Vehicle Description
• Second in class, 1968 24 Hours of Daytona Don Yenko/Peter
Revson
• GT-class lap record, 1968 Sebring 12 Hours Don Yenko/Pedro
Rodriguez
• Winner, 1968 SCCA Midwest Division road-racing title with Don
Yenko
• Built by Don Yenko with factory L-88 engine
• Restoration to1968 Sebring livery
• NCRS American Heritage Award; Bloomington Gold� Special
Collection
• Incredible documents include complete history from new
• Driven by Don Yenko, Peter Revson and Pedro Rodriguez
• A thrilling piece of living American motorsports history
• 1 of 3 SunRay DX 1968 Corvettes
• Invited to 1968 LeMans 24 Hours
• One of the Most Unequivocally Documented Corvette Racecars
427 cid L-88 V-8 engine, single Holley 850 CFM four-barrel
carburetor, 560 HP (Est.) (Factory-Rated 430) at 6,400 RPM, Muncie
M-22 close-ratio four-speed manual transmission, four-wheel
hydraulic disc brakes, independent front suspension with A-arms and
coil springs, independent rear suspension with lateral struts,
radius rods, and transverse leaf spring; wheelbase: 98"
Rooted in development work led since 1962 by Zora Arkus-Duntov,
Chevrolet's head of Corvette engineering, the "Heavy-Duty 427" that
eventually gained fame as RPO L-88 was first "field tested" with
Roger Penske's Sunoco racing team at the 1966 Daytona 24 Hour
Continental. When the smoke cleared, Penske's team broke the
GT-class record, won class, and finished 11th overall, confirming
the potency of Duntov's brainchild and immediately conferring an
outstanding competition pedigree on the L-88. Next, at Sebring, one
of Penske's L-88s led class from start to finish and came 9th
overall - the best-ever Corvette finish until then.
Next, the newly restyled C3 Corvettes were intended - in L-88 tune
- to race at Daytona and Sebring in early 1968. However, the
FIA-mandated 500-car production numbers of the new car could not be
achieved by Chevrolet within the August-November 1967 time frame.
It was not until November '67 when James Garner's high-profile
American International Racing (A.I.R.) team received the first
three C3 L-88 cars from Chevy. While only two of them ran at
Daytona, one retiring early and the other finishing 29th, all three
of Don Yenko's Sunray-DX team cars swept the GT-class podium,
cementing the L-88 legend. Race-numbered 29 and co-driven by Yenko
and Peter Revson, this L-88-powered 1968 Corvette finished second
in class at Daytona between the class-winning Grant/Morgan Number
31 '67 L-88 and DeLorenzo/Thompson in the Number 30 '68 car.
A word about Sunray-DX racing is required. For a brief but
brilliant period during the late 1960s, Tulsa, Oklahoma's Sunray-DX
petroleum company fielded one of America's best and most successful
racing teams and one that brought its products and the L-88
Corvette to international prominence. Starting in 1965, Ralph
Morrison Jr., public relations supervisor at Sunray-DX, organized a
promotional campaign involving auto racing to market their
products. Morrison approached Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Chevy dealer
Don Yenko, the successful road-racer who enjoyed a special
relationship with GM and chief Corvette engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov,
to launch the project. In just 16 months, Sunray-DX cars raced with
great success at the pinnacle of 1960s motor racing at Daytona,
Sebring, Watkins Glen, Riverside, and in SCCA competition.
Known as the "showroom" car to L-88 authors and historians, this
particular L-88 Corvette was built up for racing when new by Don
Yenko, since the factory L-88 car he ordered would not arrive in
time for the 1968 Daytona 24-Hour race, so he plucked a Rally Red
L-71 427/435 street hardtop convertible off his showroom floor to
transform into a screaming L-88 racer. Following the
Yenko/Sunray-DX 1-2-3 triumph at Daytona and this car's
second-place class podium there, Yenko teamed up for the Sebring 12
Hours in this car, renumbered 2, with Pedro Rodriguez in the rising
star's one and only ride in a Corvette. While the L-88s suffered
suspension issues and rear-end failures, including this car, which
was forced to retire on Lap 43, Yenko and Rodriguez set a
blistering new GT-class lap record with it. This car was also
registered as one of two anticipated Sunray-DX entries for the 1968
24 Hours of Le Mans, but political unrest in France and
rescheduling of the race from June to September frustrated this
effort. Finally, the buyout of Sunray-DX by Sunoco closed the final
chapter of this highly successful American racing team.
Next, Don Yenko campaigned this Corvette as his personal racer up
and down the East Coast and Midwest and it carried him to the SCCA
Midwest Division Title in 1968. This car was subsequently sold by
Sunoco to Robert Luebbe of New York, an SCCA racer. Detailed
correspondence regarding the sale of this car and a supply of spare
parts from Sunoco to Luebbe is on file, dated late 1970. The
Corvette remained in its 1970s racing configuration until the early
2000s when it was purchased from Frank Joyce, who campaigned the
car in the '70s and '80s. The car remained in his livery until it
was purchased by its current avid Corvette collectors, and then
during 2008, it was restored to its "Number 2" Sebring 1968 glory.
Following completion, the car has received the coveted NCRS
American Heritage Award representing the Corvette racing legacy,
which involves verification that this is the car and chassis number
that raced in period. Not surprisingly, the original team members
verified the car as well. Other recognition includes induction into
the Bloomington Gold� Special Collection. As expected, this famous
L-88 Corvette is very well-documented with a thick binder
containing full ownership history, the NCRS Shipping Data Report,
NCRS Award Verification Letter, and all original paperwork from
new, including Sunray-DX correspondence, making this car one of the
most historically significant and well-verified of all C3 Corvette
racecars in existence and available. Truly a once-in-a-generation
opportunity. This car is ready for a collection or ready for an HSR
or Masters Endurance Legends event.
