CENTRAL KANSAS CORVETTE ASSOCIATION
• STINGRAT •
1976 National Council of Corvette Clubs (NCCC)
National Convention in Orlando, Florida
• STINGRAT •
1976 National Council of Corvette Clubs (NCCC)
National Convention in Orlando, Florida
CKCA member Clarence "Clay" Bontrager's dominating autocross victory in his raucous rat-motored 1969 Corvette Coupe, aka the StingRat, at the 1976 NCCC National Convention in Orlando, Florida, against a deep field of Corvette competitors (293 entrants!), is the stuff of legend.
Clarence, racing in the MA (modified A) class, actually clocked a time good enough to take the FTD (Fast Time of Day) trophy on the second of his three runs, not only besting the entire field of entrants in his class, but a staggering 3-1/2 seconds quicker than the quickest RP (race prepared) entrant in the second round, as well. Amazing.
So then what did he do? Clarence went out for his third and final pass and chopped off well over a second from his previous already-FTD blast, running a remarkable 102:08 (the only racer during the entire event to run in the 102's, and just a tick from dropping into the 101's). Astonishing.
Put another way: Clarence's elapsed time in MA beat the best RP time by nearly 1.4 seconds. If you follow motorsports at all, where the margin of victory at a given race can often begin with a zero (or two) just to the right of the decimal point, well, you know what a remarkable accomplishment this was.
Such a significant improvement on the money run is a perfect example of the mind, body and soul of an apex autocross competitor all singing in high-octane harmony. You've got to dig deep within yourself to accomplish such greatness, particularly with the weight of the venue pressing down on you (Daytona!) and all the effort it took to even get there, not to mention the pressure of competing against a deep field of the most talented Corvette jockeys in the nation, who are all there with the same goal as you: WIN!
Yeah, sure, your car can be bad fast (and the StingRat most certainly was).
But you have to be bad fast, as well, even faster than your car.
Aviators call it "staying ahead of the airplane." I've autocrossed before, in Corvettes, and on motorcycles. It's easy to lose your focus, become adrenaline-poisoned, with your teeth clenched, your heart pounding and your forearms pumped up like balloons ready to burst, especially if you're going for the golden trophy and straining to grind out the last measure of your machine's goodness, knowing that all eyes are upon you.
Wow.
Mr. Bontrager: Mad props. You, sir, were a steely-eyed missile man.
Clarence was ably and cheerfully assisted and accompanied in this most-excellent adventure by his cousin and crew chief, fellow CKCA member Dean Bontrager, who built the rowdy 466-inch big block in the StingRat and who did much of the bodywork modifications and who designed and applied the instantly-recognizable paint scheme.
Several other members of the Central Kansas Corvette Association made the long journey to the convention in Florida, as well; please see the Vetter News newsletter scans below.
Nearly 50 years have passed as these words are being penned, but this historic accomplishment, on such hallowed ground, by a couple of affable Kansas farm boys, still resonates to this day.
Shown below is everything I've been able to unearth so far regarding the convention and Clarence, Dean and the StingRat. It's notable that the NCCC devoted nearly the entire content of their September/October 1976 magazine to the event. In their own words: "The largest NCCC convention ever...memorialized in the biggest issue of Blue Bars ever."
If I uncover any additional related material in my travels, I'll post it up here.
On behalf of the Central Kansas Corvette Association, I'd like to publicly thank Stuart Bontrager and Rod Givens for their help and support in this ongoing endeavor. There's much more StingRat to come.
– GH, 09/05/2024
Clarence, racing in the MA (modified A) class, actually clocked a time good enough to take the FTD (Fast Time of Day) trophy on the second of his three runs, not only besting the entire field of entrants in his class, but a staggering 3-1/2 seconds quicker than the quickest RP (race prepared) entrant in the second round, as well. Amazing.
So then what did he do? Clarence went out for his third and final pass and chopped off well over a second from his previous already-FTD blast, running a remarkable 102:08 (the only racer during the entire event to run in the 102's, and just a tick from dropping into the 101's). Astonishing.
Put another way: Clarence's elapsed time in MA beat the best RP time by nearly 1.4 seconds. If you follow motorsports at all, where the margin of victory at a given race can often begin with a zero (or two) just to the right of the decimal point, well, you know what a remarkable accomplishment this was.
Such a significant improvement on the money run is a perfect example of the mind, body and soul of an apex autocross competitor all singing in high-octane harmony. You've got to dig deep within yourself to accomplish such greatness, particularly with the weight of the venue pressing down on you (Daytona!) and all the effort it took to even get there, not to mention the pressure of competing against a deep field of the most talented Corvette jockeys in the nation, who are all there with the same goal as you: WIN!
Yeah, sure, your car can be bad fast (and the StingRat most certainly was).
But you have to be bad fast, as well, even faster than your car.
Aviators call it "staying ahead of the airplane." I've autocrossed before, in Corvettes, and on motorcycles. It's easy to lose your focus, become adrenaline-poisoned, with your teeth clenched, your heart pounding and your forearms pumped up like balloons ready to burst, especially if you're going for the golden trophy and straining to grind out the last measure of your machine's goodness, knowing that all eyes are upon you.
Wow.
Mr. Bontrager: Mad props. You, sir, were a steely-eyed missile man.
Clarence was ably and cheerfully assisted and accompanied in this most-excellent adventure by his cousin and crew chief, fellow CKCA member Dean Bontrager, who built the rowdy 466-inch big block in the StingRat and who did much of the bodywork modifications and who designed and applied the instantly-recognizable paint scheme.
Several other members of the Central Kansas Corvette Association made the long journey to the convention in Florida, as well; please see the Vetter News newsletter scans below.
Nearly 50 years have passed as these words are being penned, but this historic accomplishment, on such hallowed ground, by a couple of affable Kansas farm boys, still resonates to this day.
Shown below is everything I've been able to unearth so far regarding the convention and Clarence, Dean and the StingRat. It's notable that the NCCC devoted nearly the entire content of their September/October 1976 magazine to the event. In their own words: "The largest NCCC convention ever...memorialized in the biggest issue of Blue Bars ever."
If I uncover any additional related material in my travels, I'll post it up here.
On behalf of the Central Kansas Corvette Association, I'd like to publicly thank Stuart Bontrager and Rod Givens for their help and support in this ongoing endeavor. There's much more StingRat to come.
– GH, 09/05/2024
Multipage coverage of the 1976 NCCC National Convention in Orlando and Daytona Beach, Florida featuring Clarence Bontrager and the StingRat, as published in the September/October 1976 issue of NCCC's Blue Bars Magazine
Clarence Bontrager, top left photo, accepts his Modified A "First in Class" autocross trophy at the 1976 NCCC Awards Luncheon in Orlando, Florida
Clarence Bontrager accepts his Modified A "First in Class" autocross trophy at the 1976 NCCC Awards Luncheon in Orlando, Florida
All page scans above are from the September/October 1976 issue of NCCC's Blue Bars Magazine, a physical copy of which resides in the CKCA archives.
The "Historical (Mis)Adventures of the National Council of Corvette Clubs" as remembered by former NCCC President Tom Henry, with a nice shoutout near the end to Clarence Bontrager and the Central Kansas Corvette Association
Pages 1 and 8 of the "Historical (Mis)Adventures of the National Council of Corvette Clubs, Inc." written by former NCCC president Tom Henry in 2015. (NOTE: The yellow highlighting is in the original source document.)
Nearly 40 years after the fact, Mr. Henry still found it important to tell us who took FTD at the 1976 NCCC National Convention in Florida: "Clarence Bontrager of Central Kansas Corvette Association."
Nearly 40 years after the fact, Mr. Henry still found it important to tell us who took FTD at the 1976 NCCC National Convention in Florida: "Clarence Bontrager of Central Kansas Corvette Association."
– Document source (8-page PDF): https://www.cfca.net/NCCC_Misadventures.pdf
Multipage coverage of the 1976 NCCC National Convention in Orlando and Daytona Beach, Florida, featuring Clarence Bontrager and the StingRat, as published in the August–September 1976 issue of the CKCA newsletter Vetter News
CKCA President Jim "Shaf" Shafer gives a nice shoutout to Clarence Bontrager and the StingRat, "...the NUMBER ONE autocross vette in all of NCCC land..."
Recaps of the 1976 NCCC National Convention by Jim "Shaf" Shafer and Fred & Jean Johnson, from the August–September 1976 issue of the CKCA newsletter Vetter News
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The StingRat at the head of the line in the staging lanes at Daytona International Speedway – 1976 NCCC National Convention
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Clarence Bontrager, left, and Dean Bontrager, far right – 1976 NCCC National Convention, Florida
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Individual scans (2) of the images shown above from the August–September 1976 issue of the CKCA newsletter Vetter News
Two-page photo collage from the August–September 1976 issue of the CKCA newsletter Vetter News; see select individual scans below
The StingRat at rest in front of the Sheraton Towers Hotel, 1976 NCCC National Convention – Orlando, Florida
Daytona!
Clarence Bontrager posing with his pair of autocross trophies, 1976 NCCC National Convention – Orlando, Florida
Individual image scans above (4) are from the August–September 1976 issue of the CKCA newsletter Vetter News
This wonderful photo of the StingRat in action (event location and photographer unknown) comprises page 20 of the August–September 1976 issue of the CKCA newsletter Vetter News
Page 21 of the August–September 1976 issue of the CKCA newsletter Vetter News., with the July 26th, 1976 meeting minutes noting President Jim Shafer's announcement that '...Clarence is number "1" in the U.S.A.'
Letter to the Editor from the StingRat! From the August–September 1976 issue of the CKCA newsletter Vetter News
This issue may be seen in its entirety here: https://www.ckca.club/the-fred-and-jean-johnson-artifact-collection-newsletter-aug-sep-1976.html
This issue may be seen in its entirety here: https://www.ckca.club/the-fred-and-jean-johnson-artifact-collection-newsletter-aug-sep-1976.html
Rant from Vetter News Editor and CKCA vice-president Dave Griffin regarding the "lousiest coverage ever" of the 1976 NCCC National Convention by the staff at Blue Bars Magazine, specifically as it relates to the autocross accomplishments of Clarence Bontrager and the StingRat at the convention
From the January 1977 issue of the CKCA newsletter Vetter News. This issue may be seen in its entirety here: https://www.ckca.club/the-fred-and-jean-johnson-artifact-collection-newsletter-jan-1977.html
Clarence Bontrager and the StingRat strike again in the October 1977 issue of Vetter News
From the October 1977 issue of the CKCA newsletter Vetter News. This issue may be seen in its entirety here: https://www.ckca.club/the-fred-and-jean-johnson-artifact-collection-newsletter-oct-1977.html
The photograph of Clarence Bontrager that was used in October 1977 CKCA newsletter shown above.
This photo was discovered in one of three photo albums contained in the Fred & Jean Johnson Artifact Collection, recently obtained from the Reno County Museum for documentation purposes. Photographer, date and photo location unknown. (NOTE: The "#1 FTD" marking is original to the photo, not written on after the fact. I don't have an explanation as to why this lettering doesn't show in the black and white version as it appears in the newsletter.)
This photo was discovered in one of three photo albums contained in the Fred & Jean Johnson Artifact Collection, recently obtained from the Reno County Museum for documentation purposes. Photographer, date and photo location unknown. (NOTE: The "#1 FTD" marking is original to the photo, not written on after the fact. I don't have an explanation as to why this lettering doesn't show in the black and white version as it appears in the newsletter.)
StingRat photo from the 1976 NCCC National Convention found on the internet
The StingRat (extreme far right) in the staging lanes at Daytona International Speedway –
1976 NCCC National Convention, Daytona Beach, Florida
1976 NCCC National Convention, Daytona Beach, Florida
– Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/suzqs/albums/72157605952800450/
Photos of Clarence and Dean Bontrager posing with the StingRat and Clarence's two autocross trophies from the 1976 NCCC National Convention in Orlando, Florida
CKCA members Clarence Bontrager, left, and Dean Bontrager, posing with the StingRat and the two autocross trophies – "Fast Time of Day" on the left and "First in Class - MA" on the right – they won at the 1976 NCCC National Convention in Orlando, Florida
– Photos courtesy of Stuart Bontrager (Dean Bontrager's son). Thank you, Stuart!
"What a driver!" exclaims the editors at Corvette Corner Magazine
Excerpt from the September 1977 issue of Corvette Corner Magazine (a physical copy of which resides in the CKCA archives), highlighting Clarence Bontrager's performance at the Memorial Day 8th Annual Southern States "Corvette Festival," held in 1977 at the Hallett Motor Racing Circuit near Tulsa, Oklahoma, and his performance the prior year at the 1976 NCCC National Convention in Orlando, Florida.
Several vintage photos and racing videos of Clarence Bontrager and the StingRat may be found here:
– https://www.ckca.club/vintage-photos-and-videos.html
– https://www.ckca.club/vintage-photos-and-videos.html
Clarence Bontrager and his 1969 Corvette big-block Coupe – pre- and post-StingRat – are featured in this pair of vintage Vetter News "Car of the Month" centerfold features:
– https://www.ckca.club/corvette-of-the-month-oct-1974.html
– https://www.ckca.club/corvette-of-the-month-jul-1976.html
– https://www.ckca.club/corvette-of-the-month-oct-1974.html
– https://www.ckca.club/corvette-of-the-month-jul-1976.html
CKCA members Clarence and Dean Bontrager's memorials may be found here:
– https://www.ckca.club/in-memoriam.html
– https://www.ckca.club/in-memoriam.html
Page last updated: 09/05/2024
© Central Kansas Corvette Association
Hutchinson, KS
© Central Kansas Corvette Association
Hutchinson, KS
