The cars are already buzzing around the new Motorsports Park track across the highway from the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. Museum officials held a grand opening ceremony Thursday morning.
Bill Thomas from Corpus Christi, Texas is among the thousands of Corvette owners who made the trip. He says he’s anxious to take his 2014 yellow convertible Z-51 on the track.
“I haven’t been on this track yet, but we had a police escort from Little Rock, and we got up to 112 miles an hour coming up here,” said Thomas.
Corvette Museum Executive Director Wendell Strode says plans originally called for only one portion of the track to be open by now, but says the project has come in ahead of schedule.
“Because of the great support of yourselves, corporate sponsors, acre club members and many other folks that have stepped up,” Strode told the crowd gathered for the grand opening ceremony. “Not only do we have a two-mile West course, we have a one-mile East course, a three-mile combined course and a 22-acre paddock.”
Plans for a control tower, 18-car garage and racing garage remain in the rendering stage. The track will be used for test racing, but will also be available for private rentals.
Mary and John Nist are visiting from Cream Ridge, New Jersey. Mrs. Nist says they not only meet lots of fellow Corvette fans in Bowling Green, but they see some of the same people year after year.
“We know a lot of great people, we’ve been coming here for 20 years,” said Mary Nist.
“And we come down twice a year and every time we come down we meet other nice people that are engaged to what goes on here and they seem to have as much enjoyment as we do,” said John Nist.
The Corvette Museum’s 20th anniversary celebration continues through Saturday. Eight-thousand Corvette owners have registered for the event.