[PICS] The 2018 Bloomington Gold Corvette Show

Jun 29, 2018

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[PICS] The 2018 Bloomington Gold Corvette Show

The 2018 edition of Bloomington Gold took place last weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Granddaddy of Corvette shows returned for its 4th lap around the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In our opinion, this continues to be the best-ever venue for Bloomington.

As usual there was no shortage of activities for attendees. 2019 ZR1’s tore up a portion of the infield road course while other Corvettes challenged the tight autocross course for the best time of the weekend. Still more owners took GoldLaps in their own cars around the historic 2.5mile oval track. The Goldmine Corvettes for sale found a new home in the IMS garages which came in handy most of the weekend. Vendors sold both new and old parts in the GoldMarket swap meet and at various booths in the trackside garages adjacent to pit lane. Our buddy Paul Koerner, The Corvette Mechanic, held several seminars throughout the weekend from his new and much more visible perch right across from the food court. Friday night featured a new Corvette cruise night at Monument Circle in downtown Indy which attracted about 70 or so patrons. Saturday evening the traditional road tour setup for its annual jaunt through the Indianapolis area.

Over the course of the weekend 3 main topics dominated conversations: Rain, the relocated judging field, and the L88’s. Unfortunately, once again, the main topic was rain. We’re not really sure what Mother Nature has against Bloomington, but she can gladly take her showers to a Mustang or Mopar show next year. While the weather was warm all weekend it rained off and on pretty much all day Thursday and Friday. Friday was noticeably dryer, but still not the sunshine and hot temps were used to at Bloomington.

Given the weather threat all weekend the Bloomington team made the tough decision to move the judging field from the scenic pagoda plaza to underneath the infield grandstands – the second big weekend story. We applaud the team’s decision to tear up the script last minute and move the cars to dryer ground. It’s not easy to take a proven system and switch it up a day prior to show time and the team made it look easy. Everyone from owners to judges to spectators could now view the cars while staying dry. A great move. The Grand Sport Registry filled in the now empty courtyard in front of the pagoda. After a drizzly start the rain did hold off long enough on Saturday afternoon to allow the awards ceremony to take place outside in its usual spot right at the base of the pagoda. The only change was that the cars crossed the bricks in the opposite direction than we’re accustomed to.

Finally, the question we heard most throughout out the weekend was “have you seen the L88’s yet?” Yes, we did. The L88 Explosion picked right up where the 2008 L88 Invasion left off. Nearly 50 rare L88’s filled a pavilion on the courtyard. That’s almost 25% of the 216 total cars produced and probably worth more money than the GDP of some small countries. Around 1pm Saturday afternoon almost all of the L88’s made their way outside into the courtyard. Seeing and hearing all those stomping 427’s rolling out is something we’ll never forget. After a short stop for photos the cars paraded down Legends Row and made their way out onto the track for 2 historic laps. Again, sights and sounds that can’t be described.

Bloomington Gold 2018 was another great event. Unfortunately, the weather did affect the show but the diversity of events still provides plenty of things to do. Again, we offer a fist bump to the whole Bloomington Gold team for rolling with the punches throughout the weekend and maintaining a successful event. We’ve already got the calendar marked for Bloomington Gold 2019 and we’ll be speaking with Mother Nature and asking her to stay home next year.

Enjoy our gallery from Bloomington Gold 2018 below.