The 2016 Corvette Hall of Fame recipients will be inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame during a ceremony and banquet on Friday, September 2, 2016. Their induction will take place as part of the Museum’s 22nd Anniversary Celebration September 1-3, 2016.
Bob Bondurant |
In 1967 while driving a McLaren CanAm car at Watkins Glen, Bondurant was seriously injured in a horrific crash when the steering arm failed at 150 mph. While recuperating in the hospital, he began drafting ideas for a high-performance driving school. After a full recovery, he opened the Bob Bondurant School of High-Performance Driving in 1968 at the Orange County International Raceway. Forty-three years later, Bondurant has graduated more than 500,000 students ranging from celebrities, military officers, professional race drivers, teens and driving enthusiasts to be better, safer drivers at his facility in Phoenix, Arizona.
“Like most racers, I started on ground zero. I am an original California hot-rodder turned WHITE HOT when I started winning everything in my Corvettes,” said Bondurant. “My Corvette race record reflects winning National Corvette Driver of the Year and the big launch pad with Carroll Shelby. I went on to win Le Mans, was the winningest driver on the American team, the first and only one to win the World Manufacturer’s Championship, and lived my dream to be a Formula One driver and work for another legend, Enzo Ferrari. Being inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame is my moment to honor and express my humble appreciation to the #51 and both #614 Corvettes that whispered to me after each win: ‘It’s your destiny to be a champion, now go live your dream’ . . . and I did.”
Ralph Kramer |
Kramer was a reporter for The Indianapolis News before joining GM in 1973. During his tenure in Chevrolet public relations, he managed Chevy’ pace car and race engine presence at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He left GM in 1995 to become the Speedway’s public affairs director and director of the Hall of Fame Museum. In 1998, he formed TheKramerCo., a PR and marketing firm. He helped found the “Corvette Enthusiast” magazine, where he was a columnist. Since then, he has authored two books about the Speedway, “100 Years of Racing” and “A Century of Excitement.” He and Jerry Burton, a 2014 Hall of Fame inductee, co-wrote the widely acclaimed “100 Years of Chevrolet” book for Automobile Quarterly.
“Though I left GM in 1995, I have remained involved with the National Corvette Museum ever since,” said Kramer. “They say you come for the car and you stay for the people, and that’s definitely true with Corvette. Coming to events in Bowling Green brings back great memories and it’s an opportunity to share Corvette history with those new to the hobby. I’m looking forward to the 22nd Anniversary Celebration and Corvette Hall of Fame induction Labor Day weekend and the opportunity to be inducted into a group of Corvette elite.”
Donna Mae Mims |
Her dedication to racing was not only recreational but also professional, serving as Manager of Hi-Performance at Yenko Sports Cars. Her duties included helping other racers specify parts and even find sponsors, and her “company car” was a 1969 L88 Stingray. Mims freelanced as a writer for several car magazines, including Competition Press, Corvette News, SCCA’s Sports Car, and Sports Car Graphic magazines, among others. She participated with an all-female team in the 1972 Brock Yates Cannonball Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, driving a Cadillac. Adrienne Barbeau’s character in the Cannonball Run movie was based on Mims.
After retiring from racing in 1974, Mims stayed busy as a worker in Race Control at three Ohio race courses, and remained active in events of the Steel Cities SCCA Region, Corvette Club of Western Pennsylvania, Three Rivers Corvette Club (which she founded), Steeltown Corvette Club, and the Tri-Rivers Car Club Council. Sadly, Mims passed away on October 6, 2009, at the age of 82. Fittingly, her body was displayed seated in her pink 1979 Corvette during visitation at the funeral home, and a large group of forty plus Corvettes participated in the funeral procession.
The National Corvette Museum established the Corvette Hall of Fame in 1998 to confer the highest honor and recognition upon the most influential individuals in the history of the Corvette. The award recognizes those who have made significant contributions to their respective fields, each having reached the highest level of accomplishment. Inductees must also reflect the highest standards of integrity and character to positively enhance the prestige of the Corvette and the National Corvette Museum.
Additional information on reserving a spot at the prestigious Corvette Hall of Fame banquet will be available in the coming months via our website at:www.corvettemuseum.org or can be obtained by subscribing to our weekly eNewsletter “NCM eNews” (click the "profile center" link at the bottom of this email). Corporate tables are available for the dinner and can be reserved by contacting Karen Renfrow in the Events Department at 270-467-8804 or emailkaren@corvettemuseum.org.
The National Corvette Museum is a member-driven, non-profit foundation dedicated to educating the public through the preservation of the Corvette’s past, present and future heritage. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT, the Museum is located at Exit 28 off I-65 in Bowling Green, KY.
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