Drive Fast Down Lake Street
Larry Dixon fell in love with the Corvette when he was just 15-years-old. His older brother’s friend, Dennis Dahlin, from Hawarden, Iowa drove out to their family’s farm near Hudson, SD in a 1967 435hp Corvette coupe. Larry remembers looking at the car in awe, as it turned onto his family’s farm.
Dennis asked Larry if he wanted to go for a ride with him and Larry’s brother. “I immediately said, ‘SURE!’ he remembered. “As a teenager, I’m looking at this car, thinking that this is the coolest car that I have ever seen.” Since the vehicle only had two seats, Larry had to sit under the big back bay window.
“Since we lived on Hwy 46 in South Dakota and just a half mile from a big sweeping corner, Dennis gave us the ride of our lives. It was around the corner—full throttle!” Larry remembered. “Once we got to the straight away, he powershifted into fourth gear, the back tires broke loose and we were fish tailing!”
When Larry got home, he told his mom that he was getting a Corvette when he got older. Several years later, after he turned twenty, he bought a brand new 1970 454 Corvette Roadster, right off the show room floor in Davenport, Iowa. As a college student, playing the drums on weekends, he worked hard to afford the monthly payment of $136.89.
Super Cars at “Vettes in the Park”
One of the biggest draws in 2026 will be the representation of the following three Super Cars: 2017 Dodge ACR, 2026 Corvette ZR1 and 2026 Mustang GTD. “This year will be the first year to have non-Corvette vehicles to serve as headline attractions,” Larry explained.
These three North American produced super cars have each claimed the fastest lap in various years at the Nurburgring Race Track in Germany, a standard site to test the lap time of all Super Cars from around the world.
“The track has over 150 turns and is 12.9 miles long,” Larry explained. “There is extreme elevation changes, minimal run-offs, narrow width in a heavy wooded area, reaching up to 200 mph.” Race car driver Jackie Stewart has named the track, “The Green Hell!”
In 2017, the Dodge Viper ACR was the first American created Super Car to claim the fastest lap time at the Nurburgring Race Track. In 2023, the Viper ACR returned and set a record time of 7:01.3. In 2024, The Mustang GtD marked the fastest American built Super Car to break the seven-minute barrier, with a lap time of 6:57.6. Built with a carbon fiber body, it reset the record in early summer 2025 with a time of 6:52.1. Then in late Summer 2025, the 2025 Corvette ZR1 set a new lap time of 6:50.7. Larry said the latest news out of Nurburgring is that the Mustang GtD set a new lap time in April 2026.
“There’s a good chance that there will be a new record time by an American produced Super Car by the time ‘Vettes in the Park’ takes place in late July,” Larry said. “The race for the best and fastest goes on!”
New Layout
Another new change for this year’s “Vettes in the Park” is the layout. The majority of the Corvettes will be on Preservation Plaza, in rows surrounding the concert stage. It will be a better layout for viewing and looking at the cars. Corvettes will also be on Lake Street in front of the Roof Garden. The special display of the Super Cars will be located on the cul-de-sac in front of Maxwells.
Another unique display will be in front of the concert stage, showcasing eight Corvettes depicting the body style changes (C1 to C8) from 1953 to 2026. A third display will be located alongside the Iowa Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame Museum, highlighting four generations of Corvettes: C1, C2, C3 and C4.
“We expect well over 200 Corvettes!” Larry said. “It will be a great day for bringing Corvette owners and the public together and making friends. Spectators will get to view many rare cars, as they visit with the car owners.”
The University of Okoboji Corvette Club was organized in 1990 for Corvette enthusiasts in and around the Iowa Great Lakes. The club started out with six couples, and now over the years has grown to over 100 members. The board invites any and all Corvette owners to join the club.
The main Sponsor for “Vettes in the Park” is Sampson Corvettes of Sanborn, Iowa. To register for the event, visit uofocorvetteclub.com/vettes-in-the-park.
Activities begin Friday, July 24. The day opens at Sampson’s Corvettes in Sanborn, Iowa, where from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., owners can register their vehicles for the show and enjoy refreshments. At 3 p.m., a caravan of vehicles will depart for Marble Lake Ranch at 12025 240th Ave., Spirit Lake. From 4-6 p.m., registered guests can view a selection.
On Saturday, “Vettes in the Park” starts at 8 a.m. Cars can also register at arrival. Awards will be presented at 1:15 p.m., with vehicles released at 2 p.m.