East valley group shares its love of Corvettes

During the week, Jim Weeks usually drives a 1978 station wagon, but on the weekend, things are different.

“I drive the station wagon because it intimidates people,” Weeks said. “It makes them back off and not run into me. On the weekends, I usually drive my Z06, my ‘74 or my ‘78 Corvette.

Weeks is a member of the Las Vegas Corvettes Association. The group has about 200 members and meets at least twice a month. It has monthly meetings at 7:30 p.m. on the second Thursday at the Henderson Executive Airport and less formal Garage Gang meetings at a member’s place. In June, the group met at Weeks’ east valley garage.

“It’s just a building attached to a house I bought 34 years ago, but it’s where I spend a lot of time,” Weeks said. “This time, we had a scale and weighed people’s cars. It’s four little platforms you drive up on, and it weighs each wheel separately. That way you can see if it weighs the same cross weight or corner weight and adjust it.”

Weeks said there are members across the valley, and many of them have places the group can gather.

“There’s one guy that has a place up by the Mormon Temple,” Weeks said. “It’s got a great view of the valley.”

Ron Petersen, the association’s vice president, said the group is more than 40 years old and affiliated with the National Corvette Owners Association.

“We’re a very active club,” Petersen said. “We’ve already got 60 under our belt this year, and we do easily four or five events a month. We have stuff happening on almost every holiday. We’re the oldest (car) club in Las Vegas and one of the largest in the western United States.”

The club is involved in charity fundraising, donating money from most events to St. Jude’s Ranch and other organizations. Members have done charity runs to Mount Charleston to help raise funds for the Mount Charleston Fire Department. They help organize a semiannual road race called the Silver State Classic Challenge, which encompasses 90 miles of Nevada highway.

“There are only three road races in the country now,” Petersen said. “We help organize it and make it safe.”

Petersen has been a member of the association for 11 years. He drives a 2015 Corvette Stingray now, but his first Corvette was a 1966 model.

“They’re fantastic cars, and they’re American sports cars,” Petersen said. “They’re quick, good-looking and fun to drive.”

The group organizes runs, where 15 to 30 Corvette drivers travel down a stretch of road and stay somewhere for one to three days. Many of the members are married, so the trip is part sightseeing and part bonding experience.

Members of the Las Vegas Corvettes Association meet with car enthusiasts of all makes and models at Cars and Coffee, an event held from 7-11 a.m. Saturdays at Sansone Park Place shopping center, 9500 S. Eastern Ave. They arrive early so they can park their Corvettes together.

“It’s a great collection of people and cars,” Weeks said. “People drive millions of dollars of cars there; they don’t haul them in on a trailer. Even guys who have won races with their cars will just drive them down to Cars and Coffee.”

Weeks is set to retire this fall from his job working with computers in a casino. He has a good idea what he’ll do with that extra time.

“I’m not much of a traveler, unless it’s for a car event, like Monterey (Calif.) to the races,” Weeks said. “I’ll probably be in my garage a lot. I’ve got a lot of tools, and I’ve got my cars to work on.”

For more information, visit vegasvettes.com.

To reach East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor, email ataylor@viewnews.com or call 702-380-4532.