So, now that I'm done with the car, the intent is to have it judged and achieve as high of an award as I possibly can, and then DRIVE it.

It was Friday morning, Feb. 16, 2007, and I stood next to my Ski-Doo MX Z 550X on the frozen ground near the Seven Clans Casino in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, shivering.

I was staged for the United States Cross-Country Racing Association Red Lake I-500, alongside 70-some other racers, waiting my turn to head onto the course. It was my first 500 and I had no idea what to expect. Just then Chad Colby, another racer who had been in my boots before, offered this nugget of wisdom: “If you finish it is something you will remember for the rest for your life. But just remember, you can’t win the race on the first day, but you can sure as hell lose it.” I would witness the truth of these words over the next three days. But at this very moment my sled was on the line and ready. But was I? Suddenly the flag went up and I rolled onto the gas and was gone. I was racing the I-500.

We moved up our schedule just a bit.

Got a chance to get out of Bowling Green a little early so we headed for Effingham on Friday night. Even got into Effingham early enough to visit with a friend of Tomi's from high school, who owns a Harley Davidson Dealership here. Got to see some pretty cool.......and expensive bikes.

Yea, we know - the automotive press has featured a whole bunch of Corvette ZR1 content lately (including us!), and readers are probably getting a bit tired. However, we figure that a cutaway of the mighty supercharged LS9 should be interesting enough to justify yet another post on the revived King of the Hill.

Painted in monochrome silver as GM is wont to do, this particular display isn't particularly photogenic. Still, we were able to capture some details that aren't easily observed in 2D drawing or press releases, so click through the jump for a variety of shots.

No. 63 Corvette C6.R Has Flawless Run to Second Spot on GT1 Podium



LE MANS, France - Corvette Racing experienced the agony and the ecstasy of endurance racing in the 75th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Drivers Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen piloted their No. 63 Compuware Corvette C6.R to a runner-up finish in the GT1 class and sixth overall in the world's most prestigious sports car race. It was the team's eighth consecutive podium finish, a streak that began with the team's first foray to Le Mans in 2000. While the No. 64 Compuware Corvette of Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Max Papis was sidelined by a broken driveshaft in the race's second hour, its sister car had a flawless run throughout the long day and night of racing.

Clear skies through the night gave way to storm clouds and heavy rain in the afternoon as the cars raced toward the 3 p.m. finish. With Canadian ace Ron Fellows at the wheel, the No. 63 Corvette C6.R was carving into the one-lap lead held by the No. 009 Aston Martin DBR9. Gaining as much as 30 seconds per lap, Fellows' charge was stymied by a safety car period for rain that began 49 minutes before the scheduled finish. A final 10-minute dash under the green flag was not enough time for Fellows to catch the Aston Martin.