1958 Corvette won the 1969 US Nationals, then sat for over 50 years until hot rodder Kenny Davis connected with the family, and after decades of friendship, bought it and is bringing it to SEMA with Ebay Motors

In the late 1980s, Kenny Davis worked at the parts counter of an Arkansas Chevrolet dealership. That’s where he met Richard Lasner, a regular customer with a bunch of hot rods. Lasner had a proclivity for buying Chevy speed parts—and had an NHRA Nationals winning ’58 Corvette Gasser tucked away in the garage with a 302, Hunt mag, Muncie 4 speed, and moon tank

Converted to a race car it won its class at the 1969 U.S. Nats, only to be essentially retired the next year when the Lasners moved to Arkansas in 1970 and just parked the car

Davis, now the owner of four collision repair centers and a hot rod shop in Northwest Arkansas, and Lasner, a gunsmith who moved from Buffalo, NY., bonded over their love of drag racing. Naturally, they became fast friends. In 1990, Lasner showed his Corvette Gasser to Davis and shared its history. Fifteen years after the two men first met, Davis ran into a guy named Eric Lasner and they formed a friendship. But Davis didn’t know that Eric was Kenny’s son.

Then, the junior Lasner told Davis about his dad’s Corvette. As Eric described the car and where it was parked, Lasner realized that he knew the car.  The ‘Vette had not been on the road for decades. So Eric was shocked when Davis said he knew Eric’s father and his race-winning Corvette gasser.

The bond between the families was re-united. A few years later, when Richard Lasner passed away, Eric asked Davis to move the Corvette from the family garage to Davis’s shop for safekeeping

When they brought the car back to Davis’s shop, the rear slicks were flat, the battery was junked, and the car had no fuel. They fueled it up and put in a new battery.

“Having been around race cars for so long, I knew how to start up the Corvette’s eight-stack Hilborn mechanical fuel injection system. It took me about three minutes.”

Davis purchased the car from the Lasner family with the promise to keep the Corvette Gasser the way it is, as caretakers of the car and its history.

https://www.ebay.com/motors/blog/partsofamerica

https://www.ebay.com/motors/blog/partsofamerica-corvettegasser/

https://www.bgdailynews.com/news/cruisin-for-a-cure-gets-boost-from-ebay-tour/article_7f3172a6-710c-5902-ac1b-de6865733f14.html

 ---------- Original Message ---------- From: PAUL LASNER To: "jbohjkl@yahoo.com" Date: 08/06/2023 6:20 PM PDT Subject: Rick Lasner's 58 corvette 

 Hello....I received a posting describing the 58 corvette previously owned by my brother, Rick Lasner. I know every inch of that car. I raced with my brother, including in 1969 at the NHRA Nationals and often at Niagra in Buffalo among other tracks. The first time the car was raced was at Canadaigua Speedway in Canandaigua New York on a 1\4 mile strip that was 1\2 dirt (part of the dirt circular track). Nasty. The car was stock. The car never had a roll bar until we arrived at the track in Indiainapolis and were told we had to add one to comply. we cut the hole and welded it up on then spot. There is (was) a deep gouge in the fiberglass on the bottom right rear quarter where the follow car I was driving slipped off the push bar as we approached staging at the Nationals. I believe those runs were the last time the car ever raced. There are a few errors in your posting. The car was never a gasser. I believe we mostly raced in C Gas. When raced the motor was never a 302. Jess Halen Engines in Rochester NY built the last motor, the one we raced at the Nationals and my recollection is that it was a bored 327. Also, we didn't win any races at the 1969 Nationals. No trophies. The injectors had just been installed and we couldn't get them properly jetted. the car kept breaking up at high RPM's. We came home with nothing....but it was fun. Paul Lasner

On Monday, August 7, 2023 at 12:28:33 PM PDT, PAUL LASNER wrote: 

A couple corrections and a bit more information in the interest of getting the history correct: Throughout most of the car's history on the track it was in a modified production class (B/MP?) if memory serves. Its transition to (C/G?) happened in about1968 when the tubular axel, the new Halen-built engine and the Hillborn injectors were added. In this configuration the car did not see much time on the track prior to The Nationals. I was incorrect in stating that the car had no rollbar prior to the 1969 Nationals. I think I was confused by the photo in your piece. The original rollbar was a more simple affair than what is on it now. Originally, it was U-shaped with no brace behind the driver. It did not meet NHRA regs and we had to add the bracing. I hope this helps. Paul