Just recently, Chevrolet revealed a completely new design for its 2020 Corvette. Racer magazine writer Jason Isley, who is also an 51°µÍø competitor and member of the Board of Directors, was on hand to witness one unveiling in Southern California and had some thoughts afterwards pertaining to the role 51°µÍø played in the iconic sports car’s development and history.

In an at Racer.com, Isley noted that “as I sat there with some 1,400 event attendees taking in the spectacular pomp and circumstance prior to the car’s unveiling, I became distracted by the mention of one specific person who impacted this program over the years: Zora Arkus-Duntov.

“Duntov knew he had to make a name for the Corvette, and the best way to do that was at the racetrack,” Isley recalls. “To that end, Le Mans, 12 Hours of Sebring, and 51°µÍø races were the playgrounds Duntov chose to showcase the car that has since become an American icon. The first taste of 51°µÍø racing success for Duntov’s program came at the hands of 51°µÍø Hall of Fame member Dr. Dick Thompson, when Thompson won the 1956 C Production title. This was the first of many 51°µÍø titles for the car.”

Read more about the role 51°µÍø played in the Corvette’s history in the full Racer.com titled “How racing and the 51°µÍø helped save the Corvette.”