PRICELESS PAIR!
2001 Corvette C5-R and 2004 Corvette Z06 LeMans
By Toby Mosholder

As I was strolling the grounds at Spring Fling 06 in Panama City Beach, Florida. I heard a vehicle fire up and was blown away - I had to track it down. As I searched for the source of the wonderful sound, I found a 2004 Corvette Z06. Parked right beside it was a "matching" Corvette with different wheels, roll cage, and an aluminum wing. Upon looking closer at this "matching" duo of Corvettes there was something about the Vette with the roll cage that I was curious about. So I tracked down the owner - John Arnold - and began asking him questions about this monster of a Corvette. He started by explaining this Corvette had been in "hiding" for a few years getting some motor work done and a new paint job.
Mr. Arnold continued to tell me that this monster Vette was a 2001 C5-R, specifically #5 of only 20 built for that year. This was truly a GM factory race car. This car is one of only 20 that are produced by Chevrolet to compete In the Le Man's Racing Series. These cars are sold to the public but are next to impossible to get your hands on. My excitement grew more and more as he continued to tell me about this very rare Corvette. The more John told me about the car the more I wanted to feature it in the magazine. We continued to talk a while longer, and I asked him about the 2004 Z06 that was sitting beside the C5-R. I was told that it is one of only 1793 made in 2004. It was produced to commemorate the awesome achievements GM has accomplished at the Le Mans 24 hour race in the last six years. Knowing that, I wanted to feature them both! John graciously accepted.

Here is some more information on each of the cars. Let's start with the C5-R. This is the same production run as the 2001 C5-R #2 that was piloted by Ron Fellows, Chris Kneifel, and John Paul Jr. And the #4 car that was driven by John Heinricy, Andy Pilgrim, and Scott Sharp. The #2 Corvette finished 3rd at the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona. The rest of the 99 season was just as interesting with a 2nd at Laguna Seca and 3rd at Las Vegas.
In 2000 the cars were driven by Ron Fellows, Chris Kneifel, nd Andy Bell in the #3 car and Andy Pilgrim, Kelli Collins and Franck Freon in the #4 car. Those two cars finished 1st and 3rd in the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. And 1st at the Texas Motor speedway.
In 2001 things got really interesting with the addition of Dale Earnhardt and his son of the same name. The #2 car had Ron Fellows, Franck Freon, Chris O'Donnell, and Chris Kneifel. They won the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona. The #3 car was piloted by the legendary Dale Earnhardt and his son Dale Jr. Along with Kerry Collins, and Andy Pilgrim. This was the year they shook the racing world with 1st places at the Grand Prix of Texas, Sears Point, Portland, Mosport Intr'l Raceway, and Mid-Ohio. The biggest victory came at the 24 Hours of Le Man's where the cars finished 1st and 2nd!
Now to save sometime and length of the article we will skip to just finishing position for the 2002 season with 1st place at Sebring, Sears point, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Mid Ohio, RFK Stadium, Miami Street Circuit, and the Petit Le Man's.
2003 was a good season as well. With 2 race wins and several 2nd place finishes. The season was 10 races long with strong finishes for both cars.
The 2004 season was the wildest, with Dale Jr, going for a fiery ride at Infineon raceway in Sonoma California.
The C5-R continues to dominate the American Le Man's Series and will be a force in the future. This was just the surface of the legacy that the C5-R is producing for itself. And I hope you understand why I wanted to feature both of these cars so badly. Although It is a departure from what we are known for at Gauge Magazine, I just had to share with you the history of this amazing race car.

The 2004 Corvette Z06 Le Man's edition was produced in 2004 to commemorate the Le Man's victory. There were only 1793 produced. You can only get this package in the Z06 format. Another thing that makes this car rare is it is the first Corvette produced with a painted Carbon Fiber hood with a SMC under skeleton. To get your hands on either of these cars would be an honor but for John Arnold he has doubled the pleasure by nabbing both the commemorative Z06 and the original C5-R. Wow!!!

Gauge Columnist
Toby Mosholder