Rick Hendrick Saves Rare 1954 NASCAR Chevrolet Corvette That Was Hidden In A Basement For 53 Years
It’s one of a kind.
The only Chevrolet Corvette that ever finished a NASCAR Cup Series race has been rescued and fully restored by Rick Hendrick.
The 1954 convertible was qualified for the NASCAR Cup series races held at Bowman Gray Stadium from 1960 to 1963 by its owner and driver Bill Whitley.
The car overheated and crashed out of its first two outings, but Whitley finished the 1962 race in 12th place after qualifying 13th. He crashed it again the following year and then stored it away in a basement where it sat until 2016.
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That’s when Whitley’s son Pat reached out to Hendrick Performance general manager Dale Ledbetter to tell him about the car and ask if Rick Hendrick might be interested. Along with owning his NASCAR team and the biggest car dealership group in the country, Hendrick is an avid collector of Corvettes and other Chevrolets. Hendrick bought the car and had it fully restored to its original racing condition, complete with Whitley’s red and white color scheme with the number 17X.
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Hendrick showcased the car at Bowman Gray Stadium this week in conjunction with the NASCAR Clash, which was the first Cup Series race held at the venue since 1971 and was appropriately won by Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott from pole position.
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Elliott was driving a Camaro, but it’s possible he’ll be in a Corvette soon. That’s because Chevrolet stopped manufacturing new Camaros in 2023 and will eventually need a new body for its NASCAR cars. It’s allowed to continue racing the Camaro as long as the seventh generation Cup Series car is used, but this year replaced the Camaro name on the rear bumper with “Chevrolet.”
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Chevrolet also discontinued the Malibu sedan last year, leaving the Corvette as its only model that is not an SUV, pickup or van, so there’s a possibility it will redesign the Cup Series car with the two-seater’s styling. The big issue is that the latest Corvette is a mid-engined vehicle and Cup Series cars have their motors in the front, so it will likely be a little awkward.
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The Toyota Camry isn’t exactly a carbon copy of the production car, of course. Instead of a four-door with a front-wheel-drive hybrid powertrain the race car has two-door coupe styling and a V8 powering the rear wheels.
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