Brad Eenhuis, daughter bond over classic Corvette

CEDAR RAPIDS — Brad Eenhuis of Cedar Rapids knows what it looks like when people see the white 1973 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray he bought last summer.

“Corvettes are notorious for midlife crisis, but it wasn’t that,” Eenhuis said. “It was, ‘If I don’t do it now, when am I going to do it? If I don’t buy one, I’m going to be 65 and feel like I should have bought it.’”

There were a few other selling points that made the purchase a no-brainer for Eenhuis, mainly the fact his father drove them when he was a kid.

“It feels awesome climbing in,” Eenhuis said. “And it’s always the same feeling.”

Recently, Brad and his 12-year-old daughter, Eva, took the white corvette with custom black HKEYEZ plates down the 300-foot front-stretch of Hawkeye Downs Speedway for the final edition of the SPI Outlaw Street Drags for the 2021 season.

“I just thought it would be fun,” Eenhuis said with a smile. “She’s scared and very nervous.”

The purchase, he figures, is a good investment.

“I bought it knowing that two years down the road, if it wasn’t for me, I could sell it,” Eenhuis said. “Get at least as much (as I paid), or more. It was a no-lose situation.”

Evaa already enjoys working with him on his cars.

“Eva loves being in the garage with me and that’s something I cherish,” Eenhuis said. “We put in new seat belts and it took us two months. I could have done it in a day, but I like that she likes to help. Anything that gets her off her phone.”

Then there is the boost in confidence that comes with driving a sports car.

“I don’t know how many times I was sitting at a stop light in my Honda Ridgeline and somebody would pull up in one of these,” Eenhuis said. “I’d feel inadequate. You only live once and I was tired of wanting.”

Eva has started asking her dad if the 1970s sports car is what she’ll learn to drive in.

“It’s a long ways away, but probably not,” Eenhuis said. “Although she tends to get what she wants.”

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