The NCM Bash is the official start to the National Corvette Museum’s “on” season and they know how to kick things off right. For three days straight they have car shows, special features, tech demonstrations, auctions, tours around the local area, dinners and more, and it’s all good fun. The technical classes and assistance are especially neat, with technicians present to address concerns on C4 and newer Corvettes on-hand for individual needs. But if there is one thing to see and do at the Bash in a short amount of time, it’s not happening at the Museum, but at that little tract of Heaven across I-65, the NCM Motorsports Park, where the track was hosting a High Performance Driving Event.
Did I remember that the Bash was going on? Nope. By sheer miracle did my wife hear a radio promo at the unholy morning hour as she was getting ready. Within a few minutes I was dressed and hauling tail out to the track, where Matt Busby and Mitch Wright accommodated me at the last possible freaking second (thanks again, guys!), allowing me onto the track to shoot. They ran the races in heats using the 2.87 mile Grand Max Straight track layout, putting groups out based upon driver experience and ability. Novice drivers could have an instructor ride along to point out how to wheel it on the track, and more experienced drivers could hang it all out for the world to see. And a few of them did just that. Beyond Corvettes, there were a few Mustangs (including one absolutely snotty Boss 302R), a Challenger SRT-8, an LS-swapped Porsche 944, Miatas of varying degrees of modified, BMWs, and even a KTM X-bow on hand. Drivers pushed hard, filling the air with the smell of hot brakes and, in the case of one Mustang driver, thrown-up dirt from a sideways off-track excursion. NCM Motorsports Park is growing fast, with garages and paddocks going up, and the action is great! We’re looking forward to more events later this summer!
