2012 Corvette Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

The National Corvette Museum has announced the names of four inductees into the 2012 Corvette Hall of Fame. GM/Chevrolet’s Gary Claudio, Founding NCM Member Patrick Dolan, Chevrolet dealer Bob McDorman and former Corvette Racing driver Andy Pilgrim. The Class of 2012 will be inducted on August 30th, 2012 at the National Corvette Museum.

The 2012 Corvette Hall of Fame Inductees:

Gary Claudio – GM
Gary Claudio spent over 27 years at GM, starting in the Pontiac Division but transferring to Chevrolet in 1998 as Manager of the Chevy Race Shop. He worked with Doug Fehan to develop the Corvette Race Program, securing original sponsors and obtaining funds for the program from Chevrolet management. Claudio developed and implemented Corvette Corrals, negotiated the participation of Dale Earnhardt and Dale, Jr. to drive the #3 Corvette in the 2001 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, was intimately involved with several special edition Corvettes, presided over the successful launch of the ZR1, landed two noteworthy drivers to pace Indy (Jay Leno and Colin Powell), helped develop and name the Corvette Racing mascot “Jake” and served on the NCM Board of Directors for two years.

Patrick Dolan – NCCC/NCM
Patrick Dolan has been very active in NCCC, serving as VP of Competition, President for two consecutive terms, Director of Charity and developing the NCCC sponsorship program. In total, he has served on the NCCC Executive Board for 22 of the past 23 years. Dolan is a Founding Member of the National Corvette Museum. He was present at the first general meeting in Cypress Gardens, FL in January 1989, served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors and headed the Acquisition Committee from 1991-1994. His dedication and continuing involvement with the NCM was crucial to its initial success.

Bob McDorman – Chevrolet Dealer
Bob McDorman has been a premier Corvette collector for over 50 years and purchased his own Chevrolet dealership in 1965. In addition to being a Lifetime Member of the National Corvette Museum, he has loaned Corvettes for Museum use, including several rare Corvettes for display, and has supported many programs of the Museum including bricks, membership, events, advertising and donations. McDorman was awarded the Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award in 1978 and 2007, 2010 Bloomington Gold “Great Hall” Inductee and numerous other humanitarian and achievement awards.

Andy Pilgrim – Corvette Racing Driver
Andy Pilgrim joined Corvette Racing in 1999. Teamed with Ron Fellows, Pilgrim scored the team’s historic first victory at Texas Motor Speedway in September 2000. In 2001, Pilgrim finished second in GTS in the Sebring 12-Hour and Le Mans 24-Hour endurance races, and was on the winning team for the Petit Le Mans season finale at Road Atlanta. In 2001 he was selected as Dale Earnhardt and Dale Jr.’s teammate in the 24 Hours of Daytona, finishing second in the GTS class behind the sister Corvette C5-R. His support of the Museum included fundraising golf outings, and he continues to serve as an instructor at our HPDEs.

The National Corvette Museum’s Hall of Fame was established in 1998 to present the highest honor and recognition to the most influential individuals in the history of the Corvette. Previous honorees include Zora Arkus-Duntov, Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell. The induction celebration is held during the annual Labor Day Weekend Celebration.

Source:
National Corvette Museum

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