The mid to late eighties was a nightmare for anyone involved in the SCCA Showroom Stock GT category, unless of course you raced a C4 Corvette. The competition was furious with the American Supercar because it dominated the class for four straight years. Since its debut in 1984, the fourth generation Corvette outclassed the competition with superior horsepower, suspension, handling, and braking. The only competition available on the track was from another Corvette. Porsche, Lotus, and other competitors fed up with only seeing tail lights and by being lapped on the track, formed together and banned the Corvette from the track. For two years, the Corvette was nowhere to be seen at an event.
 Corvette Challenge |
Not wanting to sit idle, and not allowed on the playing field, the Corvette Challenge was formed. The brains behind this series came from John Powell, and in 1987 a one million dollar purse was gathered up for the champion. This huge sum was offered to drum up some competition among the participants. To say it was fierce is an understatement. 56 identical Corvettes were manufactured by General Motors in 1988. All were exactly the same, with all the engines being produced to exact specs and equalized performance, then sealed and shipped to Powell Motorsports in Michigan to have them installed. Base price of the car was $33,033 dollars with an additional $15,000 dollars for racing prep and entrance fees to all the events. Gearbox duties fell to the Doug Nash 4+3 transmission, and all cars had the same gear ratio.
1989 saw 60 cars produced and in 1990 23 more were purpose built for a renamed series called the World Challenge. The 1988 series was won by Stu Hayner and the champion for 1990 was Bill Cooper. Other notable drivers in the series are Boris Said and Andy Pilgrim. Both went on to other forms of racing and have become very successful. Mid America Designs, Goodyear, and Exxon were all on board for the series as well.
By 1990, the other SCCA competitors had caught up with the Corvette, and it was allowed back into competition. By then, the Corvette had a strong foot hold in the American LeMans Series with Andy Pilgrim at the wheel, and all the challenge cars had been retired. Those produced for the series have become highly collectable, and are in the hands of only a few people.
For two years, essentially stock Corvettes in the hands of highly motivated and professional drivers, provided the most exciting racing ever witnessed. Now, if only someone would bring it back…
