Stars and Stripes 1969 Chevy Corvette Has Seen Plenty of Race Tracks, It's a Record Holder

That pretentious and long name hides a lot of fine traits. First, we're talking about a 1969 Chevrolet Corvette, a second-year C3 that's still very appreciated today, no matter the condition. Then, it's got the L88 package, and the ZL1 engine upgrades to go with that.

The car has the Greenwood particle in its name because it is one of three such examples built by John Greenwood for promotional purposes, and later to be raced both on endurance courses.

So, in a single package, we've got a promotional car, a record holder, and a prize winner. Let's dive into it, shall we?

We'll start on the outside. You'll notice the 'Vette’s body is packed full of markings, each representing something else. First and most obvious we get the colors of the American flag, stars included, painted onto it by Bert Greenwood. It's a color scheme that was all the rage on Greenwood cars back in the 1970s as they took to endurance tracks around the world.

Then, it's got the number 49 on it, a figure that became famous from 1973, when it was on the tarmac of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, leading Corvettes into battle.

Last but not least it wears BF Goodrich T/A radials with all the proper markings. That's because the Corvette was initially intended as a show and promotional car for the tire maker, as it was moving to introduce the fancy new kind of racing rubber.

It was used in this capacity for a while, but after its sibling, car number 50, was damaged in a crash, it was converted into a true race car, and from there it was on to the history books.

The car was born as all Corvettes do, in stock form and wearing the L88 package over the coupe body. It no longer has the original engine, though, as that has been replaced by a race-bred 427ci ZL1, cooked up by the Greenwood team.

The aluminum piece of hardware works through a Muncie close ratio 4-speed manual transmission, and it's so powerful it develops a total of 750 horsepower. To handle the troop, the underpinnings of the car have changed as well, as it now uses front and rear suspension tweaked by Greenwood.

The body in L88 configuration has been massaged too to handle the high stresses, featuring flares and plexiglass covers over the headlamps.

Back in its day, this particular Corvette was a constant presence at racing events. In 1972, in raced to win the 1972 Watkins Glen Six Hour race GT Class. The following year, it was on the tarmac of the most prominent endurance races, including the 12 Hours of Sebring, Daytona 24 Hours, and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

While in France, the Corvette set the speed record for the GT Class on the Mulsanne Straight, speeding past at 215 mph (346 kph).

During its racing career, the car saw a lot of famous drivers of the era get behind its wheel. The list includes the team's own John Greenwood, but also Bob Johnson, Dick Smothers, and famous-to-our-time Don Yenko.

It's unclear what happened to the Corvette after its racing career ended, but closer to our time it was restored to concours condition by a New York garage called Corvette Repair. Work included the fitting of period-correct BF Goodrich tires wrapped around Minilite wheels.

The car resurfaced in 2008, when it was shown (and won Best in Class) at the 2008 Quail Motorsports. The following year it got the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance award, but also the NCRS American Heritage Award.

And now one lucky and rich individual has the chance of owning the Corvette, as it popped up for sale during a Mecum auction that will take place in Indianapolis a couple of weeks from now.

The car is listed by the auction house as the main attraction of the event, and for a good reason. Its current owner is letting it go on a bill of sale.

The car seems to have a reserve on it, but we're not told how much that may be. We're also not given any estimate as to how much it is expected to fetch once it goes past that reserve. Considering its pedigree, though, and what it meant for the endurance racing community, we do expect it to fetch a memorable sum.

Keep close, as we'll come back on the story as soon as we learn how much a buyer was willing to spend on this piece of American racing history.