Nan's Z06 - Road Trip #2

Road Trip #2 for Nan's Z06 was to Pahrump, Nevada, home of the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School at the Spring Mountain Resort and Country Club.

When you buy a new Corvette, you get a coupon that provides a discount on the admission to the Corvette Owner's School.  Since we purchased two Corvettes, Nan was able to enroll in the Stingray class and I was able to take advantage of the Z06 class.  

We have been to Spring Mountain on four previous occasions, but this was our first opportunity to experience the mid-engine Corvette on the track. On every other trip we have gone with friends -- sometimes with Don and Shirley Kingery, or Rick and Kristy Sing, or Bill Athas. In a sense we were sad to not be with any of those dear friends, but at the same time, we were excited to learn more about our new Corvettes under performance driving conditions, and to have the experience together.

The trip from Carlsbad is almost exactly 300 miles one-way.  The Z06 was now "broken in" from our trip to Monterey, but we still drove it gingerly going north.We drove straight up I-15 to Baker, California, then took Hwy 127 toward Death Valley Junction, then Highway 178 into town.  With just one fuel (and potty) stop, we arrived in the late afternoon in time for the check-in process.

After checking in, it was time to go to our room, unpack our luggage and go to the club house for happy hour.  

 

Finding a good meal in Pahrump on a Sunday night is a challenge, made even more difficult by the temporary closure of the Pahrump Winery, a place we have visited before. Someone suggested we check out Nicco's Pizza Italian Restaurant.  

The drive to Nicco's was easy, and we secured a table with no waiting.  There was a large party of maybe 10 people at an adjacent table, who were celebrating some happy event with a Nevada politician.  Everyone was having a good time and they added a nice mood to the small, strip mall restaurant. We exchanged a bit of chatter asking about some delicious-looking entrees.  

The affection that Nan I have for each other is readily apparent.  We sat quietly waiting of our order to be served.  we were completely surprised when one of the gentlemen at the table asked us if he could take our picture. We said, "Sure, but why would you want a picture of us?"  His reply was something like, "It is so nice to see two people who are so obviously in love!"  It was an unlikely time and place for such a beautiful compliment (even though the photo of us isn't very flattering!).

Our dinner choices were excellent, completing a long, but very good, day.

Monday's program started early with breakfast at the club house with all the other students.  Because we were in different classes we needed to go to different classrooms next to different tracks.  Nan's group had 18 students and she chose a blue coupe for her track car.

My group also had 18 students divided into three groups of 6 drivers. I was able to choose a car that was almost identical to our Z06 -- a white coupe with the red interior.

Although our classes and tracks were different, the course content was identical. Instruction was split between classroom and time in the car, using a "lead - follow" format.  We were taught things like very aggressive braking (even in wet conditions), steering under maximum braking, all the driving mode options and their differences, and (our favorite part) spinning the car around with traction control turned off!

The instructors are very focused on getting our track lap times faster and faster.  They go to great lengths to discuss each corner, and to teach us what all the cone colors mean.

And how to corner a car at maximum speed.

Monday was a full day of driving and we were pretty spent at the end of the day.  Tuesday was more of the same.

We were happy that we "graduated"!

 Finally, on Tuesday afternoon it was time to bid Spring Mountain a farewell and to head home.

 

The drive home was more spirited than Sunday's trip.  We left Spring Mountain in the early afternoon with a full tank of gas.  We observed the speed limits out of town and onto Highway 178.  After we made the left-hand turn onto Highway 127, and worked our way through a few hilly passes, we noticed a straight stretch of highway clear of traffic as far as we could see.

My personal speed record in a Corvette was 150 MPH set in our C7 Z06 on a similar stretch of highway in Wyoming while on our way to the Black Hills Classic in 2023. This day I decided to see how the performance of the C8 Z06 compared to the C7.  From our cruise speed of about 70 MPH, the new car responded to the depressed gas pedal by downshifting and instantly zooming off.  That stretch of highway has an undulating characteristic, and only gravel for a shoulder, so I decided not to get too crazy with our new toy.  It didn't take very long to reach 151 MPH, so I let the car gradually slow, satisfied with a new personal record.

The reminder of the drive home was uneventful, and we made it home before sunset without any stops.  We averaged about 20 MPG for the return trip -- not bad considering the lack of an Economy mode!

With two road trips behind us, we are very happy using the Z06 as our long-distance Corvette. The next road trip will be to the Grand Canyon in September.

Nan's Z06 - Road Trip #1

Nan's Z06 had not ventured very far from the garage since we purchased it in November 2023.  But in May we took it on its first road trip -- to Monterey to watch the Corvettes race at Laguna Seca.

The Z06 had not traveled its first 500 miles sufficient for the "Red Line" setting to go to normal.  So we drove the car calmly up the I-5, over the Gorman Pass, across the San Joaquin valley floor until we reached Lost Hills, then across Highway 46 to Paso Robles, then Highway 101 to Monterey.  Just before reaching Paso Robles, we passed the 500 mile boundary and the Red Line popped up to 8,600 RPM!  Now we can start to enjoy the performance of the beast!

This was our seventh trip to Northern California since 2016.  Almost every year we join Don and Shirley (who have been many more times than we have).  Some years we caravan up in two Corvettes, but this year, due to the Kingery's travel schedule, they flew and we drove.  The four of us always have a blast. We even have matching shirts!

We registered as members of the North Coast Corvette Club to show our support for our friends back home.

C8 Z06 sightings are still a bit rare, and Nan's Z06 was one of only a handful present in the Corvette Corral.

We love the Corvette Corral because it gives us the chance to visit with the Corvette engineers, Michelin and Mobil product experts, the drivers, and other Corvette dignitaries.

One of the people we most look forward to seeing is the Corvette Executive Chief Engineer, Tadge Juechter.  In addition to informing the Corvette faithful about all the new developments for these marvelous cars, he will take time to talk with individual owners and to answer all of their questions.  Last year, as Nan was finalizing her list of options for her 2024 C8 Stingray, Tadge helped her understand the nuances of the extensive options list.

Equally helpful last year, and again this year, was Josh Holder, Chief Engineer.  Since we had recently purchased two C8 Corvettes (one Stingray and one Z06, in the span of 17 days!), and had yet to master all the capabilities of these cars, Josh did a great job of coaching us on how to get the maximum enjoyment out of them.

Josh has a nice sense of humor -- when I asked him why I couldn't find the "Economy Mode" on the Z06, he just looked at me and smiled.  He said, "Economy and Z06 don't really go together, do they?"

We always look forward to visiting with Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing legend.  Over the years he has become a friend to the four of us, and always brings a smile to our faces.

Seeing the drivers and getting autographs is another highlight of the Monterey race.  This year, in addition to long-time favorite drivers Tommy Milner and Antonio Garcia, we got to meet Alexander Sims and Nicky Catsburg.

On Saturday the two Corvettes had qualified P1 and P2, so we were very excited for Sunday's race.  The Corvettes led the race from the start, building a comfortable margin over the rest of the GTD PRO field.  A pit stop issue, and an untimely full-course yellow cost both Corvettes dearly, and they ended the race in P3 and P5.  But the P3 finish for the No. 4 Corvette, driven by Nicky and Tommy, gave Pratt and Miller their first podium finish in the 2024 season -- the inaugural year for the GT3-spec Corvettes.

It was another great adventure for the "Fabulous Foursome"!