jeanetta Holder of Alvaton, KY has been presenting the Indy 500 winners with her hand-made quilts since 1976, and is even given access to the Winner’s Circle to provide her gift in person. On display is the quilt she just completed for Alex Rossi, winner of the 100th Indy 500. Ms. Holder’s work is not only in the hands of the winning drivers, but she also has many celebrity customers including General Norman Schwarzkopf, John Ritter and Lee Greenwood.”
Be sure and check out the sinkhole exhibit too with a “ride” that recreate the catastrophe. Hell, they’ll even sell you a bottle of dirt from the hole.
If you haven’t been to Bowling Green Final Assembly just across the highway, you really owe it you yourself to stop by. The NCM took over factory tours recently leaving Chevrolet with the sole duty of making the world’s best sports car. Stepping on the Corvette assembly line floor is like entering an automotive version of “Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.” Really cool, and at the end, you’ll get to see a couple of cars “birthed” and driven off the line.
There’s also another attraction too. There’s a friggin’ full on motorsports park next door, with driver safety lessons, racing schools and car club events. It’s one of one of the most modern and up-to-date racetracks in the world.
If you tour the factory, put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and investigate where GM spent almost half a billion dollars recently in upgrades to the factory. There’s a rumor that GM is gearing up to build a mid-engine Corvette supercar. When the news broke that they’re increasing factory floor space by 50%, tongues started wagging.
So the Indy retrospective is cool, but just one more reason to get over to Bowling Green.
The 12-car display is located in the Museum’s Exhibit Hall and runs June 10 – October 14, 2016 and is included with regular admission. The Museum is located at I-65 exit 28 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Check out more details on NCM’s Exhibit page here.