In 1991 I was given the opportunity to write a monthly column for Vette magazine. The monthly column that I was assigned to write did not require photography, but the magazine’s feature stories did. After uninspiring results by several other photographers, I decided to produce the imagery myself, and the demand for my work grew rapidly after that.

In 1995 Carolyn and I sold the shop so I could turn my full attention to writing and photography, and I was soon working for scores of different publishers. I produced car features, personality profiles, event coverage, technical articles, and opinion pieces.

By virtue of an amazing sequence of events, a new opportunity presented itself in 1997. One day I got a call from a mysterious man who said he wanted to ask me for a huge favor, but before he could do that, he had to know if he could trust me. Convinced it was a prank, I told the caller he could trust me with his life.

“My name is Gary Claudio,” the caller revealed, “and I’m the marketing manager for Chevrolet Racing. We have a two-car factory Corvette racing program coming and I want to borrow your L88 Corvette for a display at next year’s SEMA show, which is where we will publicly announce the program.”

In that instant I knew the call wasn’t a prank. Several years earlier, Carolyn and I had found a lost piece of Corvette racing history — the 1967 Corvette that the Sunray DX Oil company had campaigned to a GT class win in the ’67 12 Hours of Sebring with Don Yenko and Dave Morgan behind the wheel. Dave went on to earn the 1967 SCCA Midwest Division A-Production championship with the car, and in 1968 he co-drove it with Jerry Grant to the GT win in the 24 Hours of Daytona. This incredibly successful vehicle is one of only 20 1967 Corvettes that left the factory with an all-out competition package called L88, making it the holy grail to collectors. Sunray sold the car in 1969 and though it was raced until 1987, its early history faded away.

After stumbling upon it by chance, we recognized that it was something special. We bought the car and restored it to its ’67 Sebring configuration, and then commissioned artist Charles Maher to create a painting of it. In 1992 that painting was displayed at an automotive show in Detroit. Gary Claudio happened to see the show, fell in love with the painting, and tried to buy it. He was disappointed to learn that it was a commissioned work and therefore not for sale. Five years later, when planning a display of historically significant Corvette race cars for the public unveiling of the coming factory Corvette race program, he remembered the painting, contacted Mr. Maher for my name, and made that fateful phone call that changed the trajectory of my life.

I immediately agreed to loan Chevrolet the Sunray DX L88 and asked Gary for a favor. “I’m an automotive journalist,” I explained, “and I would like to embed with the factory team, and go where they go and photograph everything they do. When the program concludes at the end of 2001 I will write a book about it.” Without hesitating, Gary responded, “That’s a great idea!”

Just like that, I was in the world of top-level motorsports, going places and seeing things I never dreamed of while simultaneously working on the book that I’d produce after the program concluded. Halfway through the 2001 season, however, the program was approved for another year. Then partway through the 2002 season the program was approved for yet another year. In the ensuing years the program was renewed again and again, and here I am, 28 years later, still with it as Chevrolet’s official photographer.

Beyond all of my publishing and auto industry work, I continue to own, restore, drive, and love various vintage vehicles. This fall, after 50 years in the hobby and more than 30 years working in the auto industry, I was honored to be inducted into the National Corvette Museum’s Hall of Fame as I continue to be the passionate lens behind one of the most iconic American automobiles in history.