NASA is excited to announce the formation of Corvette Cup, a new spec series that will include the C5 chassis built between 1997 and 2004 and the C6, which was built from 2005 to 2013.
Corvette Cup will be the second spec series in all of NASA to use a V8 engine. The other series, Spec Iron, features the Ford Mustang built between 2005 and 2010 with the 4.6-liter, three-valve modular V8. With the creation of Corvette Cup, Chevrolet enthusiasts have a way to get on track in a series with a tight rules set and a chassis that delivers tremendous performance value per dollar.
“Now that the C5 and C6 Corvette platforms have become a lot more affordable, it is an ideal choice for a spec racing series,” said NASA CEO Jeremy Croiset. “When you keep it to near-stock power levels, the C5 and C6 Corvettes make great spec-series racecars that are affordable to build and maintain. It’s plenty capable and presents great value in terms of speed per dollar spent.”
For a production car to be considered for spec-series racing, particularly, two different generations of chassis, first, there must be as little difference between them to make balance of performance easily achievable. They also must be affordable, and right now the C5 and C6 cars are as affordable as they are ever going to be. The platform also must have a proven record of reliability. Those three factors make the C5 and C6 great candidates for spec-series racing.
“To me it’s a no brainer. It’s a Corvette. It’s tried and true. It’s one of the most popular cars in NASA, and there’s a reason for it,” Croiset said. “They just run and run and run. If everything goes according to plan, it should be a great fun car that returns a ton of speed for the cost to build.”
Depending on the price of the donor car, it should be possible for a NASA driver to build a Corvette Cup car in the garage for $40,000 or less. Yes, the price will escalate if you pay a shop to have one built, but there is very little out there that offers the kind of performance per dollar possible with Corvette Cup.
For early adopters, a Corvette Cup car can slot perfectly into NASA’s ST3 class and be reasonably competitive while waiting for the series to fill out in a given region. Corvette Cup does not allow for aerodynamic devices or expensive Bosch motorsports ABS controllers, which is a big part of what makes the series far more affordable and less complex than a Super Touring build.
As a spec series, Corvette Cup uses proven parts, including Penske shock absorbers, and places greater emphasis on parity, reliability and longevity. Testing is under way to choose a spec tire, which will be announced very early in 2025. Rules will be finalized and posted to the NASA rules web page December 11.
“We wanted to launch something that was a higher-performance entry level spec series that had limited modifications,” Croiset said. “So when you look at what you get out of the performance package that is a Corvette, for the price and the sheer number of them they made, with potential parts and donor cars and chassis, it’s kind of a no-brainer. Corvette Cup will allow someone with minimal modification to have a really high performing racecar that doesn’t break the bank.”
For more information, visit the NASA road racing home page.
Maybe an unpopular opinion but I think we need fewer classes. Not more.
This class is already highly subscribed with double digit car counts in some regions. Plus, the class is growing rapidly with double digit car counts in the build process.
This move is adopting a successful formula that will bring a vibrant new race class to NASA that in some areas will double race group car counts.
I don’t disagree the Vette is a great platform. However, hasn’t spec Vette struggled to have consistent fields in a significant number of regions regions? I’m out of the loop on that front. What I don’t understand is if the spec Vette is really a st3 car with the addition of a wing and splitter why aren’t there more in st3 when spec Vette isn’t available? Again, could be a regional thing. Some regions struggle to have good car counts in st3 and up and it seems like splitting up similar groups like st3, spec Vette, gt, etc waters down competition. I could be wrong. I’m currently an st3 racer and have a couple years of spec Miata in my past. Just a debate. If it becomes a real boom I have no problem building one but I personally like the builder series just because it allows me to do some different things that I think are interesting. As far as budget is concerned I do think spec Vette would be easier to handle than a builder series if you want to compete at a national level. For me, it just doesn’t excite me as much. As well, just like sm prices are rapidly rising the same would happen to spec Vette as they become less available but not an immediate concern.
The problem is never “too many classes”. The problem to solve is “too few racers”. Having a lot of choices isn’t a problem when you have racers to fill those classes. If people only race a certain class because a different class doesn’t exist, that seems like a bad thing. New classes can grow NASA as a whole. Spec3 brings in people from endurance racing and BMW club, Spec E46 brings in people from PCA and other places.
Instead of worrying about your own class losing racers because secretly they’d rather race something else, we should all look to grow NASA as a whole
Well put. As a racer who has joined a fledling class in the past, I can tell you it generates excitement when the formula is good, and most importantly, before things get too established and harder to break into the top spots. I know I will be on FB marketplace scoping ‘vettes out!
I’m interested to see how the C6s will Mai tain parity. (That’s my red C6 in the article.)
Good on NASA! Great cars with a proven history of reliability and racing!
Why didn’t we just let Spec Corvette in instead of creating another class to compete with it? I’m not seeing the C6 mentioned on the SC page and they already have a spec tire.