By a show of hands.
Who would want to attend a fun Texas-sized car show and talk to Corvette legend Doug Fehan?
Of course, you do, and we would, too, if we could have gotten away.
Fortunately for us, Stephen & Marisa Hegyesi, reporters for Vettes of Atlanta Magazine, were headed to the show. Stephen and Marisa are long-time Corvette owners and true road warriors.
When it comes to “See the U.S.A. in your Chevrolet,” they’ve been there and done that, as they say. So, we asked Marisa to snap a few photos and put pen to paper to bring us this Lone Star State experience.
Thanks for this report, Marisa!
ROAD TRIP!!! – 30th Annual Texas Corvette Association Open Car Show
By Marisa Hegyesi
The 30th Annual Texas Corvette Association Open Car Show was held in beautiful downtown Boerne, Texas, on April 21-23. This car show is the only event outside of San Antonio sanctioned by Fiesta San Antonio (a 10-day celebration).
Funds raised from the annual car show benefit SJRC Texas, a charity that serves San Antonio, New Braunfels, and Bulverde communities by offering a safe haven to children who have experienced trauma, abuse, and neglect.
Talking With Doug Fehan
There was a Meet & Greet on Friday night at Herff Farms, with hors-d’oeuvres, a cash bar, and a program featuring Doug Fehan. Mr. Fehan led Corvette Racing to 14 team championships over his tenure.
He also compiled 13 manufacturers and driver championships and 133 race wins in more the 20 years as the team’s program director of Corvette Racing. His role now is as a Corvette brand Ambassador.
Mr. Fehan discussed the development of the GT3, which he stated should debut at next year’s Daytona race. According to Mr. Fehan, the GT3 has no common parts with the model presently being raced.
The GT3 will have less power, more weight, and much more speed. Presently, Corvette Racing has two wins, one pole position, and a 31-point lead in the GTE Am Drivers and Team championships.
With a deeper dimension to their strategy and utilizing specialized software to calculate all aspects of the race (pit stops, fuel, etc.), Corvette Racing looks forward to winning many more races. Mr. Fehan stated that 20-25 GT3s will be manufactured in the coming years in order to perfect the design.
The 800-HP Twin Turbo and the 1000-HP Zora Hybrid were briefly discussed, with the consensus that they would not be seen in racing within the foreseeable future. Mr. Fehan related a story about a lithium battery fire at a Le Mans race several years ago, where even the Fire Department could not extinguish the fire.
He told several other interesting stories of past Le Man’s races. When asked to compare Daytona to Le Mans, Mr. Fehan stated that the Le Man’s race is 10X harder and that the autos at the Le Mans are “bulletproof.”
He further discussed the differences in more detail.
Great Turnout
On Saturday, all of the 450+ car entrants arrived in downtown Boerne and were quickly and efficiently placed.
Besides our Georgia entry, there were four cars from Colorado, one from Tennessee, one from Minnesota, and a slew of others from throughout the State of Texas.
There was another C8 in attendance with Georgia temporary tags. However, it was just recently purchased by a Texas gentleman from one of our local Vette dealers.
There were several outstanding Corvettes at the show. Here are a few of my favorites:
Thin Blu Vette
Randall, an Officer from the New Braunfels police force, brought his unique 2005 sixth-generation Thin Blu Vette. The exterior design is dedicated to all Texas Law Enforcement Officers who gave their lives in the line of duty.
There are over 2000 names on the car, and more are being added, unfortunately.
His hope is that every state would dedicate a similar tribute vehicle to attend events in order to remind the public of their sacrifice. Also, to assure the officer’s families that their loved ones are not forgotten.
Texas Hospitality
For those of you who are also muscle car admirers, there were several entries that would have attracted your interest. As the DJ played a great selection of songs and bids were placed at the Silent Auction, attendees enjoyed strolling in the beautiful weather through miles of cars.
On Sunday, approximately 40 of the Vettes participated in a Hill Country drive from Boerne to New Braunfels, with lunch at Knoll’s Crossing. Due to its extensive group of volunteers, The Show was impressive, well-organized, and efficiently run
We would like to especially thank Pat Hulett and Linda Specht, VP of the Texas Corvette Association, for their assistance and Texas hospitality.
We would like to suggest that Atlanta area Corvette Clubs think about organizing a road trip for the 2024 Texas Corvette Association Open Car Show on April 20, 2024.
Big-Time Fun!
We can’t thank Marisa & Stephen Hegyesi enough for trekking down to Boerne, Texas, to cover this event. Looking over these photos and reading her article, you can tell everyone enjoyed big-time fun in the sun at this show.
Plus, getting a chance to spend time with the legendary Doug Fehan makes it even more memorable. Definitely, next year, we have to make plans to caravan a group of Corvettes down to this event.
We can’t wait to see what the Texas Corvette Association has in store for next year’s open car show.
Texas Corvette Association
Website: Texas Corvette Association
Membership Information: Contact
Email: [email protected]
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