Thursday, February 6, 2014

National Corvette Museum joins the Bloomington Gold Great Hall

Museum chosen to be one of 10 inducted into the Great Hall for 2014

Bloomington Gold has announced their list of 2014 “Great Hall” inductees with the National Corvette Museum being one of ten to earn the recognition this year. The Great Hall was established in 2010 by Bloomington Gold as a five-year project to honor the 50 most influential people, cars and organizations that have had a pioneering influence on the Corvette world.

The National Corvette Museum has pioneered several events that have had a significant impact on the Corvette world-- one being the Corvette Caravan. The Corvette Caravan has been called the biggest moving event in the world. Every five years, thousands of Corvettes stream to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to gather at the National Corvette Museum, giving all of the cities that they pass through a chance to see Corvettes from all generations as well as a glimpse at the Corvette lifestyle in action.

Other programs and events of note include the Delivery Program, where buyers can pick up their new Corvette at the Museum after getting tours of the GM Corvette Assembly Plant and the National Corvette Museum. Their family and friends can watch them as they depart “Corvette Boulevard,” making the trip down “Victory Lane” and across the finish line made from bricks salvaged from the Flint, Michigan Plant, where the first Corvettes were built.

Since the Corvette Museum opened in 1994, out of the love and devotion of Corvette owners, it has expanded in size from 47,000 square feet to 115,000 square feet in order to make room for even more displays and bigger events.

The Museum’s current project is the Motorsports Park where they will provide Corvette owners with a place to enjoy a myriad of driving activities. High Performance Driving Events (HPDE) will give enthusiasts a safe place to more fully experience the capability of their car and learn the skills that will help them on the track and the street.

The Motorsports Park will also be a place for teen driver safety classes and potentially for law enforcement training as well. The Corvette Racing team is already calling it their “home track” and plan to do testing there, allowing the general public and Corvette community to watch them do their work.


“This is a big honor for the Museum, and we pledge to do our best to live up to the standards of this prestigious recognition from Bloomington Gold,” said Museum Executive Director Wendell Strode.  The official induction ceremony will take place as part of the Bloomington Gold event, June 27-29, 2014 on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign, IL.  The National Corvette Museum will be on-site offering Corvette Store merchandise and NCM Insurance quotes and information.  Learn more about their event online at www.bloomingtongold.com.