By MEGAN LEE Star-Tribune staff writer Sunday, August 31, 2008
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When he was 14, Gary Boldt decided he wanted a Corvette.
In 1963, his future brother-in-law put him in the back of one of the speedsters and drove around -- fast.
"He went around the corners with me in the back and I decided I should probably have one of those," Boldt said.
And 24 years later, he did. Now the owner of a vintage Corvette and co-owner of a 2002, Boldt is the president of the Central Wyoming Corvette Club.
He and other car fanatics came together at Fort Caspar Saturday morning for comradarie, a contest and a lot of Corvettes.
For the annual Corvette Roundup Show and Shine, the fifth club event to be held over Labor Day weekend, Boldt said a 60-car turnout was better than expected, since gas prices have left some owners unable to attend such gatherings.
About 30 of the cars also signed up for racing today at the Casper Events Center.
Carl Fair will race his polo green 1991 Corvette convertible in the race, and his wife J.D. said their car -- which can travel at speeds over 130 miles per hour -- is a winner.
"It was always my husband's dream to have a Corvette, and I told him he could have one if he could find one in racing green and tan, and he showed up with this," she said. "He wins a lot of these races in it."
When she's in the car, the speed "doesn't go into triple digits too often," so Carl Fair will race without her.
One particularly special car at the show, a "millenium red" version, was the last Corvette to run off the assembly line in Bowling Greene on Sept. 11, 2001 before the plant was shut down for the day, said Amy Olson, the car's owner.
Olson and her brother and sister were all in the military, and her boyfriend's brother is still on active duty.
A display including an American flag, news clippings and medals pays tribute to all of those people who have served or are serving in the military, Olson said.
"We just display it as a dedication to the troops, and with the red [color of the car] I think it really works," she said. "We started out without knowing what we were going to put in the trunk, and we just kind of thought this would be good."
Boldt said the public is welcome to watch today's races, which begin at 9 a.m. Hot dogs and hamburgers will be available. All proceeds from the weekend event will go to the Shriners Childrens Travel Fund.
Contact reporter Megan Lee at (307) 266-0589 or megan.lee@trib.com
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