Well-vetted fun

YES, there's a NASCAR-raced, 1986 Buick Regal (an innovative turbocharged V6) in the extensive, sports-car-minded collection at Southwest Philadelphia's Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum. Plus lots of beauts from Buggati, Bentley, BMW, (Stutz) Bearcat - and many others that don't start with B.

The letter C's the focus today and tomorrow as the museum celebrates the glories of an even more iconic GM brand, the Corvette. Corvette Racing Program manager Doug Fehan will lead discussions and demonstrate the fine-tuning of the brand's most competitive racing contenders, developed in a partnership between Chevrolet and Pratt & Miller Engineering.

Since 1999, these cars and team have led the American Le Mans Series in all-time victories and 1-2 finishes. And they've increasingly influenced the engineering of production 'Vettes that devotees can buy off a showroom floor.

Corvette Celebration begins at 5:30 p.m. tonight with a "Meet and Greet and Eat" party ($65). Tomorrow from noon to 2 p.m., Fehan steers Corvette Racing Legends Day, with talks inside and (weather permitting) demos out on the Simeone's three-acre parking lot.