Precision Valley Corvette Museum Night
at
Twin State Speedway
Claremont, NH.
June 4, 2004
This was a brand new event on the schedule this year.
Since the event was Friday evening, and a 4 hour drive from home,
I drove the Vette to work in Augusta, ME for the morning.
At Noon, I left for Springfield, VT and
the Precision Valley Corvette Museum.
About a dozen Corvettes met at the Museum. 50 years were represented:
From a '54 to the 2004 that was to be raffled off on July 4.
At about 5:30 we headed out in a caravan for the short, scenic drive to
Claremont, NH, and the racetrack. The Vettes had a special corral set
aside for us. I even had a tent!
(Check that mirror shot: all 5 Corvette generations!)
After several practice sessions on the track for the various classes, it was our turn. All of the Vettes lined up behind the track pace car, and did 6 laps around the track. The 2 C5s at the back of the pack wowed the crowd by hanging back, stopping side by side, then drag racing down the straight in front of the stands. The track officials got into the spirit by actually flagging them off to start each race! While we were doing that, the race drivers were passing their helmets throughout the stands collecting donations for the American Cancer Society as the announcer told the story of Corvettes Conquer Cancer - how it started and what we have been doing since.
After our 6 laps, we pulled up in a Le Mans Start sort of formation in front of the stands. There the track owner, Dennis Fleury, presented me with a check for $500 sponsorship and Matt Alldredge, owner of Precision Valley Corvette Museum, presented a check for $2500 sponsorship. Then the drivers turned over $260.62 that they had collected from the spectators for the American Cancer Society. Finally, Museum manager Roberto Rodriguez gave me $240 (the $20 registration for the 12 participating Vettes), also for ACS. Doing the quick math, that makes $500.62 for the American Cancer Society in NH and VT!
We then cleared the track, and the evening's races began. After each class heat, we went down on the track to present the trophies to the top 3 finishers in a photo session. There are a lot of VERY SERIOUS RACERS at this track, and we are looking forward to going back again next year!
Thanks to Dennis Fleury of Twin State Speedway and Matt Alldredge of the Precision Valley Corvette Museum for hosting this fun event, which produced $260.62 for the American Cancer Society in New Hampshire and $240.00 for ACS in Vermont.