Hendrick buys first Corvette Stingray

Race team owner and car dealer Rick Hendrick bought the first 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, VIN 0001, at the Barrett-Jackson car auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Jan. 19.

Hendrick's winning bid was $1.05 million, for a car that's estimated to have a sticker price around $60,000. The money from the sale is being donated to the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, one of the nation's top schools for training designers for the auto industry.

The Hendrick Automotive Group ranks as the sixth-largest auto dealership group in the country, based on sales of new vehicles in 2011, according to Automotive News, a sister publication of Autoweek. The group, based in Charlotte, N.C., has 73 dealerships and posted group revenue of $6.17 billion in 2011.

Hendrick's race team, Hendrick Motorsports, fields four cars in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series. Its drivers include past champions Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson and fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr.

It was a busy weekend in Scottsdale for Hendrick. He also bought General Motors CEO Dan Akerson's 1958 Corvette for $270,000. That money is being donated to Habitat for Humanity Detroit's efforts to improve the city's Morningside Commons neighborhood.

BARRETT-JACKSON
The 2014 Corvette Stingray on the auction block at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Jan. 19.

Three other donated Chevrolets sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction benefited charities:

-- A 2012 COPO Camaro Convertible sold for $400,000. The money goes to the American Heart Association. The car is the final of 69 COPO Camaro factory drag-race cars built for 2012 and one of two convertibles built.

-- A 2013 Corvette 427 convertible personalized by celebrity chef Guy Fieri sold for $270,000. The money goes to Cooking With Kids, a program by the Guy Fieri Foundation for Inspiration and Imagination.

-- A 2013 Camaro ZL1 Convertible, the first ZL1 convertible off the assembly line, sold for $150,000. The money is being donated to the Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans, which helps injured veterans compete in mainstream athletics, including marathons.

By Dale Jewett