(February 5, 2013) NEW ORLEANS — The honor of awarding the Super Bowl XLVII MVP Award was given to Rick Flick of New Orleans’ Banner Chevrolet, who knows a thing or two about comebacks. Banner Chevrolet, a part of Flick’s family for 40 years, was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina and was the first business to reopen in New Orleans East after the devastating 2005 storm.

On behalf of Chevrolet, the official sponsor of the Super Bowl XLVII MVP Award, Flick presented quarterback Joe Flacco with a 2014 Corvette Stingray on Monday in recognition of his effort in leading the Baltimore Ravens’ to a 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.



Flacco won't actually take possession of his Corvette until late summer after production begins in Bowling Green, Ky. His will be the second production car, the first goes to NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick who spent $1.1 million recently at the Barrett-Jackson classic car auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., with the proceeds benefiting the College for Creative Studies.

“Banner Chevrolet and the entire city of New Orleans have been through so much since the storm, we felt this was a small gesture to bring the comeback story full circle,” said Alan Batey, GM vice president of U.S. Sales, Service and Marketing. “With the Super Bowl in his backyard, we couldn’t think of a better guy to have the honor of awarding the MVP with his Corvette Stingray.”

Banner Chevrolet was of the largest losses ever recorded for a dealership in the United States and recently completed a massive multimillion-dollar renovation with state-of-the-art technology. Banner is the only Chevrolet dealer in Orleans Parrish.

“We lost our entire inventory of 650 new Chevrolets and 120 pre-owned vehicles during Katrina,” Flick said. “I’m happy we are still a vital part of this community today and I can be here to represent the people of Chevrolet and its dealerships as we celebrate the Super Bowl MVP.”

The Super Bowl MVP receives the Pete Rozelle Trophy, a silver trophy made by Tiffany & Co., and the Corvette Stingray.

The 2014 Corvette Stingray is the most powerful standard model ever, with an estimated 450 horsepower and 450 lb.-ft. of torque. It is also the most capable standard model ever, able to accelerate from 0-60 in less than four seconds.