Classic Corvette Racers - History With Side Pipes

Mike Yager's '68 LeMans racer enlivens the Goodyear tent at the '07 Walter Mitty Challenge in Atlanta. The tire-maker's sponsorship was critical to the car's appearance at the French race in '72.

Any way you look at it, the Corvette and racing are inseparable. Despite the well-intentioned American Manufacturers Asso-ciation (AMA) racing ban of the late '50s, the production car and the road racers have always shared a certain symbiotic relationship premised on the idea that competition betters the breed. Witness the titanium valves, dry-sump oiling system, and extensive use of carbon fiber in the current Z06.

Thus it was fitting that when Classic Motorsports magazine's 30th Annual Walter Mitty Challenge came to Road Atlanta in April of 2007, it was accompanied by three historically significant Corvette racers: the lightweight '69 L88 that Elliot Forbes-Robinson piloted to victory in SCCA A-Production in 1978; the '62 that won B-Production in 1964; and the No. 4 '68 that began as a wrecked street car, only to take First in GTS at LeMans in 1972.

Placed on display by Mid America Motorworks, these three Corvettes come from the collection of Mike Yager, the company's president and "Chief Cheerleader." Before we get into the cars, though, let's take a look at the company that put them at the Mitty, where they could be seen and touched.

Here's the '69 L88 racer as it rolled off the track after Elliot Forbes-Robinson won the SCCA A-Production championship in it during 1978. This feat was not an isolated incident: Herb Kaplan, the car's first owner, won an astonishing 46 races out of 49 starts behind the wheel.

Values Driven
Like the Corvette itself, Mid America Motorworks is a tangible incarnation of the American Dream. Corvettes first grabbed Yager's attention in 1963, and the fever hit full force the next year when his older brother brought home a '60 (the whole story can be found in the Mid America book When Did it Start for You?). Not long after that, Yager bought his first Vette, a Marina Blue '67 roadster.

Like most entrepreneurs, he quickly realized that the best way to pursue one's passion is to make a business out of it. And so, four years after buying the side-piped 327 roadster, he borrowed $500 and started selling Corvette T-shirts out of the trunk of a car. Selling Corvette accessories offered him a daily opportunity to do what most of us love about the hobby: being around the cars and the people.

From the beginning, Yager instilled in Mid America certain core values: honesty, a sense of responsibility for the business he was creating, a dedication to continually learning, and, most importantly, a commitment to his customers. "We're not in business to make money," Yager told me when I interviewed him. "We're here to meet and exceed our customers' needs." And that's not just corporate-speak. To give one example of the company's extraordinary customer-service policies, Mid America even accepts returned merchandise purchased from other companies.

The L88 racer was owned by Phyllis Stiles, of Los Altos, California, who ran it under the Pacific Racing banner. Stiles was able to obtain Forbes-Robinson's services through her friend Paul Newman (yes, the actor), who had been a team driver with EFR.

Obviously, this sort of service brings devoted customers, as well as success. Mid America Motorworks arguably has become the after-market's leading supplier of Corvette parts and accessories. Yager himself has been profiled by Forbes magazine, and-in a nod to his extensive Corvette collection-he was recently named one of the top 50 car collectors in North America. Boasting numerous historic racers, as well as rarities such as the XP-819 prototype, Yager's collection is on display at the MY Garage museum on Mid America's corporate campus in Effingham, Illinois. "I share my cars with people," he said of the collection...which brings us back to the three Corvettes at Road Atlanta.

No. 8: "Lightening" Speed
Brought to the Mitty in part to be reunited with Elliot Forbes-Robinson, its most famous driver (who's commonly referred to as simply "EFR"), the blue No. 8 '69 was one of only four "lightweight" Corvettes ever produced. Sub-stantially lighter than other Corvettes, it came with a "long-distance kit" that included wheel spacers and fender flares, along with headlight buckets and clear plastic covers. The L88 427 it came equipped with, dramatically underrated at 430 horsepower, is the sort of engine from which legends are made. Corvettes optioned with the L88 didn't come with radios, and they didn't come with climate control.