1997 Torch Red Coupe, Automatic, Z51
1998
May 21, 1998: The night we picked up the 97. 10,486 miles and nearly flawless!
Think Sandy's happy?
From the dealer, we went to dinner. Yes, it was raining.
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June 11 - The Sendoff from the Maine Governor's Mansion,
hosted by Mary Herman, Maine's First Lady.
June 19 - Somerville, NJ Cruise Night.
Bloomington Gold 1998
June 26 - arrival at Bloomington Gold, our first national event, and one of the largest.
Time for a portrait.
And a pose with new primary Sponsor, "Corvette Mike" Vietro.
The Bloomington ACS Relay For Life requested our appearance.
Sandy did the Survivors' Lap around the track.
Lined up behind the cruiser to lead the 60 mile Road Tour of about 2000 Corvettes.
July 4 - Corvette show at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, OH
July 8 - National Corvette Restorers Society
National Convention in Collinsville, IL
The 97 shared the front apron of the Convention Center with a rare Fuely 57.
In route to the next event, we paid our first visit to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY.
And of course we had to get this photo op...
July 11 - Tom & Charlene from Maine joined us in Auburn, IN to travel to the Black Hills Classic in SD.
Black Hills Classic, Sioux Falls SD.
Notice that the wheels are now chrome. Thanks, Corvette Mike!
July 25 - Boise ID Vette Fest
July 31 - Vettes On The Rockies
August 7 - Gallup, NM
August 19 - Reception @ Corvette Mike in Anaheim, CA
On the road back East...
August 20 - Holbrook, AZ
Wigwam Motel
August 21 - Tucumcari, NM
August 22 - Shamrock, TX
Conoco Station & U-Drop Inn
August 28 - Corvettes @ Carlisle
Sandy and Me at our booth.
Dan Gale, "Corvette Mike" Vietro, Elfi Duntov and me.
Parade time. #3 in line of 400 Vettes!
September 3 - National Corvette Museum 4th Anniversary
September 10 - Mid America's Fun Fest, Effingham, IL
September 15 - Chuck Mallett's, first annual maintenance
Chuck donated a full maintenance, and the full crew spent the whole day on the car,
including mounting the new tires that Carlisle Productions had donated.
Lincoln County Weekly Article
1999
NCRS-FL Winter Meet,
Disney Wide World of Sports, Kissimmee
On the way down
Bloomington Gold
Cruise night, Somerville, NJ
Corvettes @ Carlisle
Commissioned by Chip Miller, renowned photographer Richard Prince met us in Princeton NJ (in fresh snow!) to shoot photos for publicity related to Sandy's '97 being selected for display in "Chip's Choice", this year featuring Women and their Corvettes.
This was the setting for the photo selected for the
poster / Corvette Fever Magazine / C@C Program below.
"Chip's Choice" display
2000
C5 Birthday Bash, National Corvette Museum
Corvettes @ Carlisle
Funfest
2001
NCRS-FL Winter Meet
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Bloomington Gold
Funfest
2002
Gate City Corvette Club "Spring Fling"
Monterey trip, 2002
23 days, almost 10k miles, 8 events on the Monterey Peninsula in a 10 day period.
In the process, I looped the country to pick up the last of the 48 contiguous states.
This 1997 has been through all of them!
Monterey, CA
Laguna Seca
Chuck Mallett
Funfest
Olde Mystick Village
2003
NCRS-FL, Kissimmee FL
C5 Birthday Bash, National Corvette Museum
Precision Valley Corvette Museum
Springfield VT
Skyline Drive Corvettes
NCRS National Convention, Hershey PA
Somewhere on the road...
Gate City Corvette Club Fundraiser, Nashua NH
Corvettes @ Carlisle
GM Powertrain Engineering Center, Ypsilanti MI
Mount Washington, NH
2004
Bloomington Gold, St. Charles, IL
The Kane County "Relay For Life" invited us to display. The CCC Vette was a popular photo op for the teams.
National Corvette Museum 10th Anniversary and Hall of Fame
November, 2004: Chevy Vettefest, McCormick Place, Chicago
This was by invitation: All past "Chip's Choice" Vettes were featured in a special display.
2005
NCRS-FL, Kissimmee
The ride home - the Blizzard of '05!
NCM Birthday Bash
"Service Column Lock"
American Le Mans Series, Lime Rock Park, CT
That Pace Car is the actual one that General Colin Powell drove to pace the Indy 500!
I was honored to have John Fitch park his "Phoenix" at our booth!
Corvettes @ Carlisle
2006
NCRS-FL Winter Meet, Kissimmee FL
On the way down a momentous event happened:
Mid morning, after an overnight in Carlisle, I got a call from friend and cancer survivor, Paul Eggermann in NJ. He was on his way home after picking up his new C6 from Kerbeck's in Atlantic City, and was ecstatic! He said it was fantastic, and added that he thought I should have one! He said that he knew I had nearly 200,000 miles on the Corvettes Conquer Cancer C5, and, with my permission, in the morning he would start a nationwide fund drive to purchase one to replace the C5 so I could continue Sandy's mission! To top it off, he intended to have Corvette Chief Engineer Dave Hill present it to me on the circle in front of the National Corvette Museum on April 22, during the C5 Bash! He says there was a long silence on the phone as this sank in.
He Made It Happen!
Leaving Maine for the last time...
National Corvette Museum, Bowling Green, KY
The auction is under way. The winner was to write 2 equal checks - one to the National Corvette
Museum and one to the American Cancer Society. Then I would sell them the car for $1.00.
And the Winner Is...
Roman & Marilyn Sabadaszka. It was his birthday!
He immediately put the car on loan to the Museum for 2 years.
This is a page for the event from the C5 Registry magazine.
It actually spent time on the turntable in the front window of the Museum!!!
2008
At the Bash, I had the honor of starting the '97 for the first time as it ended its 2 year stay at the Museum!
2010
Corvettes @ Carlisle - The Reunion
The' 97, then owned by Richard Fleming, Plant City FL, joined the 2006 and me at my booth.
2013
July 14 - Shenango Valley Corvette Club "Corvettes & Classics Car Show", Hubbard, OH
The last time I saw it
The '97, now owned by Bair's Corvettes, Linesville PA.
They have continued the car's mission of fundraising for cancer causes,
in this case to buy a van to transport patients to the local oncology center!
It had gained 9200 miles since I let it go in 2006.
