[VIDEO] 1996 Corvette Collector’s Edition Earns Keith’s Choice Award at the 2018 NCM Bash

The National Corvette Museum held two celebrity judged shows during the 2018 Michelin NCM Bash. On Friday, members of the Corvette Team selected their favorites and then we joined some other special guests to make our celebrity picks on Saturday.

Armed with a balloon, clipboard and our cameras, I headed out the parking lot to find a Corvette worthy of being named Keith’s Choice.

Being asked to pick a Corvette is an honor we take seriously. Corvette enthusiasts come to these shows and they are always thrilled when their car is recognized as one of the best Corvettes in attendance.

We have a set of criteria that looks past shiny paint and polish or over the top modifications and focuses more on the owner and their personal Corvette story. Our picks tend to lean towards older Corvettes and we like to interview prospective winners before making our choice.

I covered the three main parking lots at the NCM before making my decision. Although I had my eye on a Wil Cooksey 2008 Corvette Z06 427 Edition (currently celebrating its 10th year), next to it was a 1996 Corvette Collector edition coupe. The Corvette’s clamshell hood was open and we spotted the familiar red-finned design that identifies the 330-hp LT4 “Grand Sport” engine. Something about this CE intrigued me and soon I was filling out the paperwork announcing this car as “Keith’s Choice”.

The owner turns out to be a 27-year-old named Randy T. from Bloomington, Illinois. He had purchased the car against he dad’s advice and ended up paying $4000 for it at auction. Randy has performed a number of repairs, upgrades, and modifications to the car to make it his own as you will hear about in the video. By the way, his dad couldn’t be more proud of the work Randy had done since bringing the car home.

Although this is his first Corvette, Randy already speaks like a longtime owner who has come to appreciate his 1996 Corvette as well as the people throughout the hobby that have helped him along the way. And he’s already sharing some his knowledge with other Corvette owners who have reached out with questions about fitting C6 wheels on their C4s like Randy’s car.

We congratulate Randy for his great looking special edition 1996 Corvette Collector’s Edition and we look forward to seeing him again at a future Corvette show!

Related:
[VIDEO] Black/Silver 1964 Corvette Wins Keith’s Choice Award at 2016 Corvettes at Carlisle
[VIDEO] 1962 Corvette Earns Keith’s Choice Award at 2014 Corvette FunFest
[VIDEO] 1967 Corvette Selected for Keith’s Choice Award at Corvettes at Carlisle