"Gathering Week" 2022

[Vette Guy]

We are very excited about the upcoming events in May, and have formally combined Mountain Run 8 and the Gathering into ?Gathering Week?. Gathering week will kick off with the Mountain Run event, based out of Fontana Village, NC, and culminate in Bowling Green for The Gathering.

Mountain Run 8, for those who have never attended, consists of 2 full days of exhilarating driving through the Tail of the Dragon?.you know the one, 318 curves in 11 miles! That?s just part of the 2-day event, with similar excursions into Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee National Forest areas. Accommodations have been prepared for attendees at the incredible Fontana Village Resort, just minuets from the Tail of the Dragon in Fontana Dam, NC. Upon registration for the event, you will be provided our discount codes for the group. Registration is only completed via the ZR-1 Net Registry website, at www.zr1netregistry.com.

Mountain Run 8 participants should plan to arrive at Fontana Village Resort on Sunday, May 1st, and check out the morning of Wednesday, May 4th. It is important for those planning to attend register early, as there are a limited number of rooms being blocked for the group. Reservations will be held no later than April 1st, thereafter any remaining rooms will be opened to the general public.

For those continuing on to participate in the second half of Gathering Week, we will caravan to Bowling Green, KY on Wednesday morning, arriving in time to check in, relax and attend the event?s ice-breaker reception that evening at the University Plaza Holiday Inn.

The Gathering at Bowling Green will formally begin Thursday morning with a seminar in Salon B at the University Plaza Holiday Inn for those who register for the afternoon?s Touring Laps at the NCM?s Motorsports Park. For first time participants, this is vitally important, providing a solid base of car control techniques and more importantly what to do if an emergency situation arises. Thereafter, lunch at one of the many restaurants surrounding the hotel, then meeting up at the NCM Motorsports Park at noon. Touring laps will run through 5pm, providing all participants ample laps to hone their driving skills. We anticipate availability of members with racing and/or HPDE experience to assist first timers. As with each year, we offer driving experiences for any and all levels of drivers. Upon conclusion of the track event, dinner will be on your own with the evening culminating in the hotel parking lot where we can further discuss our day?s experiences.

Friday morning will kick off with a membership meeting at the hotel. Thereafter, we?ll converge upon the National Corvette Museum to tour the ever-changing exhibits and stock up on our favorite Corvette memorabilia from their incredible gift shop. Departing from the NCM circle, the Gathering caravan will roar toward Nashville, likely stopping traffic along I-65 as we did last year due to drivers stopping to photograph the mile plus line of Corvettes waving as the travel past.

Our first stop is the Lane Motor Museum, rated as one of the top 12 automotive museums in the United States. This is a real car enthusiast museum, providing visitors the opportunity to get up close and personal with most all of their unique and rare cars, race cars, boats and planes and learn about what makes each one so interesting.

Other tours in the area are being considered, with the departure from the Nashville area leading us to a group dinner along the route back to Bowling Green, where we will reconvene for more personal get togethers at the hotel lounge.

Saturday morning, we?ll depart for an event that received rave reviews in 2019?the Bourbon Run. Traveling north toward the heart of Kentucky?s bourbon distilleries, we will visit, tour, and sample some of Kentucky?s finest spirits. That afternoon, we?ll return back to Bowling Green area for dinner, and prepare for an event that has been requested for years?Drag Racing at Beech Bend Raceway.

Since 2015, drag track scheduling conflicts with other large organizations have precluded the Registry?s participation. This year, we are looking forward to seeing what our ZR-1s will do on the track, and are hoping that the fastest ZR-1s will join us and demonstrate their might for all to witness. As such, we will conclude out Gathering event not with a banquet, rather with some high-performance fun at Beech Bend Raceway.

This year, registration for Gathering Week is free for all members, but all attendees must be ZR-1 Net Registry members or associate members. Attractions are pay as you go, however we are collecting fees for Touring Laps at the NCM Motorsports Park, which is $75 per driver, normally $250 per person through the NCM Motorsports Park. As always, we?d love you to drive your ZR-1, however it is not required. We have many members flying in from various parts of the United States, Canada, and Europe to attend.

Registration for any or all of the Gathering Week, as well as Touring Laps is available via the ZR-1 Net Registry website at: www.zr1netregistry.com. Once logged into the site, select the ?Registry Store?. Amongst the options will be ?Event Registration?. The Mountain Run 8 and Gathering are currently 2 separate registrations. Upon checkout, the only charge will be for Touring Laps, else no charge. If you are not participating in Touring Laps, select PayPal as the payment option when checking out. Upon successful registration, you will see a confirmation screen as well as receive a confirmation email. While the event is free, only those who are registered may participate in the event. Upon your registration, you will receive additional information and any updates for the event.

Should you have any problems, please feel free to contact me. We are looking forward to seeing everyone soon!