The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

Local news

April 3, 2010

Wichita man puts in hours on his Corvette

ENID — Terry Pollard has won quite a few awards with his torch red 2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

The Wichita, Kan., resident was hoping to add a few more awards to his repertoire Saturday during Corvette Expo XVIII at Chisholm Trail Expo Center.

Pollard races the vehicle two or three times each year at Hallett Raceway in Pawnee County, where drivers race their vehicles to see how fast they can go.

“You run at whatever speed you want,” Pollard said.

The race isn’t about winning money or trophies — instead, it’s all about how fast you want your vehicle to go.

In Pollard’s case, that’s about 107 miles per hour.

Pollard has won several different types of awards with the Z06.

Some of the awards he’s receiv-ed at other shows include: Best of Class, Best Engine Compartment, and the ultimate prize, Best of Show.

Pollard said the Z06 is a special 50th anniversary edition that is about $10,000 more valuable than a regular Z06. The anniversary edition has lots of special parts, including titanium rods, titanium exhaust and a special racing transmission.

The inside of the vehicle is also very lightweight.

“The floorboards are made of balsa wood wrapped with tin,” Pollard said.

Yes, the same kind of wood used to make toy airplanes.

The vehicle has to be very light in weight though, in order to be competitive on the race track.

Pollard drove the vehicle into the show yesterday. He said he had to spend all yesterday evening cleaning the tar off the bottom of the vehicle.

He also set to work on polishing and dusting every single corner and crevice inside and outside the car.

Altogether, he put in 15 hours of work to get the vehicle ready for the contest.

The reason?

“This show really grades on cleanliness of the car,” he said.

Pollard would find out later in the afternoon if he won an award.

“I’m crossing my fingers,” he said. “I put in a lot of work.”

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