| (1-6-09) From Corvette Expert Jim Gessner:
"Mickey Thompson took four Corvettes to Daytona in February, 1963.
All were Z06 coupes with the big 36 gallon gas tanks.
Two of the cars had special 427cid 'Mystery Motors' and NASCAR Grand
National 3-speed transmissions. One was silver, the other was white. These
big block monsters raced on Saturday Feb. 16, 1963 in the "American Challenge
Cup", a two-hour sprint race against other Prototype cars of the era.
(This race was run on Daytona's high-banked oval course.)
Junior Johnson qualified
the car on the pole a week earlier, on Sunday,
February 10th. Due to light rain on the next Saturday he didn't drive
the car in the race. Mickey asked Bill Krause to sit in, and he did
and finished 4th. That silver car is today owned by Tom McIntyre in Burbank
and we have all seen it race at Monterey Historic since 1985.
Daytona Morning News article released on February 17, 1963, the day
after the American Challenge Cup Race, titled "Car Didn't Act Right, Junior
Got out", that's when Bill Krause stepped in. Great
little story.
Rex White drove the other 427 "Mystery motor " Corvette that day.
The car is MIA and still being looked for. |
