Corvette Party at Waterford Hills, Michigan

[HoldHard]

One of the best-kept secrets in southeast Michigan is a racetrack called Waterford Hills. It’s a tight twisting, up and down hill road course that very few people from around here even know about. Jeff Cauley (www.cauley.net), Danny Kellermeyer (www.djrace.com) and Southern Racing put together a Corvette party at the track and you only needed your car as the ticket to get in. Not only did they organize it, they also were racing in the SCCA regional event held at the track this weekend.

Jeff and Danny have matching yellow race-prepared Corvettes and they did very well. Danny took first and Jeff was second in class for the races on Saturday and Sunday. Several people were there from GM (and they even raced!!) including the guy in charge of the C6 development. He listened to our requests and smiled a lot but was very tight lipped about what was going to be in the car. Kip from GM Design used Danny's computer, the side of his huge trailer as a screen and the attached projector to do a presentation on Corvette design through the years. It was very interesting, showing that they work on an American icon and remain true to its heritage.

Oh yeah, the party. As mentioned, you drive up to the gate, they smiled and waived you in. There was a roped-off parking area for the Corvettes and 25 cars were to be parked in the Corvette-Only spectator viewing area. When I pulled the Callaway in, they handed me a parking pass to this area. That was the good news. The bad news was you had to traverse a talcum-powder-like-dirt road to get to the viewing area. After parking the car, the California Duster cleaned it up and I wiped the engine compartment down. Leaving the hood up (of course) triggered a barrage of questions. Next time I think I'll make up a sign.

During the lunch break, they allowed the Corvettes onto the track for parade laps. Danny did the pre-parade-lap instructions, basically no horsing around, no burnouts, keep the cars at a controlled speed and in single file. He mentioned that one of the SCCA regional directors was in attendance so he didn't want any screw-ups. He also recalled that when the Viper club was invited to do a parade lap, the second car out hammered it coming into turn two, lost it and put the car into the adjacent ravine. I don’t think they'll be invited back anytime soon…..

After the race on both days, a barbecue lunch was served with snacks and cold drinks (sorry, no Yuegling…). After the Saturday design presentation, Danny awarded the door prizes with a tremendous amount of humor as several of the ticket holders had already left. It was a great time and special thanks go out to the Kellermeyer family (even his grand-daughter was working), Jeff Cauley for providing the courtesy shuttle vans, pace cars and dealership employees to handle logistics and the team from Southern Racing for a really great time.

Additional pictures at http://community.webshots.com/scrip...myPhotos&security=ZTFlgs&pos=16&time=5&play=1

HoldHard

 

[*89x2*]

Sounds like it was a neat time

I recall one of the first Corvette "catalogs" (the anual booklets for the years specs / options) came from Cauley Chevrolet in Bloomfield Hills I have 1/2 my family from the area (Wayne St.)
Again, sounds like you had fun!!

 

[EricVonHa]

The photos looked great! There are a couple really good ones with your car on the track. It looks like you guys were going 100mph even though you mentioned the laps were only "parade" laps. Those Aerobodies have that effect on making the car seem as though it's flying!

I remember being on that track in the mid 90's with a club. From what I recall after you pass the start finish the elevation goes up through some type of twisty and then it unravels downhill going through another turn, does it not?

Thanks for sharing! Looks like it was a great time!

 

[HoldHard]

I remember being on that track in the mid 90's with a club. From what I recall after you pass the start finish the elevation goes up through some type of twisty and then it unravels downhill going through another turn, does it not?

Yes, after the start/finish line you go through a 180 degree right hander through a couple of linked turns and then up the hill into a fast right hand turn. If you are in the wrong gear (2nd) and punch it going up the hilltop, the car unweights and skips sideways. I was told about another race driver that actually rolled his ZR1. When that happened, the left side tires bit into the dirt as the car slid off the racetrack and he flipped a full 360 degrees. He ended up on his tires, but totalled the car.

The track requires total concentration all the time. The drivers only get to relax at the end of the back straight and then only for about a second. Lap times were running from 1:14 for the GT1 class car and 1:16 to 1:18 for the Corvettes.

HoldHard

 

[reubenmc]

Holdhard, I'e seen all the pictures you have posted of your B2K and I can't get over how awesome it looks!! That is one great car you've got there!!:BOW

 

[HoldHard]

That is one great car you've got there!!

Reubenmc,

Thanks, I'm finally getting enough "seat time" to get comfortable driving the car. As you all know, you have to be conscious of when the turbos light off, as things start happening ALOT faster at that point.

It definately attracted attention at the Waterford track. This weekend is the show at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) with the NASCAR Craftsman trucks on Saturday and the IRL cars on Sunday. Autoweek sponsors the car show trophies and they are very

HoldHard