Camaro to run in Nascar Sprint Cup Series in 2013......Possibly

[shawn18]

http://www.nascar.com/2010/news/feat...els/index.html

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- It's not inconceivable that by 2013 NASCAR's top division may feature the same sorts of performance cars that currently are being integrated into the Nationwide Series.

Jamie Allison, Ford's director of North American Motorsports, already is on record that the company would contemplate running the Mustang in the Sprint Cup Series.

Perhaps the most interesting prospect, however, is that Chevrolet may entertain running the Camaro in the Cup Series, a move the automaker declined to make when choosing the nameplate for its Nationwide car. Ford and Dodge run so-called "pony cars" -- the Mustang and Challenger, respectively -- in Nationwide. Chevrolet fields the Impala SS and Toyota the Camry.

The manufacturers' confidence in NASCAR's ability to aero-match different models with different design features and to maintain an efficient, equitable inspection process could help pave the way to more design freedom as the Cup car evolves.

"I'll never say never," said Pat Suhy, GM Racing's NASCAR group manager, when asked whether Chevrolet would consider racing the Camaro. "I think a lot of it depends on what we're talking about in terms of the canvas we're given to work with.

"The canvas we had for the car today was basically from the cowl forward and from the out[side] forward corner of the headlights kind of into the windshield. The fenders, the lower [valance], the sides, the tail, the deck lid -- all that stuff is pretty common [to all Cup models]."

Though that's hardly a green light for the Camaro, it's enough to give muscle-car fans hope. So is the acknowledgement from Toyota that something other than the Camry could be in the offing -- just not now.

Lee White, president and general manager of Toyota Racing Development, USA, said at this point, "We're selling Camrys," but didn't rule out the introduction of a high-performance model in the future.

'There's change coming'

Though nothing's official, 2013 is looking like the year for major changes in the Cup car. White said Toyota will introduce a new production car that same year.

"We know that there's change coming," Suhy said. "We know that there's been a year talked about to do it. It sounded like there was some commonality among the four manufacturers that said there's going to be a good year to do this, and my objective and I think everyone's objective is to go and work on the canvas; how much more of the car can we get to work on?

"But I'm looking forward to it. I think it's a big challenge for us internally to satisfy our leadership, which says, 'I know it sells cars and trucks, but it still doesn't look like what we sell.' "

The Cup cars will get new noses next year, eliminating the need for splitter braces on the front of the car. Dave Bailey, Dodge's senior manager of motorsports engineering, said the company is treating that move as an isolated step. Nevertheless, Bailey, too, expects bigger changes down the road.

"We're still waiting for the memo from NASCAR as to when that will be," Bailey said.

Suhy sees the new nose as a step in the continued evolution of the NASCAR race car, starting with the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow in 2007 and continuing with the Nationwide cars, which will compete in four races this season, starting July 2 at Daytona, before becoming the full-time Nationwide car next year.

"Now NASCAR has acknowledged that the Cup car needs some work, and so we're going to put a new lower on the Cup car -- directionally correct again, and we're talking about more identity," Suhy said. "I think this 2011 change in the Cup Series is a good start at the continued evolution of the Cup car into something beyond where the Nationwide car went.

"As you know, we investigated doing a Camaro [in the Nationwide Series] and looked at it and said, 'We need some more freedom behind the windshield to do this, this, this and this,' and that's where I think we kind of hit an impasse with NASCAR. I understand why, but that's why we're running an Impala in the Nationwide Series, because we just couldn't get from here to there to satisfy our internals and make the thing look enough like a Camaro."

NASCAR is listening

That could change with the next major step for the Cup car. Suhy said NASCAR has been extremely receptive to manufacturers' input in the push for brand identity.

"They haven't thrown me out of the trailer yet, coming and saying, 'What do you think about if we did that?' or, 'Do you think we could push here and poke there?' I think that's good," Suhy said. "And I think one of the reasons is -- if you look at the process they use -- we really did it in 2006 with the new truck, where they had this idea of a common strategy, or a common template, if you will.

"Eighty percent of the truck is the same, and you put noses on them to make a Chevy or other manufacturers, and then you go measure in the wind tunnel. You have to develop some level of confidence that you can measure something in the wind tunnel and say, 'OK, yeah, they're all within the box,' because they set drag and downforce targets at a couple of different attitudes. The first thing that NASCAR had to do was develop confidence in that process, so that they could actually measure it in the wind tunnel and have the manufacturers all have a decent chance of winning a race."

Suhy thinks the same can apply in the Cup Series.

"I know we can make them look more distinctive and fit in the aero box," he said. "And I think what NASCAR's got to get more comfortable with is how they can manage this out here at the track."

Running the pony cars in the Cup Series would require a rule change. Currently, the Cup Series is restricted to sedans, but that's not a major obstacle. NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton pointed out that, in 1998, the Cup Series featured only two-door cars. Clearly, the current rule requiring sedans wouldn't be a deal-breaker, should NASCAR and the car makers collectively opt to move in a different direction.

Pemberton also said that any move to cars of different design would require aero-matching of all four models at the same time, similar to the process used in approving the new Nationwide cars.

Another unknown is how the new management at General Motors might view a potential change.

"I think a big part of our challenge is to work with NASCAR and to work with our leadership to find the middle ground and hopefully get more toward what our guys would like to see in terms of Chevrolet identity," Suhy said.

[OPP]

Now that is great news.

[shawn18]

I think so too. I would love to see the series run all of the pony cars...........not sure what toyota would do maybe run a prius or corolla.....LOL

[Hawgredcamaro]

Just makes sense to me. I doubt many people ever bought an Impala, Taurus or Camry because they saw it on NASCAR. Now a Camaro or Mustang buyer might be a diferent story.

[ZED SLED]

IDK, the only time they allowed pony cars was 1969. Then again, the full size cars for everyone are getting to be a thing of the past. But at least they would be based on two door coupes instead of the grocery getters they've been driven to for the past few years. I long for the Monte Carlos, Thunderbirds, Magnums and Grand Prix of old with the pony cars being in the late model series.

[chevysno1]

Sounds good, but i thank the next rw Caprice,Impala, or Chevelle what ever name, should be the next one in Nascar.

[MS3DALE]

Hmm,Thats cool

[kobSS]

Originally Posted by shawn18

I think so too. I would love to see the series run all of the pony cars...........not sure what toyota would do maybe run a prius or corolla.....LOL

hahaha, They may try to have the first sprint series hybrid vehicle with the Prius. Whatever they end up doing in the next few years, it would be cool to see the mustang and camaro on the track.

[greenisgood]

they'll still have to write Camaro on it in big letters to be able to tell what it is

[AUS10BMX]

I heard about this back in August, a friend of mine who works on one of the teams told me about it.

It's true... Gonna be sweet.

[TooCool5]

I don't remember them ever running the Camaro.
Always a family sedan that folks would want to buy on Monday.
The motto is "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday".

[AUS10BMX]

Originally Posted by greenisgood

they'll still have to write Camaro on it in big letters to be able to tell what it is

You will know it's a Camaro... From what I was told they are going to add specific vehicle features such as front fascia and grill. They will not all look the same like they do now. They need to do something to spruce the sport up, I miss racing like it was back in the day of the 3!

[LAWMAN]

i think it is about time for nascar to make a change and run the camaro,challenger and mustang,nascar needs something to pick the interest back up,it has been loosing fans now for the past 3-4 years,i used to make sure i was somewhere around the ole groove tube on sunday's to see the race,but for the past couple of years if i watch a race,i watch it,if i dont,i dont,...if ya get what im saying,

[ctk1]

Why do the cars need to be so similar. These current cookie cutter cars suck. They shouldn't even bother putting manufacturing stickers on them. They are all custom built from the ground up and share virtually nothing with a production car. How many of those V8 Camrys have you seen running around? NONE-They don't exist!

They need to go back to how Nascar started. Pick an actual production vehicle, strip out the interior, maybe give them some engine rules and let it rip. None of this "My Camry makes less horsepoer than the Impala, so I should get a weight reduction or they should get weight added" bullcrap. Pick the best car for yourself and run what you brung. Nascar is basically turning in to indy car and you can see how that worked out for them. Sorry for the rant, I just want to see real racing again.