CarGuyChronicles celebrates the opening of the ICONIC CORVETTE RACECARS @ NCM exhibit at the National Corvette Museum’s E. Pierce Marshall Performance Gallery!
1957 TEAM ZORA USA Mille Miglia FI Corvette
From the historic roads of Italy to the heart of Corvette country, a remarkable piece of racing history has arrived at the National Corvette Museum. The 1957 big-brake, four-speed, fuel-injected 283/283 (RPO 579E) Corvette known as the “Spirit of Zora,” entered by Sarasota, Florida’s Team Zora USA and members of the Sarasota Café Racers (Michael “Mike” Moss, Martyn Schorr, John Cutrone) in the 2026 1000 Miglia, is now proudly on display with 11 landmark racecars in the E. Pierce Marshall Performance Gallery.
Owned and driven by Moss and navigated by John Cutrone, this legendary Corvette completed the 2026 1000 Miglia, held June 9 through June 13. The five-day, 1,250-mile journey through Italy (Brescia-Rome-Brescia) followed the route of the historic Mille Miglia endurance race, challenging participants to navigate winding roads, historic cities, and demanding terrain in a celebration of automotive heritage.
Named by Founding Editor of VETTE Magazine, Martyn Schorr in honor of Zora Arkus-Duntov, the pioneering engineer known as the “Father of the Corvette,” the Spirit of Zora represents the performance-driven philosophy that helped transform America’s Sports Car into a world-class competitor. More than six decades after its production, this 1957 fuel-injection Corvette continues to demonstrate Corvette’s engineering excellence and enduring spirit.
The Museum’s exhibition brings TEAM ZORA USA’s journey to life through unique artifacts and multimedia storytelling. Featured alongside the Corvette are reproduced pages from the team’s official 2026 1000 Miglia logbook, highlighting the third day of competition as Moss and Cutrone approached Rome. These logbooks served as essential navigational tools throughout the rally. When they temporarily lost their way while driving through Rome, the crew relied on its logbook to regain their bearings, return to the designated route, and continue the race.
Adding another dimension to the exhibition, a video presentation playing behind the Corvette explores the vehicle’s significance, its participation in the 2026 1000 Miglia, and its connection to Zora Arkus-Duntov’s lasting legacy. Together, the Corvette, navigational artifacts, and video tell a compelling story of determination, teamwork, and the passion for performance that has defined Corvette for generations.
Now on loan from Michael Moss, the Spirit of Zora offers Museum guests a rare chance to see a historic Corvette that keeps making history. Experience the Spirit of Zora in the E. Pierce Marshall Memorial Performance Gallery at the National Corvette Museum, where Corvette’s legendary racing past continues to drive its future.
1957 Don Yenko Corvette
In the early 1960s, Chevrolet dealer Don Yenko had a successful partnership racing Corvettes for the Gulf Oil team. Seeking a car to race in the SCCA’s B/Production class, Yenko modified this 1957 Corvette that had been traded in to his dealership. Yenko’s modifications made this car a dominant SCCA racer, winning nine events and the B/Production National Championship in 1963. After the Gulf Oil partnership ended, Yenko continued to race his Corvette in B/Production events and test new modifications that would help grow and make his specialty car performance business successful.
1961 Gulf Oil B/Production Championship Corvette
In 1961, four years into Chevrolet’s voluntary ban from racing, Grady Davis, VP of Gulf Oil, started the first corporate-sponsored Corvette racing team. Harnessing the resources of Gulf Oil’s Research and Development division, Davis ordered two Corvettes delivered to Yenko Chevrolet, each equipped with a 283/315 fuel-injected engine, Borg-Warner 4-speed T-10 transmission, Positraction rear end, as well as heavy-duty brakes and suspension. While Chevrolet was not supporting racing programs, Chief Engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov approved a little-known “Sebring Package” featuring parts that were not RPO (Regular Production Options), such as a vented hood, stiff front anti-roll bar, aerodynamic headlight covers, and a 37-gallon fiberglass gas tank.
Driven by Don Yenko, Ben Moore, and the “Flying Dentist” Dr. Dick Thompson, it became one of the most dominant racecars of its time, making 11 trips to victory lane and winning back-to-back SCCA B/Production National Championships in 1961 and 1962.
1962 Gulf Oil Corvette
Dr. Dick Thompson raced this Gulf Oil Corvette during the 1962 SCCA racing season. Thompson was among the first racing drivers to earn SCCA wins and championships driving Corvettes, and his success helped boost the reputation of the Corvette as a competitive racecar. This Corvette includes a 327/360 fuel-injected engine, a massive 37-gallon fuel tank, and the highly capable RPO 687 package, which was a package that only 246 Corvettes received that model year. This option put the car in virtually race-ready condition “as-is,” as it added heavy-duty brakes, suspension with special rear shocks, additional air scoops for the brakes, and a quicker steering ratio.
1962 Le Mans Corvette
This is the only Corvette to compete in the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans. Along with a 327/360, Rochester fuel injection, and Positraction rear axle, it is equipped with RPO 687, which includes heavy-duty brakes, air scoops for the front and rear brakes, special shocks, and special motorsports steering. The Modena-based Scuderia Scirocco fielded this Corvette at Le Mans with drivers Tony Settember and Jack Turner, who retired from the race in the 14th hour due to a fuel injection problem. This Corvette was converted for street use until its Le Mans restoration, completed in 2004.
1973 SCCA Bethke Corvette
Built by Doug Bethke, this Corvette is known for being the fastest stock-frame, 359-horsepower Corvette ever built. It won the GT1 SCCA National Championship in 1981 and 1982.
1984 Neil DeAtley Corvette
At the request of General Motors, financier Neil DeAtley built four Trans-Am Corvettes as an openly factory-connected professional racing team. Driven by Michael Andretti, David Hobbs, and others, the DeAtley Corvettes were pointing the way to a full factory-backed effort ahead.
1989 Record Run Corvette ZR-1
This Corvette broke a 24-hour average speed record that had stood for 50 years. The record attempt was organized by Corvette racer Tommy Morrison, who assembled a team of drivers to race a ZR-1 at Firestone’s test track in Fort Stockton, Texas. Morrison and the team hoped to break several records, but their primary target was the record for average speed over 24 hours, set 50 years earlier at 161.180 miles per hour. The racers determined that if they ran at an average speed of just over 180 mph, they could achieve a new record of 175 mph with time factored in for pit stops. Although Morrison and his team battled driver fatigue and chilly weather through the night, their ZR-1 held up to the task. Not only did they set a new 24-hour average speed record of 175.888 mph, but the ZR-1 also continued racing for another four hours to claim the 5,000-mile average speed record of 173.791 mph!
1989 Corvette Challenge Car No. 1
From 1988 through 1989, the SCCA sanctioned the Corvette Challenge Series, a racing division in which drivers competed against each other in identically prepared Corvettes. General Motors built 60 Corvettes for the 1989 season, each one optimized for motorsports and outfitted with racing safety equipment by Protofab. Stu Hayner, the defending series champion, drove this Corvette in a race in Dallas where it was involved in a tumbling crash during the closing laps. Hayner was unhurt, and the footage of the accident made this car one of the most well-known Corvettes from the Series.
1997 Homologation Corvette C5-R
With the fifth-generation Corvette debuting in the 1997 model year, General Motors moved forward with a plan to create a fully supported factory Corvette racing team. This Corvette is one of the early C5-R prototypes built for the homologation process. The Corvette Racing team would compete in the highly competitive American Le Mans Series beginning in 1999.
Corvette Racing C5-R #004
Built by Pratt and Miller, this C5-R competed for Corvette Racing during the 2000-2002 seasons. One of its most famous appearances was at the 2001 24 Hours of Daytona. For this event, Corvette Racing regulars Andy Pilgrim and Kelly Collins teamed up with NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt and his son Dale Jr. The media fanfare around the Earnhardts was enormous, and the team fittingly used No. 3 in the race in honor of Dale Sr. After 24 hours of competition, this Corvette finished fourth overall and second in class behind the other Pratt and Miller C5-R, which captured the overall victory. Just two weeks later, the elder Earnhardt was killed in an accident on the last lap of the Daytona 500. This C5-R remains the only racing Corvette that Earnhardt ever drove.
Corvette C8 Z06 GT3.R
The Corvette Z06 GT3.R debuted in 2024 as the new Corvette GT racecar. This mid-engine Corvette conforms to GT3 specifications for racing series like the IMSA SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship. The Z06 GT3.R is based on the design of the street-legal Corvette Z06 and even uses a production Z06 aluminum chassis. Its engine is the V8 dual-overhead cam LT6.R, a racing version of the LT6 that can produce up to 600 horsepower.
What sets the Z06 GT3.R apart is its specialized racing equipment installed by Pratt Miller Motorsports. These components include a six-speed manual-sequential transmission, a steel roll cage, reinforced crash impact structure, racing-optimized suspension, a large rear wing, and a carbon fiber diffuser.
In 2025, Pratt Miller captured the IMSA GTD Pro Drivers Championship and Teams Championship with Antonio Garcia and Alexander Simms behind the wheel of this Z06 GT3.R.
The special exhibit of ICONIC CORVETTE RACECARS @ NCM will be refreshed regularly, but the Corvettes currently on display should be there for the rest of the year and the first few months of 2027. The Spirit of Zora ’57 FI Corvette that competed in the 2026 1000 Miglia in Italy will be on display for six months.
Photos courtesy of the National Corvette Museum.
For more information about the ICONIC CORVETTE RACECARS @ NCM and the National Corvette Museum, please visit https://www.corvettemuseum.org/