October, Corvette Month: Part 2, Setting a World Record

Corvette owners, indeed most sports car or motorcycle riders, keep a mental list of great roads to drive. They usually involve lots of turns; the kind that test your vehicle, show off its suspension, handling, and your driving skills.

One of those roads is US 129 crossing the mountains between Tennessee and North Carolina. It is called The Tail of the Dragon. If you look at it on map, it kind of looks like a dragon tail.

It's claim to fame is 318 curves in 11 miles. Speed is not as big a deal on this stretch of road because many of those turns are very tight hairpin curves that bring the car to about 25 mph. But even at that speed, centrifugal force takes over leaving the driver clinging to the steering wheel, and the rider grasping for a handhold.

Thanks to some of these turns, vehicles over 20' are prohibited from driving this stretch.

Since this stretch of road is not far from us, we have been on it a few times. On October 16, 2015, corvette owners from all over the United States signed up to set a Guinness World Record for the most corvettes to drive the Tail of the Dragon in one day. Since there is no official count, whatever we came up with would set the record. The hope was to get 200+ cars involved. There were well over 438 corvettes when it was all said and done, but the official record will be 438 because that was the number that officially signed up!

Corvette Caravan: View of our club from our rearview mirror

Our club left Blairsville, Ga at 9:30 that morning and headed for Loudon, Tennessee to attend the Corvette Expo. Once there, we registered for the run and received our certificate.



Car shows are mostly about walking around admiring someone else's car, or sitting by your car as people come and admire yours. Think of it as you will; 'exciting' probably doesn't quite describe it, but it can have its moments when you come across some really unusual old cars, new cars, souped up cars,.... anyway, it's a car show.

Happy 'Vettes wear happy faces. 

Love this sign! Humor and reality meet.

At 3:30 pm the moment had arrived to line up the cars. At that point, we didn't know just how many cars were participating but we knew it was a lot. As we sat in our car and waited for the signal, 'gentlemen, start your engines', we could hear a gentle, low rumble take over the hill above us where the first cars were getting ready to go. We didn't start our engine, because while there was a 'gentle, low rumble' in the distance, if it had been OUR engines we would not have been able to hear when it was our turn.

Our arm of the car show, lined up and waiting for the call to GO!

I was glad the day was sunny and not cold. For a convertible owner, it would have been unthinkable to participate in such an event with the top up. However, it also wasn't warm. The sun was bright in a clear blue sky, but the air had a chill to it, so I had my fleece headband protecting my ears, and my hoodie and windbreaker and heated seats protecting the rest of me as we headed into the mountains.

We took our place in an already lengthy line and rumbled out of the Loudon Municipal Park. Engines revved as we accelerated onto the highway. Traffic was not an issue. This was an official event and every (EVERY!) intersection for miles was blocked by local police. I wondered what the people sitting in traffic one mile from the traffic light were thinking as Corvette, after Corvette, after Corvette........ kept passing them by. Did we feel a little smug? Of course. It's hard not to as a police officer holds everyone back and waves you through a red light!

For some of the onlookers, it was truly fun. I glimpsed people standing outside stores, eyes fixed on the passing parade of sports cars. One couple, who had planned ahead, had pulled their car over and set up lawn chairs. (By the time our parade was done they probably wished they'd packed a picnic lunch.)  As we passed a Harley-Davidson store five guys stood outside. (I told Larry they were standing at attention, saluting. "Really?" he asked. "Well, the sun was in their eyes, so maybe that's why their hands were there," I admitted.)

As we finally turned onto 129, a group outside a store cheered and waved. I would love to know how long they had been standing there. We were in the middle of the pack and cars had been going by for quite a while.

Leaves filtering down left water spots on the windshield.

I must confess, that when 438 cars line up to drive the same road, it definitely changes the tempo. As in any traffic jam, when one car slows up for a turn, the accordion effect takes over and the whole pack slows down. This run really wasn't about speed, superb handling or skilled driving. It was totally a numbers game. Even so, it was fun!

11 miles and 318 turns later we turned into The Dragon Motorcycle Resort at Deals Gap, in North Carolina. It's an iconic pit stop, and that's why we were there...i.e. bathroom break and soda pick up (or drain and refill). Fifteen minutes after we pulled in corvettes were still filing by!

Some went on to Fontana Dam for a photo op, but by then, it had been a long day and we had an hour drive home.

So with the sun setting, the temperatures dropping to a cool 52 degrees, the heated seats on, and the top still down, we said goodbye to the Dragon. It had been fun. I'm really glad we were able to say WE were there, the day the World Record was set.

Now, dinner was calling.

11 Miles, 318 Curves, 438+ corvettes! Yeah, It was definitely worth it.

NOTE: When checking sources online, I found one article that said the unofficial count was 423. Our club president sent us an email telling us the count was 438. Whatever the official count turns out to be, it was still a pretty awesome experience!

This link has a pretty good video of the Tail from the cockpit of a Corvette. guinness-world-record-on-the-tail-of-the-dragon/

October--A Corvette Month: Part 1, National Corvette Museum

We've barely had a chance to take our corvette out this summer, but this month we tried to make up for that. For starters we took a 3-day trip to Bowling Green, KY, home of the Corvette factory and National Corvette Museum. The factory and museum are on adjacent properties. We toured the factory first, but no cameras are allowed inside. In fact, the only thing one can take is their ID and car keys. Everything else stays locked in the car.

All corvettes are made in Bowling Green, and all are made to order, whether they are ordered by the dealer or special ordered by a customer. And customers can make that order as special as they want. (We saw one 'fully loaded' with a price tag of $99,000! Personally, for that amount of money I'd rather have something on 4 wheels that's equipped with a bathroom and a bed!)

If you do order one from the factory you can arrange to go through the factory and watch it being made, then have it hand delivered to you at the museum! All this special treatment comes with a fee, but it is a really cool opportunity.

Assembly lines are fascinating. Watching robots bob up and down, or twist around welding parts is just fun to see. But I watch in wonder as a frame comes from one area and an engine or seat comes from somewhere else to meet at just the right spot and at just the right time.  I think the engineers who do the math and figure it all out are amazing. My mind simply can't work that way.

After the factory tour we visited the museum. Not being a true car buff, I focused on what made this place unique.

National Corvette Museum: They Yellow Cone is the Rotunda. More about that in a moment.

Entering into the building you are greeted by a long hall. The day we were there, there were eight cars lined up on each side of the hall, behind ropes. These cars were being delivered to their new owners at 10:00 that morning.

View from the back of the hall, facing the entrance.

Each car had a sign with the name of the person who would receive their car. Some of these people were already walking around, examining the one they would take home. Their excitement was palpable.

This guy was ready and waiting! It was actually a photo op of him in his new car; another 'special order' perk.

On the right side of the hall, was the gift shop and the rest rooms across the way were clearly marked.

There was an arrangement of flags on one wall that I found really unique. It seems people send American flags that have been flown in a variety of places to the museum and they have placed them on this wall. I called it The Wall of Honor.

(The plaque isn't crooked. It's the angle I had to use to avoid any glare.)

I also noticed a wall of military emblems in the factory. When I asked about it I was told that everyone who has been in the military and works in the factory has their name and branch of service on that wall.

There were lots of displays of cars that had stories behind them, but the focus for many people right now is the display in the rotunda. (That big yellow cone you see in the Museum photo) Early on the morning of February 12, 2014,  the earth gave way under the floor of the rotunda. A collection of cars on loan from various people and organizations was on display there. When the dust settled, eight cars had disappeared into the sinkhole. All eight were eventually recovered, although it took ground penetrating X-Ray to find some of them.

The building has been repaired and reopened. Two jagged lines are painted on the floor. One shows the opening in the floor, while the other outlines the entire hole under ground. The cars are once again on display, but there is a difference. Only three could be restored. The remaining five are on display as they were pulled out of the hole.

The blue car was the first one pulled out. It was damaged, but started right up and was driven out of the building. It has been fully restored. The white car was the 1,000,000 corvette ever made and had special signatures on it. It was a mess, but it was able to be restored. The black corvette on the lift in the background still has some damage on the door, and the fender. It will also be restored.

The pictures that follow are ones that were too damaged.

Wow. Not much to say here. Amazing the tires aren't flat.

Museums are good at salvaging and using everything. This rock is no exception. It was embedded in one of the cars. Now it is part of the landscaping.

After looking at the devastation, it was nice to go back to the entrance hall and see the brand new cars waiting for new homes.

The guy in the blue shirt (that would be my husband) isn't buying, just dreaming. For that's what corvettes do to people. Many start dreaming of owning one before they can barely drive. Just like that guy. And no matter when you get one, when you do, the wait was worth it.

Once you get it, the best part is just driving it. This month we had the chance to participate in a record setting event driving our car. Stay tuned for Part 2--The Tail of the Dragon!