Corvette’s history of endurance racing can be traced back to 1956 at the Sebring 12-hour race under the direction of Vette performance godfather, Zora-Arkus Duntov. Chevy’s vice president of global marketing, Chris Perry, acknowledges the cornerstone relationship between Duntov and America’s sports car: “His spirit is felt in today’s winning Corvette Racing program, which continues a proud legacy and one we’re looking forward to celebrating next summer.”

The legacy of Corvettes at Sebring and LeMans is one that is long-lived and often retold, but it was during the 1960 LeMans race, the marque’s very first year at the 24-hour French circuit, that Corvette won first place in the venue’s GT class when drivers John Fitch and Bob Grossman drove their Briggs Cunningham car to the finish line.

Road racing in America is a truly respectable sport that has its share of deep-seated roots, and no where is this heritage celebrated more than at the annual Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, held at the Laguna Seca Mazda Raceway in Monterey, California. Corvette will be the featured marque at next year’s event in August, and all six generations of Vette are expected to be represented at the 2013 Reunion.

Gill Campbell, CEO and general manager of Mazda Raceway sits in anticipation of next summer’s epic road race event, saying, “We look forward to working closely with the Corvette team on making next year’s celebration a monumental one for Corvette racers, owners and automobile enthusiasts… the Monterey Peninsula will rumble to life with Corvettes of every era.”

Earlier in this year’s American LeMans racing season, Corvette was a winner at Laguna Seca with a “one-two sweep” of the six-hour race, and Corvette Racing has won the 24-hour LeMans seven times, most recently in 2011 when they won the endurance race over Ferrari.

The last time that the Vette nameplate was honored as Rolex’s featured marque was in 2002, and its recognition in Monterey for the 2013 Reunion will occur during the car’s 60th anniversary model year. Even proving its racetrack maturity to the likes of Maranello, Italy’s greatest automaker, it’s no wonder that Corvette really is America’s sports car!