The National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park project recentlygot a major boost. NASCAR great, Rick Hendrick, through the HendrickAutomotive Group, is making a $100,000 contribution to the NCM MotorsportsPark. As owner of Hendrick Motorsports, his teams have collected 10 Sprint CupSeries Championships and over 200 NASCAR victories. While Rick knows racing, heis also a great friend to the National Corvette Museum with a real interest inthe Motorsports Park as a recreational andeducational facility.“The NationalCorvette Museum celebrates an American original and one of the most iconic carsever made,” said Rick Hendrick, chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group and ownerof NASCAR’s Hendrick Motorsports. “Racing is in the Corvette DNA, so theaddition of the Motorsports Park is an exciting next step for the NCM facility.Being associated with the track’s message of education and safety is somethingwe’re proud of, and we look forward to taking some laps when it’s completed.The Museum is already a very special place for Corvette and racing enthusiasts,and this new project will grow that reputation even more.”
MuseumExecutive Director, Wendell Strode, is thankful for the support and all that itmeans. “We are grateful for this generous contribution and thrilled bywhat this donation represents. Coming from one of the most successfulindividuals in NASCAR history, this is a real confirmation that all of our hardwork, planning, and fundraising activity is beginning to get the attention ofpeople who understand and appreciate the full potential of the NCM MotorsportsPark. As we continue to move forward, we are confident that validations likethis one will lead to increased involvement from sponsors, race teams, andmotorsports organizations who will want to be a part of this exciting project.”
“We wereimmediately impressed by Steve’s initiative while still in the interviewphase,” said Wendell. “He had already started coming up with sketches as soonas he saw the layout of the land that we had to work with. He was on board fromthe beginning with the idea of working with Corvette Racing to build infeatures from Le Mans, Watkins Glen and the Nurburgring.”
With theuniqueness of the track and special features recommended by Corvette Racingdesigned into it, the track can be used as a test facility for all of theAmerican Le Mans and Grand Am teams. The possibility of some NASCAR teams usingit for road course practice has also been discussed.
In addition tothe track design and facilities, the close proximity to hotels, restaurants,shopping and such is also appealing to motorsports enthusiasts.
Steve plans tohave the track design finished by the end of the year. He will then work withthe Museum’s local civil engineering firm, DDS Engineering, to prepare biddocuments for the track – a process which is expected to take two to threemonths to complete. Bid packages should be ready by the end of the firstquarter of 2013.
“Of course,continued fundraising is the key issue that will influence whether we sendthose bid packages out and have our ground breaking in time for the Bash,” saidWendell. “At this point we are still confident that this will happen butneed individuals and clubs to keep the momentum going with donations of anyamount. We had six new participants step forward to take part in our Buy anAcre Campaign during our last event. Each time someone steps up to do this,whether it is an individual, a club or organization, it not only gives us theability to move forward financially, but it also shows prospective sponsorssomething about how much the Corvette community wants this track to happen. Youbuilt this world-class Museum, so your support of this track is a powerfulendorsement to potential sponsors,” he added.
For moreinformation on the National Corvette Museum’s Motorsports Park and to see ashort video on the plans, visit www.motorsportspark.org.
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