November 9, 1947
John "Heinrocket" Heinricy
Photo; heinrocket.com
Home: Holly, Michigan
John is a U.S. automotive engineer and noted racecar driver. Heinricy has had a long and distinguished career at General Motors, serving as assistant chief engineer for the Corvette and as Director of the GM Performance Division. John retired from GM in October 2008.
John is a U.S. automotive engineer and noted racecar driver. Heinricy has had a long and distinguished career at General Motors, serving as assistant chief engineer for the Corvette and as Director of the GM Performance Division. John retired from GM in October 2008.
On a more personal note, he is also a rabid Corvette enthusiast, and has been since the tender age of 8. He recently recounted his lifelong love affair with the Corvette on a GM blog, riding his bike every Sunday from the family farm in South Dakota to a nearby town, to watch a group of local motorists drag race. One car, a 1961 Chevrolet Corvette, stood out from the rest to Mr. Heinricy. Over a decade later, Heinricy started as an Engineer at the GM Warren Tech Center, and in 1978, purchased a then-new silver Corvette Anniversary Coupe. It was the first of 15 that the engineer would eventually come to own.
John has driven in over 240 professional races, including thirty-five 24-hour races. He also campaigns a variety of GM products in SCCA competition, winning the annual SCCA National Championship Runoffs in Corvettes and Camaros, Firebirds and a Chevrolet Cobalt.
Heinricy presently holds the second most Runoffs titles, tied with Duane Davis (13) and second only to Jerry Hansen (27), with the most recent a B-Spec win in a Chevrolet Sonic.
Heinricy set a lap time on the Nürburgring of 7 minutes 56 seconds in a 2004 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. He also became the first driver to record a sub-eight minute lap time at the Nurburgring in a production four-door sedan with the new Cadillac CTS-V.
John was inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame Inductee in 2014.
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