“Corvette Punisher: Guilty on all Charges”
No need for a defense lawyer here, Patrick Gramm happily pleads “no-contest” as he chats about his own enthusiast experience.
Now sure, we could dust off the Thesaurus in search for a different word but we’d bet “junkie” would still surface as the best way to describe Patrick’s Corvette habits. Like many, Patrick’s Corvette dreams started as a kid. Since his grandfather worked at a Chevrolet dealership, it didn't take long until Patrick got to sit behind the wheel of a 70’s 'Vette. After pulling himself up to look over that amazing hood, it was clear that a Corvette would be in the cards.
It may have taken twenty-five years for Patrick to finally achieve his childhood dream, but he now lives his life totally entrenched in the Corvette community. After creating the widely successful Corvette website, DigitalCorvettes.com, on a pure whim, Patrick has been at full-steam to keep pace with the rapid changes and milestones of the community. His recent adventures caught some serious attention and there wasn’t a hesitation in his excitement when we dished out a few questions.
What did you expect to gain from entering the Cannonball?
“I hope that by me entering that other folks would stop waxing and maybe do something outrageously cool with their Corvettes for once. Having a low-mile mint Corvette in your garage is cool, but having a high-mile beat up Corvette with bald tires with a number painted on the door is even cooler.”
Sounds like you were going to endure just as much punishment from that week of One Lap than you could put on the ‘Vette. Did you have any worries about that?
“Not really. I suppose no one wants to look like an ass, which I only did a few hundred times. We were always really tired, mentally shot, eating unhealthy food, didn't know what state we were in half the time... I always forgot the name of the track we were at. It's a lot of mental load, all the time. That's why it's one of the toughest, and longest, driving challenges there is. It was eight days!”
What, of yourself, did you take into One Lap from the Spring Mountain track event?
”I've had little track time; I need a lot more experience. Spring Mountain helped me get my head back in it and get a little better. Incredible track and staff. While at Spring Mountain I asked Aaron Pfadt point blank... am I good enough for One Lap? He told me I had good car control and a great car, he thought I could be in the top 50%. That was a big boost. I thought of that quite a bit over One Lap when I was thinking negatively.”
From the looks of it, the DigitalCorvettes’ crew not only gained experience from One Lap of America but they literally had a time they will never forget. The chance to go full throttle on several nationally known tracks, see many spectacular sights of America and enjoy it along side dozens of other sports car enthusiasts. After speaking with Patrick, it’s clear that the Corvette community is for more than just show. His remarks on creating DigitalCorvettes.com, are a testament to how dynamic the Corvette experience has become:
“The opportunities that it has brought to me, and the amazing people I've met, have been nothing short of a dream. I'm living a dream. But, if you pinch me and wake me up I'll likely kill you.”
By Daniel Bowler
“I hope that by me entering that other folks would stop waxing and maybe do something outrageously cool with their Corvettes for once."
Thanks for showing that the Corvette is not the poorly made delicate toy that most people think it is.
Great show I can't wait to meet you guys at Carlise in August.
That Z06 was grinning for more each time!
You guys FREAKIN' ROCK!