There's no doubt the all-new 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is fast. Its official 0 to 60 mph time has been clocked at 2.9 seconds when equipped with the optional Z51 package. Without it, that time drops by a mere tenth of a second. That's fantastic when drivers are on a closed track, but not on public roads. A pair of Corvette engineers have just learned that harsh lesson.

According to Automobile, two GM employees have been arrested and jailed for "racing" two new C8s in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the home of Corvette production. The Kentucky State Police pulled over the engineers, identified as Alexander Thim and Mark Derkatz, last Wednesday evening for exceeding the 45 mph speed limit as well as for reckless driving and racing motor vehicles on a public road.

Turns out Thim was clocked driving his Corvette at 120 mph while Derkatz at 100 mph. There was a third C8 Corvette at the scene but was "not participating in the racing." Following the pairs' arrest, their Corvettes were hauled away and impounded. GM representatives picked up the cars the following day. Fortunately, there were no injuries because no one crashed. GM has since stated that it is "aware of an incident involving our test vehicles and are currently investigating. Safety remains our overriding priority at General Motors. We have no further comment at this time."

Thim, 27, is a CAE (computer aided engineering) engineer assigned to induction and exhaust system development. Derkatz, 30, is an electrical engineer. Their employment status remains unknown.

This is quite an embarrassing situation for GM, the Corvette brand, as well as the local community. Not only is the Corvette production plant located in Bowling Green, but so is the National Corvette Museum. So let this serve as a lesson for everyone – not only Corvette owners – that street racing is extremely dangerous and will not be tolerated.