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| Steve and Karen Nichols of Las Vegas, Nevada follow the SoCal/SoNev Caravan Section's Lead Car along historic U.S. 66 east of Seligman, Arizona. |
The largest Corvette events in the World are the National Corvette Caravans, staged every five or six years by the National Corvette Museum (NCM) in Bowling Green Kentucky. From over two dozen starting points around the U.S., Corvette Caravan Sections begin their trips, all of which end in Bowling Green, which, since 1981 has been the home of the GM Assembly Plant which builds the Corvette. The shortest Caravan Section covers less than 100 miles. The longest Caravan Sections, from the Pacific Northwest and Southern California/Southern Nevada run nearly 2500 miles and take five days. Flowmaster has sponsored the last two Southern California/Southern Nevada Caravans.
"MSD has been instrumental to providing a memorable experience for all our Caravaners," Hib Halverson, the the NCM's Section Captain for SoCal/SoNev in '03 and '09 said. "For the last two National Caravans, they supplied SuperConductor Plug Wires and other ignition parts for the SoCal/SoNev Caravan Lead Cars and purchased ads in our 'Route Book', the publication we give all 450 Caravaners and which contains maps and instructions for the trip. No doubt, MSD sees the value in supporting the grassroots enthusiasts of America's Sports Car."
The five-day trip, which began at Auto Club Speedway at Fontana, California overnighted in Flagstaff, Arizona; Tucumcari, New Mexico; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Little Rock Arkansas. Each night included a party and with each day as more Caravaners joined up in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, the parties were bigger and bigger culminating with well over a thousand happy Corvetters at a blow-out, barbecue hosted by Bale Chevrolet in Little Rock.
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| Corvettes, wall-to-wall and every model
year and color at the National Corvette Caravan. At this Reform Stop at
Rhodes Chevrolet in Van Buren, Arkansas, the SoCal/SoNev,
Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle and Central Texas Sections joined with the
Arkansas/West Tennessee Section. By this time, the group was about 450
Corvettes. |
Capt. Halverson's "SoCal/SoNev Caravan Organizing Team" planned the trip's first 3 1/2 days to follow parts of old Route 66 with stops at Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive-In at Seligman, Arizona; the famed Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas; the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma and the Route 66 Interpretive Center in Chandler, Oklahoma. From there, Route 66 went northeast towards Chicago and the Caravan continued east, on I-40, towards Bowling Green.
The arrival of all Caravan Sections in Bowling Green were spread over two days to reduce the congestion on I-65 which runs north and south through Bowling Green and is a major transportation artery between Chicago and the Gulf Coast. On September 2, The Southern California/Southern Nevada Section arrived in Bowling Green about 6:30 in the evening with an eight mile long group of Vettes. It took almost an hour for the Caravan to thread its way through the Museum grounds.
The Southern California/Southern Nevada Section of the 2009 National Corvette Caravan went 2500 miles on it's five-day trip and MSD helped the SCSN OT make the trip a memorable experience for all its Caravaners. Images provided by Sandy Rubel.
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| The SoCal/SoNev Caravan met the
Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle Caravan at Adrian Texas in front of the famed
Midpoint Cafe. Shown here are the two Caravan Sections' lead cars along
with part of the 525 Caravaners from the two groups. Adrian was the
halfway point between Chicago and Los Angeles on old Route 66. The two
Sections held a link-up ceremony across the street from the Midpoint
Cafe where reproductions of the original Auto Club of Southern
California, Route 66 midpoint signage posted in the 1920s are located. |
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