Mick Swezey -- 1957 Corvette

Mick Swezey of Castro Valley, CA, finished 23rd in his 4640cc. 1957 Corvette.  Note roller skates on roll bar.  See below for explanation!
 

Website contributor and Corvette maven Jim Lockwood on this Corvette: 

"Jerry Austin raced this 1957 Corvette in 1957.  He sold it to Bob Bondurant who scored overall wins in 18 of 20 races with the car in 1959. (This is the only Corvette Bob Bondurant ever owned outright.)  After Bondurant, the car was owned by a Dr. Eddinger, Bart Martin, current owner Mick Swezey, and one other owner whose name is unknown."

From racer and website contributor Ron Keil:

"Perhaps the first Corvette Bob Bondurant raced was this '57.  The car was later sold to Bart Martin who raced it for a couple of years before switching to the Big Bore "Modified" machines.  My long-time Friend Myron A. Swezey II bought the car from Bart, in 1963 IIRC, and has owned it ever since; he races it in vintage events to this day.  The car was a race car from the start and has never (legally, anyway) turned a wheel on the street. 

Mickey resprayed the car in the 60s a shade of Godawful Brown (a Thunderbird color) and then suffered considerable body damage at Vacaville when an axle snapped, inverting him in the middle of Turn 1.  He glued the car back together and raced for a few more years, when the usual life events (career, marriage, home, mortgage, children) curtailed racing for all of us. 

The car languished in his father's garage for decades until vintage racing rekindled his interest and he restored the car to its earlier condition and colors.  Bondurant has frequently asked Mickey to sell the car back to him, but can one give up a race car he has owned for over 40 years?  I didn't think so.  The roll bar still has the scrapes from the Vacaville pavement and Mickey has run the car with a pair of child's roller skates fastened to that bar."

Next:   1957 Alfa Romeo Giulietta & 1963 Abarth-Simca

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