“The track… wow. This
car is perfect for that. It’s nearly a
full blown race car,” said Kevin Helmintoller of Land O’ Lakes, Florida about
his 2001Mallett Hammer Z06. “I really
wasn’t using this car very much… and if I were to sell it, someone would just
tear it up. If it were to run on the NCM
track it would be all good.”
Kevin and wife Linda purchased the car from Kerbeck
Chevrolet in June of 2001. The Mallett
Hammer conversion was completed in June 2002 – build number 009 of all ever
built as this was the first year of the Z06.
Since the conversion, Greg Lovell, owner of AntiVenom LSX Performance in
Seffner, FL, has added many performance mods, including a one of one AV436
conversion. The car’s motor boasts
approximately 700hp and 575 torque at the flywheel.
The car has a run best of 10.6 seconds at 128 mph in the
quarter mile… and Kevin acknowledges that while it isn’t much by today’s
standards it’s not bad for a Corvette that really isn’t set-up for drag racing,
and lacks today’s sophisticated engine management and launch control systems. The car participated in a one mile top speed
event – where cars go from a dead stop to one mile using radar and GPS speed
measurement. It ran a 178 on radar, 181
on GPS (without the hood, which had buckled on a previous run, and in 120
degree track temp with 100% humidity) netting it the cover of GM High Tech
magazine. But Kevin is quick to add that
this car is not just a track rat… it was a full participant in the 50th
anniversary Caravan from Stamford, CT to Bowling Green, KY and Kevin and Linda
drove it eight hours up to the Museum for the donation!
“We donated this car to the Museum to help with the
continued growth, but also think she could be a good vehicle for training other
drivers at the new Motorsports Park, and to give some 9/10ths passenger rides.” Kevin added that donating her also makes him
feel like the car will still be a part of him.
Kevin and Linda are Lifetime Members of the Museum and have
participated in several R8C Museum Deliveries, including a 2008 delivery of a
2009 ZR1 – one of eight Corvettes they have owned.
