Racing would prove to be the true test of the Corvette’s ability. The Sports
Car Club of America’s Showroom Stock competition pitted near-stock automobiles
on the best road courses North America had to offer. And the C4 entered the
fray.
Kim Baker,
a well-known autocrosser and road racer from Wilbraham, Massachusetts, raced
Corvettes in the predecessor to the Escort Endurance series,
the
Playboy Endurance Cup. Baker brought two cars to the 1986 Escort series, the
#4 car driven by Tommy and Bobby Archer, the well-known Duluth, Minnesota, racing
brothers, and the #5 usually driven by Shawn Hendricks and Mitch Wright. Other
top Corvette racers like Doug Rippie
and Tommy Morrison brought cars to the show. The press nearly fell over themselves
extolling the virtues of the Porsche 944 Turbo as the car to beat in the Showroom
Stock GT class.
