It's a long story... but I'll do my best to provide you with the condensed version...
The pictured Corvette along with 2 other team mate Corvettes (all painted the same Cunningham colors / white with blue stripes) were running LeMans in 1960. The one pictured above won its class and came in 8th overall with John Fitch and Bob Grossman at the wheel. This car was the first Corvette to ever win LeMans and held the title for over 40 years until the C5R from Pratt & Miller provided the identical results!
My father always wanted this car and his good friend (and restorer of the car) found it for him by tracking the VIN. Again, a long story short... it took them over 10 years to finally talk the gentleman into selling the restored back to stock 1960 Corvette to them... finally the previous owner decided to sell it & my father jumped on it! The car was restored immediately after the purchase by Corvette Repair Inc. back to its original race condition. It has since been to Meadowbrook and won Amelia Island twice along with a few other event victories...
It's a neat car with an incredible history behind it and we're fortunate to be the current care-holder of the vehicle :thumbsup Ironically enough John Fitch is still alive and I went to his home in Lime Rock, CT - I asked him what it was like to sit in the car again, was it like it used to be?! He didn't hesitate and said it's just like the old days! Very cool... he's 91 years old now & still as sharp as a pin. I also had him sign the dash while sitting the in the car.
My plans are to take the car back over to LeMans for its 50th reunion (2010) - it would be nice to see the Corvettes win again & have the Cunningham there along its side 50 years later... it was a dream my father had and since his passing (5 years ago) I'll make sure to follow through.
Life is good,
Lance
PS Here's a picture of the car at LeMans back in 1960 - another crazy story on how I got these pics...
