Rochester Corvette club has grown to 40 memebers

Tue, Sep 14, 2004

By Scott A. Kolb

The Post-Bulletin 

RECREATION SCENE
What started as an abstract idea among four friends has grown into a group of 40 members with one thing in common: They love to drive their Chevrolet Corvettes.

The Rochester Area Corvette Enthusiasts or R.A.C.E club meets once a month to take trips around the area and drive their sports cars. The oldest "Vette" in the group is a 1963 model, but there are also a number of cars from the 70s on up to the present.

When Brian Nelson of Rochester and his wife Cathy bought their 1994 dark green Corvette four years ago, they were looking for some reason to drive the fancy ride. They found it out in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and the idea of a local club was born.

"We got on the Internet and found a rally at a resort in Frisco, Col.," Nelson said. "It was sponsored by a club out of Denver and was called Vettes on the Rockies. We went for the first time three years ago.

"While we were at the rally, we saw all these club members and tables of people having a ball. We thought it was funny that there wasn't a club in Rochester, so we decided to start one. That's when we met Jim Orke and Dave Kinneberg, who started the club with us."

After their initial ride to Colorado, the Nelson's went the next year to a rally in Boise, Idaho. They went with some friends from New Ulm, Minnesota and eastern Wyoming. Last year, they journeyed with same group to another rally in the Colorado Rockies.

The opportunity to meet and socialize with others who share a love of driving Corvettes led the Nelsons to actively pursue their idea of starting a local club. That dream would become a reality in the spring of this year.

"Last winter, Cathy and I got the bug to start something, so we got together with Dave and Jim, who had been talking to us about getting a club going," Nelson said. "Back in January, the three of us met over sandwiches to talk about what we wanted to do.

"We ran an ad in the Post-Bulletin and the Mayo Clinic newsletter for people to respond if they had an interest in the club. We had our first meeting in March and 40 people showed up, so that told us there was a lot of interest."

The R.A.C.E. club now has a core group of about 30 drivers, but more may show up on any given trip. The group goes on drives all around southeastern Minnesota and usually stops in quaint places to eat dinner.

"We having a driving time set and pick out some nice places within an hour of Rochester," Nelson said of the itinerary. "Our first show-and-shine time was in May at the airport hangar. We all had our cars shined up and hung around there to get to know one another. The group fast became friends and had a great time that day, ending up in Preston."

This month's drive was held on Monday night and the club motored to Grumpy's Bar and Restaurant in Grand Meadow.

Next month the club will join in the big "Fall Color Run" which starts from LaCrosse, Wis., and winds its way up the Mississippi River valley. This event is sponsored by a car club from Minneapolis and will be held from Oct. 8-10. There are expected to be 250 cars entered in the river drive.

Nelson and his group of sports car drivers enjoy the comraderie of cruising in their Vettes. Their club continues to draw new members and more are always welcome.

"The analogy I liked to use is that four people stood on the hill and gave a little shove and this thing has really taken off," Nelson said. "Everybody in the club is planning events. They all have a common interest and that's the Corvette. We drive until about the first of November, so there's still time for folks to come out and join us on the road."

Corvette enthusiasts interested in joining the group can find more information on the website at www.raceclub.info or they can call Nelson at 507-536-4846.