We never dreamed we would ever drive a Corvette when we were growing up and sure never thought that we would have the opportunity to be racing Corvettes.  The Pantherbranch Racing Team races two Corvettes, a 505 HP Z06 and a 638 HP ZR1.  High speeds thrill us at a time when most people are starting to slow down.  The Big Bend Open Road Race is now in the history books as our first open road race and we have competed in that event three times and in 2012 will move up to Super Sport Class.  We're hooked.  The distance was 59 miles and then return 59 miles.  Alice drives the first leg and Jim drives the return leg. Our times in both directions are fairly consistent so on the return leg, we are adjusting time more so than making up time.  Alice went through one of the known speed traps at 138.1 MPH during practice which was very close to our 140 MPH tech limit.  Jim had gone through the practice trap at 140.1 MPH which was our maximum tech speed.  We had  fifth place finish in 2011 and are moving to a higher speed class in 2012 with the ZR1.

The Sandhills Open Road Challenge is also in our history books and marks the first race where we placed in the top three.   We achieved third place in 2010 after beating eleven other cars in our fourteen car speed class.  The 2011 race was a challenge as we moved into a higher speed class and were 32 seconds behind after the first leg.  We made that time up on the return and would have finished fourth except they did not have scores for the second leg individually but had total times, hence our fourth overall performance.  Times are very close in open road racing and the speeds are usually within thousandths of a second and MPH.

The Z06 was absolutely outstanding during the races and the response was fantastic.  It's a long drive to Arnold, Nebraska but well worth the trip for the networking and we stayed with a family in Arnold named Raoul and Judy Johnson.  They are wonderful people and great hosts.  We shared space with our friends Lee and Mary Joe Crawford from Arkansas. A highlight of the trip is the one mile run where Alice's 2011 mile speed was 156.4 MPH and Jim's was  160.0 MPH. 

We participate in road racing events as part of the Looking Glass Corvette Club's Race Team  Our friend Forrest Thompson and his wife Jaimie Lou are active in that group based in Lakewood, CO.

We want to thank the many volunteers who graciously give of their time to make racing possible.  Without them we couldn't race.  So, THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS and RACE WORKERS.  This is true for every event we attend and everyone works very hard to make these events safe and exciting for the participants.  

We look forward to events by MKM out of Nevada as this group has an outstanding reputation and was very understanding when we had a medical issue prior to an event.

More information on the Big Bend Open Road race can be found at http://www.bborr.com/.  Information on the Bonneville 100 can be found at http://openroadracing.com/. The Sandhills event is a totally different course with lower overall speeds.  We thoroughly enjoyed the Sandhills race and information on that event can be found at http://www.sorcrace.com/.

Suggestions and other helpful racing/timing information can be sent to vettez06@tampabay.rr.com.   Thank you to all who have sent suggestions on timing and racing in general.   Racers are a very helpful group.

Our local Corvette Club is Nature Coast Corvette Club and their URL is http://www.ncvette.com/  This is a fun group of folks who really enjoy participating in different types of Corvette activities and fun events.  If you move or live in the Florida Nature Coast area, you would enjoy this Corvette Club and it's members.  There are Corvettes from all generations in this fun club. 

 

   

 

 
This video is the 2010 Sandhills Open Road Challenge.  Alice driving and note at 17:50 there is a sign that says finish.  Alice was expecting someone waving a flag and didn't lift until her navigator told her she had crossed the finish line.