Yahoo Autos Petersen Museum exhibit tells the 'Corvettes in Competition' story from A to Zora
Any fans of racing, and especially of racing Chevy Corvettes and the mascot Jake, should try to get to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles for the exhibit, "Corvettes in Competition: Racing America's Sports Car."
The show does every Corvette fan the favor of starting at the beginning, with Zora Arkus-Duntov. The Russian engineer considered the father of the Corvette had to rescue the Corvette before he could turn it into a beacon of the country, and he did this by taking it racing. When Chevrolet only sold 700 Corvettes in 1955, GM considered killing the car. Arkus-Duntov had convinced GM to offer the Corvette with the new small-block V8, then he got a 1956 model with a 255-horsepower 5.0-liter V8 to the Daytona Speed Trials and the 12 Hours of Sebring. The roadster set the flying-mile record on the Daytona sand, then won its class at Sebring on the way to finishing ninth overall. GM dubbed this car "The Real McCoy" in an advertising campaign touting the accomplishments, and some credit it as the car that saved the Corvette. It can be seen at the Petersen.
