Bradan Donaldson
Tommy Morrison’s 1990 Corvette SCCA Escort World Challenge Race Car #99 comes up for sale with an interesting racing history
Lately, there’s been some really cool pieces of Corvette racing history popping up for sale!
Last week, the 1989 Corvette Challenge Race Car #1 came up for sale, and last month the 2014 Corvette C7.R No. 3 Factory Race Car from Pratt & Miller sold for $850,000 on the Bring a Trailer auction website.
Now we have Tommy Morrison’s 1990 Corvette SCCA race car which he modified for track use in order to compete in the 1990 SCCA ESCORT World Challenge Race Series.
History of the 1990 SCCA Escort World Challenge
In 1972, the Sports Car Club of America formed a new club racing class for absolutely stock street automobiles known as “showroom stock” class. From that point on showroom stock car racing grew in popularity from manufacturer interest to the number of participants and overall cost.
The Corvette quickly made a name for itself eventually running away from the competition and winning every race until 1987 when the SCCA finally banned the Corvette from the Showroom Stock racing series.
That’s when Chevrolet and the SCCA teamed up to create the Corvette Challenge racing series which only lasted up until 1989 when Chevrolet pulled their backing so that they could devote full funds and attention to the upcoming Corvette ZR-1 launch.
Bakeracing Corvette C4 #4
In 1990, the SCCA’s Escort Endurance Championship was completely revamped and was called the Escort World Challenge which would feature manufacturer cars that were homologated for the series. The SCCA then invited Corvette back to compete in this new series.
Chevrolet decided to lend support to both the series and dedicated Corvette racers, by offering specially built RPO R9G Corvettes through its dealer network. These unique Corvettes came equipped with heavy duty springs, the all new FX3 selective ride and handling package and the new ZF 6-speed manual transmission.
Buyers could also purchase special balanced and blueprinted 5.7L/250 HP engines from Chevrolet, but were otherwise responsible for making their own modifications to prepare these cars for competition.
A total of 23 R9G Corvettes were built, but only eight of them were raced.
Enter Tommy Morrison
Tommy Morrison was a native of Glasgow, Kentucky and became an accomplished race car driver through his specially prepared Corvettes and Camaros. While Morrison was an incredible driver, it was his team ownership and management that really became his claim to fame.
At the start of the Escort World Challenge season, Morrison prepped a three car team and acquired two RPO R9G cars in 1990 to run in this series. He also prepped two non R9G Corvettes to run as a third car – the #99 Corvette.
1990 Corvette SCCA Escort World Challenge Race Car #99 – VIN 1G1YY2388L5102610
Now offered for sale on the Bring a Trailer website by Swift Motoring of Jupiter, Florida is one of those two #99 cars.
From the BaT site:
“This 1990 Chevrolet Corvette was modified by Tommy Morrison’s Morrison Motorsports for track use in preparation for the 1990 SCCA ESCORT World Challenge Series. The car is said to have been driven by John Heinricy and crashed in the third race of the season. It was then used for parts to support the other Morrison Corvettes. The car was later repaired and acquired in 2011 by the current owner, who has since used it in vintage racing events. It is finished in a white, blue, and red “Mobil 1” #99 livery and is powered by a carbureted 370ci Chevrolet V8 that was rebuilt in February 2021 and is paired with a six-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential. Additional modifications and equipment include a roll cage, a plexiglass rear window, an onboard fire-suppression system, Corbeau fixed-back racing seats, Schroth harnesses, a Cool Shirt racing suit cooling system, AutoMeter gauges, and MSD Ignition. This Corvette race car is now offered on behalf of the current owner in Florida with service records since 2013, a signed racing suit, a spare L98 V8 engine block, and a bill of sale.”
Purchased at All Star Chevrolet in Blackstone, Virginia, this Corvette was originally built in Dark Red Metallic with a Saddle Leather Interior.
Morrison made several modifications to the car including the addition of a roll cage and removal of the interior. He then painted the car in white with red and blue billboards.
Under the ownership of Warren & Sandra Aplin, a restoration was started in the early to mid-2000s. It was during the restoration that several distinguishing factors were revealed.
There are three holes drilled in the Transmission / Driveshaft Tunnel which were found in older photos of the car, and signs of the original Dark Red Metallic paint were found under the dash board, underside of the car and behind the rear bumper.
A portion of the chassis and hinge pillar were also replaced and the car had been realigned and a bent engine cross-member replaced. The SCCA Log Book numbers (90-309) were found on the Roll-Cage on the passenger side behind the seat area.
Randy Pobst actually drove this car at the Historic Sportscar Racing Classic 24 race in 2014:
If you’re thinking about picking up an accomplished Corvette race car with an interesting history, head on over to the Bring a Trailer website and cast your bid.
As of this writing, the current bid is only $17,500 with three more days to go.
