[VIDEO] George Krass on his Ownership of Corvette C5-R Chassis #008

Most Corvette collectors dream about finding that one special car.

George Krass found his — and then spent the next 10 years tracking down its sister.

In a new interview with Motive Archive, Krass tells the fascinating story of acquiring Corvette C5-R chassis No. 008 and eventually reuniting it with chassis No. 009, two factory race cars built together and sent into battle during one of the most memorable periods in Corvette Racing history.

For Krass, who owns a landscaping company in the western suburbs of Chicago, collecting the cars has never been simply about owning them.

His passion is finding historic race cars, restoring them and putting them back on the track.

That passion led him to chassis 008 during the 2008 recession, when, as Krass remembers it, old C5-R race cars weren’t nearly as desirable as they are today.

With the economy struggling, Krass stopped racing, sold the cars he owned and put everything he could into acquiring chassis 008.

“I knew that by having the right cars down the road, it would pay off in the long run,” he said.

There was just one problem.

The same collector also owned chassis 009.

The two Corvettes had been built as sister cars, and Krass admired the fact that they had remained together. He could afford chassis 008, but not both, and says he actually felt a little guilty about separating them.

So he gave himself a new mission: Someday, he would put them back together.

It took about a decade.

Krass eventually tracked down C5-R chassis No. 001, bought it and traded it to the owner of chassis 009.

The sisters were finally reunited.

And these weren’t just any two old Corvette race cars.

Chassis 008 and 009 were prepared to debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2003, when Chevrolet was celebrating Corvette’s 50th anniversary. General Motors had won its class at Le Mans in both 2001 and 2002 and wanted to do something special for Corvette’s golden anniversary.

Instead of the familiar yellow, the cars appeared at Le Mans wearing special red, white and blue paint schemes. The drivers thought the blue paint was bad luck, so driver Johnny O’Connell had his crew put three yellow stripes of tape on the passenger side mirror.

Chassis 008 raced as No. 50, commemorating Corvette’s 50th anniversary, while chassis 009 carried No. 53, a reference to 1953, the year the Corvette was introduced.

Both made it onto the podium, finishing second and third in class.

But there was a new enemy waiting for Corvette.

Ferrari’s Prodrive-built 550s had arrived, setting up a Chevrolet-versus-Ferrari battle that Krass remembers as one of the great periods in GT racing.

And there was another battle taking place at the same time.

Tires.

The Ferraris were running Michelins, while Corvette remained on Goodyears for 2003. Krass says the Michelins were simply faster, forcing Corvette Racing to make up the difference through pit work, strategy and driver talent.

When Corvette switched to Michelin in 2004, he says the C5-Rs were again largely in a league of their own. Chassis 009 played a significant role in that success. Krass particularly remembers the 2003 Petit Le Mans. The car didn’t need to win. It simply needed to finish fifth to secure the championship.

It did.

The C5-R helped Corvette Racing capture both team and manufacturers’ championships, adding another important chapter to its résumé.

Today, chassis 009 is yellow again, just like the drivers originally preferred, and that’s no accident.

Krass says the car had previously been restored in its 2003 Le Mans colors, but he believes yellow better represents its most important history.

“The car’s true history is yellow,” he said, “and that’s the way it won a championship and the way most people remember it.”

Chassis 009 also has a connection to one of the biggest names in American motorsports.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Boris Said drove the car at Sonoma in 2004.

That appearance became memorable for all the wrong reasons when Earnhardt crashed during a warm-up session and the Corvette caught fire. Earnhardt suffered burns in the accident, while the car sustained extensive damage.

It was subsequently restored by Pratt Miller, the company behind Corvette Racing, and eventually sold into private hands.

Krass believes preserving that history is more important than making the car faster.

The C5-R remains configured much as it raced, including its restrictors and engine mapping, with Krass estimating output at about 620 horsepower.

Some vintage racers modify their cars for additional horsepower and quicker lap times.

He won’t do that to this one.

“They’re gonna go a second or two faster,” Krass said. “But I feel like with this particular car, it’s best to leave it alone.” T

hat’s because, in his eyes, chassis 009 isn’t simply another retired race car to play with on weekends.

It’s history.

“There are only so many cars that won championships,” he said.

Krass has still enjoyed exercising that history. One of his favorite memories came when chassis 008 and 009 finished first and second at the Detroit Grand Prix vintage event and then repeated the feat later that year at Velocity Invitational.

After spending a decade trying to reunite them, seeing the two sister C5-Rs racing together again was understandably special.

It also gave Corvette fans a chance to relive an era Krass remembers fondly — a time when Chevrolet was battling Ferrari and others around the world and the C5-R was establishing Corvette as a serious international racing force.

Krass enjoys sharing that history. When fans show an interest, he’ll remove bodywork, show them the mechanical pieces and even let them climb inside to experience the cockpit for themselves.

The cars, he says, have become part of his family. His children grew up watching him race them, and his relationship with the Corvette Racing community has only strengthened his attachment.

But now he believes it may be time for someone else to take over.

Not merely an owner.

A custodian.

Someone who understands that possessing a historically significant race car comes with a responsibility to preserve what made it important in the first place.

Krass spent 10 years bringing chassis 008 and 009 back together.

For the next caretaker, the challenge will be much simpler:

Keep their history alive.

Source:
Motor Archive / YouTube

Related:
[VIDEO] 300,000 Miles in a Callaway Corvette. An Insider Looks Back.
[VIDEO] 1956 Corvette Basement Find is Reunited with the Dealer’s Family that Originally Sold the Car New
Today Our Family Celebrates 60 Years of Owning this Black/Silver 1966 Corvette Sting Ray Convertible

Subscribe Now: