1969 Chevrolet BFG Stars & Stripes Racing Corvette
1969 Chevrolet BFG Stars & Stripes will be offered at RM Auctions Monterey Sale on August 19, 2011. American Corvette racing icon is expected to fetch between $750,000 – $950,000. This 1969 Corvette was one of three team cars sponsored by BF Goodrich during the 1971 – 1973 seasons.
This racing Corvette was delivered new as a factory L88 Corvette Coupe and was finished in white over blue. Numbered #49, it was initially slated for promotional use by BFG, although quickly converted to racing specification and powered by one of the last Traco-built ZL-1 motors. In 2008 it was restored by Corvette Repair of New York (owned by Kevin Mackay).
In 1973 Stars & Stripes BFG team car raced in the trifecta of FIA events: the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans where it set the GT speed record of 215 mph on the Mulsanne straight in qualifying. Its initial major win was a first place in the GT class in 1972 at the Watkins Glen six-hour race. The #49 Stars & Stripes racing car was driven by John Greenwood, Dick Smothers, Bob Johnson and Don Yenko. It won major show awards in 2008 – 2010: the Quail (Best in Class), Petersen Museum, Amelia Island, Bloomington Gold and NCRS. [RM Auctions]
