“So many people have donated their time, in addition to parts, and I am so
incredibly blessed. I sincerely appreciate every person that has believed in
me, supported me, and has helped me in the past eight years,” says Parker.
er to cut out the hood for a perfect fit, calculated how to block off the
wheels, and more. He also designed the ram air system, and punched over
100 louvers in the belly pan (to allow any trapped air to escape) using a
louver press donated by Mittler Bros. Machine & Tool. “Even though I’m
blind, I still have my skillset and can share my knowledge,” adds Parker
of how he was happy to direct and teach when his input was needed.
Parker sent the C6 down to Joey Martin Race Cars in Florida for assembly.
There, Mark Dalquist from Throttle’s Performance flew all the
way from North Dakota on his own dime and time to wire the car using
a custom wiring harness kit donated by PSI Conversion, and a custom
switch panel provided by Speedwire Systems. Joey Martin also fabricated
the belly pan and handled the sheet metal work for the Corvette, then
plumbed the car with hoses and fittings from Race Part Solutions.
Next, Chris Brewer at Brewer Speed and Racing offered up his dyno
for Parker to use, and also changed out the torque converter as needed.
James Short from ShorTuning flew in to tune the Corvette with its nitrous
oxide system courtesy of Steve Johnson’s Induction Solutions, and,
finally, Parker was ready.
“So many people have donated their time, in addition to parts, and I
am so incredibly blessed. I sincerely appreciate every person that has
believed in me, supported me, and has helped me in the past eight years,”
says Parker, immeasurably grateful for the outpouring of assistance he’s
received from his peers and from the racing community. “A huge thank
you goes out to my financial sponsors including Strutmasters, Harbin’s
Mechanical Services, PROMAXX Performance Products, Team 7 Racing,
Wanda and Shelby Amos, and Marty Flournoy from Flournoy and
Calhoun Realty.”
Of course, all of the hard work would have been for naught if it weren’t
for the custom auditory guidance system designed and developed by
longtime friend Patrick Johnson, who also happens to be an electronic
engineer at Boeing Phantom Works.
Using advanced-grade GPS, Johnson is able to plot the centerline of
Parker’s course and determine where the car is supposed to be throughout
the run. The system then provides auditory feedback to direct Parker
where to go – left, right, or straight – as well as give him direction on
where the finish line is and when/where he needs to pull the ‘chutes and
finally, to stop, all through the use of multiple sensors and gyroscopes.
So much of Parker’s Corvette is unique, as traditional systems needed
to be adapted and configured to accommodate his blindness. To safely
utilize the auditory guidance system, Parker knew he would need to be
smooth in his steering corrections and designed an ingenious system to do
so. “I added a Howe Racing steering quickener box that I turned around
backwards to make the steering ratios slower,” explains the resourceful
man of his clever solution. “I also designed it so that the car has dual
steering wheels with a chain between the two columns.”
It took two and a half years from start to finish, but it was well worth
the wait for Parker to be able to chase his goal.
The last five months leading up to his big debut was actually a bit of
May 2020
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