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THE DREAM SEASON ISSUEThe inside story of Chevrolet and Cadillac Racings incredible 2012

RACE AGAINST TIMEHow Chevy beat the clock to build

the ultimate Grand-Am Corvette

LEARNING FASTTrack tech thats buildingbetter street cars

RAC

JANUARU.S. & CA
http://racer.com/http://racer.com/


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http://www.chevrolet.com/racing


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4 THE DREAM SEASON

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74

108

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THE DREAM SEASON ISSUETheinsidestoryof ChevroletandCadillacRacingsincredible2012

RACE AGAINSTTIMEHowChevybeattheclocktobuildtheultimateGrand-AmCorvette

LEARNINGFASTTracktechthatsbuildingbetterstreetcars

RACER.com

JANUARY2013U.S.&CAN$8.95

Chevrolets

Corvette Daytona

Prototype enjoyed

a successful

debut season.

Photo: Grand-Am

Media

CONTENTS

START

MAIN

FINISH

10 EDITORS COLUMN

14 THE SPIN Fresh approaches in IndyCar, Grand-Am, NASCAR and more

22 RYAN HUNTER-REAYThe new IndyCar champ prepares to defend his crown

24 BOOSTED EVOLUTIONChevrolets new turbo V6 soars in IndyCars

34 THINKING AHEADChevys IndyCar engineers feed back to its road cars

38 A COMMON CAUSEChevrolets NASCAR teams propel each other forward

46 MORE THAN SKIN DEEP2013 Chevy SS puts the stock back in stock car racing

50 CROWD-PLEASER IN THE LAST ACTLessons learned, Corvette Racing reconquers ALMS GTPLUS Le Mans frustration makes Vette team hungrier

58 BUILDING OUTWARD FROM THE COREZR1 is the starting point for Le Mans Corvette C6.RPLUS Racing DNA of the forthcoming Corvette C7

64 THE RACE TO MAKE THE RACEThe rapid reality of the Corvette Daytona Prototype

68 GRAND TOURCorvette makes a big splash in Grand-Ams Rolex Series

74 WINNING THE WORLD OVERCadillacs CTS-Vbreaks new Pirelli World Challenge ground

82 ANGLE OF ATTACKJR Hildebrand nds the CTS-V is not your daddys Caddy

86 BEGINNINGS AND ENDERSErica Enders schools the Pro Stock boys with her CobaltPLUS Line and Anderson retool with NHRA Camaros

93 GLOBE TROTTERSChevy winds up its World Touring Car program with relishPLUS Holdens Commodore commands the V8 Supercars

PLUS Sonic is a heavy hitter in Brazilian stock cars

108 CURRENT AFFAIRSGrand-Am ace Alex Gurney tests the Chevy Volts amps

114 MAKING TRACKS

116 DIARY

118 REAR VIEW

248 CONTENTS

Check out RACER.com for the latest racing news and views, blogs bythe stars and up-and-comers, updated TV listings and much more.

facebook.com/racermagazine twitter.com/racermag

58

RickGraves

P&M/GM

NateNapierala

RichardPrince/CadillacRacing

SeanKlingelhoefer

Johnny OConnell

With a great car like the Cadillac, Ijust have to do some pretty simplethings like, dont hit anything
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THE DREAM SEASON ISSUE

GM

(MAIN) The odds looked to be stacked

against him...but thats what made

Chevy-powered Ryan Hunter-Reays

comeback charge to the IZOD IndyCar

Series title that much more fulfilling.

(BELOW LEFT) Corvette C6.R gets

the translucent treatment. (BELOW)

NASCAR Sprint Cup Chevy SS revealed.


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Edmonton wasnt one of the four races that Chevy-powered2012 IndyCar champ Ryan Hunter-Reay won (he wasseventh), but a cool shot is a cool shot, so its in.WHERE Edmonton, CanadaWHEN07/22/12PHOTOGRAPHERChris Trotman/Getty Images

Latest racing news atchevrolet.com/racing
http://chevrolet.com/racinghttp://chevrolet.com/racinghttp://chevrolet.com/racing


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The one thing Cadillacs mega-sized banner is missingis a picture of the car. Pirelli World Challenge champJohnny OConnell is momentarily happy to oblige.WHERE Sonoma, Calif.WHEN 08/25/12PHOTOGRAPHERRichard Prince/Cadillac Racing

Latest racing news atcadillac.com/racing
http://cadillac.com/racinghttp://cadillac.com/racinghttp://cadillac.com/racing


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t started as a casual office conversation,

but quickly took on a life of its own.

The subject was Chevrolets impressivereturn to the IndyCar Series, earning a

drivers and manufacturers championship

first time out. That got us thinking about its

other 2012 achievements Corvette

Racings ALMS GT class title sweep, a grand-

slam of NASCAR manufacturerschampionships and WTCC domination, for

starters. Add in Cadillacs Pirelli World

Challenge successes, a stellar first season

for the Grand-Am Corvette Daytona

Prototype, and you start to realize it was aseason that doesnt come along too often.

The longer the list became, the more

we felt these were achievements worth

celebrating. The folks at Chevrolet and

Cadillac Racing agreed, and the result is thisspecial bonus issue of RACER, where we

join the dots on a superlative year and get

the inside story from the people involved.

Of course, it wasnt a perfect season,

and telling the whole story means talking

about the knocks as well as the triumphs.Chevy didnt get its fairy-tale Rolex 24 win,

was made to look second best in the

Indianapolis 500, and self-destructed at

the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Respect, too, to

Brad Keselowski, Penske and Dodge forputting one over on Jimmie Johnson

10 THE DREAM SEASON

and Co. in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Its what you do afteryouve lost thatcounts, and one of the impressive things

putting this issue together was the forward

focus of Chevys racing people. What can

we learn from this? How do we get better?

And learning is key to pretty mucheverything Chevy and Cadillac do in racing.

Its more than just a branding exercise; its a

fast track for developing technologies and

people with real-world relevance. But its

not a one-way street: GMs expertise in direct

injection, turbocharged, small-capacity

engines was key in making Chevys IndyCarV6 a winner first time out, for example.

Thats just one compelling storyline

from a season packed full of them. But its

the next storyline that intrigues us themost: How do they top [email protected]

Editorial Business OfficeRacer Media & Marketing, Inc.16842 Von Karman Ave., Suite 125Irvine, CA 92606(949) 417-6700 Fax (949) 417-6116

EditorDavid MalsherEditor-in-ChiefLaurence FosterExecutive EditorAndrew CraskArt DirectorRob FrenchEditorial InternKourtney KarpinskiColumnistsHelio Castroneves, Tony Stewart

Founding NASCAR EditorGerald Martin (1943-1999)

Senior Writers Peter Brock, David Evans, Bryan Herta,

Mark Hughes, Richard S. James, Eric Johnson,Tom Jensen, Robin Miller, Jonathan Noble, Jeff Olson,David Phillips, Marshall Pruett, Jeremy Shaw,Edd Straw, Todd Veney, Gary Watkins

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RACER(ISSN 1066-6060) is published monthlyby Racer Media & Marketing, Inc.Periodical postage paid at Irvine, CA 92619,and at additional mailing offices.

2013 by Racer Media & Marketing, Inc.All rights reserved. Reproduction withoutpermission is prohibited.Postmaster send address changes to:RACERP.O. Box 231Congers, NY 10920.Printed in USA

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STORYBOARD

CONTRIBUTOR

THE EDITOR THE DREAM SEASON

Contact Nick Iademarco atWrights Media. Tel: (281) [email protected]

REPRINTS

R i k D l / G t t I

David MalsherEDITOR

We join the dots ona superlative year andget the inside story

The thing about talking to us about 2012 is that it

gets in the way of preparing for 2013. So, a big

thanks to the many people from Chevy, Caddy and

their partners who took the time. Its appreciated.

Marshall Pruett is one

of those rare writers

who can take a

complex technical story

and make a bunch of

RACEReditors think

they understand it.

No mean feat...

L l A M i l l / L A T

I
mailto:[email protected]://racer.com/http://www.racer.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.racer.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.racer.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.racer.com/http://racer.com/


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12 THE DREAM SEASON

Brand identity is a key part of the appeal of

Australias V8 Supercars, and Holdens

Commodore has given fans plenty to cheer.

In 2013, at the Circuit of the Americas, we get

a chance to see what the noise is all about.

RobertCianfone

/GettyImages

WINNING THINKINGChevrolets and Cadillacs race programs are united by a common approachRacing is about winning, but winning

requires much more than talent and luck.

Success in major motorsports requires

meticulous planning, expert development

and skilful execution and it can only come

from people with a passion for competing.

Every series that Chevrolet or Cadillac

races in has its own unique demands and

challenges, but a common thread to them

all is that passion of everyone involved.

Each strives for excellence, but learns from

defeat, and the 2012 results are plain to

see, headed up by seven manufacturers

championships in top-level North

American-based motorsports (See below).

By almost every measure, 2012 was

a memorable season, says Jim Campbell,

vice president of Performance Vehicles &

Motorsports for Chevrolet and Cadillac.

The results were directly related to the

contributions and the never-give-up

commitment of our owners, drivers and

crews. Our 2013 focus is to provide the

Chevrolet and Cadillac teams the best

opportunity to succeed in every race.

Theres every reason to believe that

focus forward will continue to bear

substantial fruit. But rather than just collect

trophies, Chevrolet and Cadillac are out

to apply the lessons learned at the

track to their passenger vehicles.

As noted by Mark Reuss, president

of GM North America, at the launch

of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup

Chevy SS, Were using relevant

technology and incorporating

designs so fans can make the link

between what they see on the

track and on the streets.

Its a strategy that is sure to

help the sport, whoever wins.

Manufacturers

championships for

Chevrolet from six

major-league North

American-based race

series andthe FIA World

Touring Car Championship,

plus a manufacturers

championship for

Cadillac in the Pirelli World

Challenge led the way in

a trophy-laden 2012.

NASCAR

Manufacturers

Championships in Sprint

Cup, Nationwide and

Camping World Truck Series

GRAND-AM

Engine Manufacturers

Championship

(Daytona Prototypes)

INDYCAR SERIES

Manufacturers

Championship

Drivers, Road Course

and Oval Championships

ALMS GT

Manufacturers

Championship

Drivers Championship

Teams Championship

JohnHarrelson

/GettyImages

DanBoyd

/LAT

B i C l

/ G t t I

PhillipAbbott

/LAT

Jim Campbell

Our 2013 focus is to provide the

Chevrolet and Cadillac teams thebest opportunity to succeed


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13RACER.com

Chevrolet races and wins around the globe.

Home hero Caca Bueno had the goods on

his rivals in Stock Car Brasilin 2012, while the

Sonic provided him with an ideal platform on

which to demonstrate his title-winning talents.

Bruno

Terena/Red

Bull

Chevys total race wins in

the NASCAR Sprint Cup,

Nationwide and Camping

World Truck Series

The record Manufacturers

Championship points total for

Chevys Cruze in its final FIA World

Touring Car Championship season

Manufacturers titles for

Chevy and Cadillac in

major North American-

based race series

FIRST TIME

A DEBUT WINFOR CHEVYS NEWINDYCAR ENGINE,

COURTESY OF...

TWENTYTop-five finishes, from

a combined total of

24 starts, for Cadillac

Racings Johnny OConnel

and Andy Pilgrim in the

Pirelli World Challenge

HERE ARE A FEW NUMERICAL TIDBITS FROM A SUCCESSFUL 2012FOR CHEVROLET, CADILLAC AND GMS GLOBAL RACING BRANDS

V8 Supercars win total for JamieWhincup (12) and teammate Craig

Lowndes (7), bringing the Triple Eight

Holden team a championship 1-2

19 OUT OF 31

PENSKE & HELIOCASTRONEVES

THE RANDOM FACTS COLUMN...

1025

7Chevrolet Sonic drivers swept the

top six spots in Stock Car Brasil,

the motorsports-crazy nations

biggest race series. Not a bad

debut season for the Sonic...

...OUT OF SIX

6

COMBINED NUMBEROF GRAND-AM ROLEXSERIES WINS BY TEAMS

RACING CHEVROLETSNEW CORVETTE DP

813

Chevy Cobalt-driving

Erica Enders became the

first woman to win an

NHRA Pro Stock race

NUMERO UNO

Corvette Racings podium hit

rate 12 from 20 total starts

in the American Le Mans

Series ultra-close GT class

60 PERCENT

Total race

victories for

Chevrolet-

powered

drivers in the

15-race IZOD

IndyCar Series

Better throw in

those 10 pole

positions, too

To the victor, the spoils...

Just part o Chevys haul o trophies

testifes to the strength and depth

o its racing commitments.

WORLD CHALLENGE

Manuacturers

Championship


FIA WTCC

Manuacturers

Championship


Richard

Prince/Cadillac

Racing

Jakob

Ebrey/LAT


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14 THE DREAM SEASON

SPRINTING OUTTO A FAST STARTChevrolets IZOD IndyCar Seriesprogram hit the ground running witha win frst time out, and never let up.

NickLaham/GettyImages

Helio Castroneves rst IndyCarrace with Chevys new 2.2-liter V6ended with a decisive victory onthe streets of St. Petersburg.

With his August victory at Michigan in a Chevy

Silverado, Brazils Nelson Piquet Jr. became

only the second NASCAR Camping World Truck

Series winner born outside the U.S. The frst

was a Chevy legend Canadas Ron Fellows.

BrianCzobat/LAT

EARTH FIRST

Chevys Silverado pick-ups areno strangers to working and

playing in dirt, but or 2013

its race-going versions in the

Camping World Truck Series

will get that chance, too. For

the frst time, the series will

race on dirt at Eldora

Speedway, the legendary

hal-mile in Rossburg, Ohio,

owned by three-time Sprint

Cup champion Tony Stewart.

BRIEFING

BELLE ISLE REBIRTH

Chevrolets long-term

commitment to the Belle Isle

Detroit Grand Prix (BELOW)

helped bring the race back to

the IndyCar Series in 2012

ater a our-year hiatus. For

2013, the event gets bigger as

it hosts the frst o IndyCars

new double-header events,

with separate races on

Saturday and Sunday, June

1-2, as well as a Grand-Am

Rolex Series race on Saturday.

CamdenThrasher/LAT

RonaldC.

Modra/SI/GettyImages

IMPALAS LEGS

With the all-new SS taking over

as Chevys NASCAR Sprint Cup

ace, its time to bid arewell to

the Impala, which deended

the brands honor during the

Car o Tomorrow era rom

2007- 12. In all, the model

won all six manuacturerstitles it contested and 151

races, the last one coming in

the hands o career Chevy

man Je Gordon in the season

fnale at Homestead (BELOW).

The opportunity presented by a

brand-new engine ormula in a majorleague racing series doesnt come around

very oten, so Chevrolet was eager to

apply its capabilities to the challenge o

the IZOD IndyCar Series new turbo era,

based on small capacity, 2.2-liter V6s

with comparable power to the 3.5-liter,

normally aspirated V8s theyd supercede.

But a challenge is all the more

rewarding when the sweat o eort is

repaid by the rush o victory, and Chevy

didnt have to wait long or that. In act, it

didnt wait at all. Ater Chevrolet-powered

Team Penskes

Helio Castroneves

kick-started Chevys

renewed IndyCar

effort with a win,

and his teammate

Will Power swept the

next three races.

Statistically, it was

Team Penskes best

ever start to an

open-wheel season.

ULTRA COMBO

F.PeirceWilliams/LAT


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15RACER.com

As related in detail

beginning on page 64,Chevy

and its Grand-Am Rolex Series

teams faced a race against

time to get the new Corvette

Daytona Prototypes ready in

time for the start of the 2012

season, but their efforts

didnt take long to pay off.

Best thing to say about a

niggle-lled 50th Rolex 24 at

Daytona debut? It provided

valuable extra test miles...

But at the second round ofthe season, March 31at

Barber Motorsports Park,

Spirit of Daytona took the

victory with drivers Richard

Westbrook and Antonio

Garcia (celebrating, ABOVE)

at the wheel. Alex Gurney and

Jon Fogarty followed them

home in the GAINSCO/Bob

Stallings entry to complete a

Corvette DP 1-2 sweep.

Talk about a weekend of

rsts, Westbrook said. First

win for our team and the rst

for Corvette DP its good to

get the monkey off our back.

Its good for morale to get that

rst victory out of the way.

They kept right on comingtoo: Corvette DP teams

combined to win the next

four straight races, and

nished the season with

eight wins out of 13 starts.

VETTES VAULTThe new Corvette Daytona Prototype didnttake long to open its Grand-Am win account

WE CAME, WE SAW, WE WON2012 was the endpoint for Chevrolets Cruze in the FIA

World Touring Car Championship. But what a sign-off it

was, with a pair of championship titles. See page 94.

At Darlington in May, Hendrick Motorsports

scored its 200th Cup Series win and, just like

the rst 199, it came with Chevrolet. Hendricks

winning record began back in April 1984 at

Martinsville with Geoff Bodine (RIGHT).

ISCImages&Archives/GettyImages

cars took ve of six places in the nal

qualifying shootout for the 2012 seasonopener on the streets of St. Petersburg,

Helio Castroneves charged to victory in

the race. Three more wins followed in

succession, courtesy of Castroneves

Team Penske teammate, Will Power.

By seasons end, Chevy-engined cars

had won 11 of 15 races four of them with

Andretti Autosports Ryan Hunter-Reay,

who claimed the drivers championship.

Not surprisingly, with its 70 percent-

plus win rate, Chevrolet also secured

the 2012 manufacturers crown.

The satisfaction was all the keener for

Chevrolet because IndyCars engineformula allows it to develop some key

technologies already being incorporated

into its passenger vehicles. These include

direct injection which, by increasing

combustion efciency, produces more

power while maintaining fuel economy

turbocharging, and E85 ethanol-based

fuel blends. It was truly a win-win situation.

For an in-depth look at Chevys return

to IndyCar competition, and how the race

program is hot-housing its road car

technologies, turn to page 24.

FOUR STEPS

TO VICTORY

Nov. 12, 2010

Chevrolet confirms

2012 IndyCarengine program.

Oct. 12, 2011

Ryan Hunter-Reay

demos Chevys new

engine for the first

time at Las Vegas.

March 5, 2012

Chevrolets are 1-2

on opening day of

Sebring Open Test.

March 25, 2012

Helio Castroneveswins for Chevy on

new engines debut.

MichaelLevitt/LAT

RussellLaBounty/LAT


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16 THE DREAM SEASON

With the real C7 Corvette hidden from view

until Januarys Detroit auto show, Vette fans

got a tantalizing hint of whats to come when

Chevy and the Gran Turismo 5video racing

game released this under wraps version.

GM

AHEAD OF THE CURVE

Want to get all the newsabout the latest Chevrolet

developments in high-

performance engines and

components, upcoming project

cars and special events sent

directly to your inbox?

Sign up for FUEL, the ofcial

Chevrolet Performance

eNewsletter. To register, visit

chevroletperformance.com

and click on the FUEL link.

BRIEFING

RESET FOR LE MANSCorvette Racing returns to the

24 Hours of Le Mans to take

another shot at an eighth class

victory at the French

endurance classic next June,

in what gures to be the nal

appearance at the Sarthe

for the C6.R before the C7

racecar arrives in 2014. This

years running of the 24 Hours

has been set back one week,

to June 22-23, to avoid a

date conict with Formula 1.

RichardPrince/CorvetteRacingPhoto

GM

BIG NAMES, HIGH HOPES

Chevy teams are assembling

star-packed lineups in their bids

to take the Corvette Daytona

Prototype to a 51st Rolex 24

at Daytona victory. An exciting

addition will be new team 8Star

Motorsports, which will team

former Peugeot factorydrivers Stephane Sarrazin,

Nic Minassian and Pedro Lamy

with Toyotas Anthony

Davidson and Enzo Potolicchio,

runner-up in 2012s Rolex 24.

STARTING FRESHCHEVYS NEW CUP SS, NATIONWIDE CAMARO STIR EXCITEMENT

NASCAR enters a new era for 2013

with its new sixth-generation Sprint Cup

car, which is intended to provide closer

resemblance to the racecars road-going

counterparts as well as give the drivers

wider scope for racing (turn to page 46

for more details). From the initial tests of

the new Chevrolet SS, the new car is on

course to fulll both expectations.

Im real impressed, enthused Hendrick

Motorsports Dale Earnhardt Jr., who

considers the new car a big improvement

over the previous Car of Tomorrow. This

car really gives me a lot of similar

sensations to the car of 5-10 years ago.

A narrower, taller spoiler was added to

enhance the new cars drivability and

downforce. NASCAR vp of competition

Robin Pemberton said that additional

tweaks could be implemented to improve

the raceability of the cars as required.

The new Chevy SS is based on the same

V8-engined, rear-wheel drive platform as

the Australian-built Holden Commodore.

Im excited that its a V8 with

rear-wheel drive, said Jeff Gordon of the

Chevrolet drivers

in NASCARs

Sprint Cup will do

battle in 2013 in

a racecar that

accurately reects

the road car

behind it. (RIGHT)

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

tests his Chevy SS

at Charlotte in

November.

WATCHVIDEO
http://chevroletperformance.com/http://chevroletperformance.com/http://openpopup%28%27pg16%27%29/http://openpopup%28%27pg16%27%29/http://openpopup%28%27pg16%27%29/http://chevroletperformance.com/


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17RACER.com

NASCARs not the only sedan-based series

with new cars for 2013. Australian-based

V8 Supercars has a cheaper, lighter safer

Car of the Future, and Holden will race

with a Commodore built to the new regs.

GM

As he explains beginning

on page 24, the 2012 IZOD

IndyCar Series was the

realization of a dream for

Ryan Hunter-Reay, who went

from future hopeful to series

champ in Chevys rst year

back in IndyCars. But there

are still plenty of goals for him

to shoot for in 2013.

The Indy 500 has been a

tough place for RHR, who

dropped out in 2012 with a

CV joint failure. But his

experience there with his

Andretti Autosport squad

has convinced him hes in the

right seat to get the job done.

From rst practice this

year, I knew I had a shot at

winning, said Hunter-Reay.

Being at Indy with positive

energy is some of the most

fun you can have in a racecar.

So, Indy is the next big target.

For Chevy, Indy was the

one that got away. It locked

out the front two rows in

qualifying, but Tony Kanaans

third place was its race best.

IndyCar program manager

Chris Berube says lessons

have been taken onboard.

Were going to look at

things that are more relevant

late in the race and make sure

we have the opportunity to

race for the win, he said.

THE THIN RED LINERyan Hunter-Reay saddles up to defend hisIndyCar crown, and lasso an Indy victory

THE SIGN OF FOUR?

POSTCARD

Helio Castroneves, who scored one of

his three Indy wins with Chevy power,

will have the Bowtie behind him as he

aims to tie the all-time winners record.

The IndyCar champion has

some unfnished business to

attend to at Indianapolis.

CHEVYS INDY

500 WINNERS

1988RICK MEARS

Penske-Chevrolet

1989EMERSON FITTIPALDI

Penske-Chevrolet

1990ARIE LUYENDYK

Lola-Chevrolet

1991RICK MEARS

Penske-Chevrolet

1992AL UNSER JR.

Galmer-Chevrolet

1993EMERSON FITTIPALDI

Penske-Chevrolet

2002HELIO CASTRONEVES

Dallara-Chevrolet

MichaelLevitt/LAT

SS road car. If you look at where things

are going manufacturer-wise, its kind of

getting away from that. But I think that

race fans and car enthusiasts still like that.

I applaud them for putting that into this car.

Just like the SS in Sprint Cup, the

Camaro that Chevrolet teams will

campaign in NASCARs Nationwide Series

retains major styling cues from the road

car. With input from Chevys road car

design team, its distinctive Camaro

elements include the unique power-

bulge hood and deeply recessed grille.Dale Earnhardt Jr.

This car really gives me a lotof similar sensations to the

car of 5-10 years ago

GM

LATSouth

Find out more atchevrolet.com/racing
http://racer.com/http://chevrolet.com/racinghttp://chevrolet.com/racinghttp://racer.com/http://chevrolet.com/racing


18/120


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http://cadillac.com/racing


22/120

22 THE DREAM SEASON

RYANS cOlMN bEliEF wE cAN DO iT AgAiN

Ryan Hunter-ReayANDRETTi ATOSpORT DRiVER

wearn No. 1 (and 28!) rnsa dfferent urden. but thats fneth me, eause i ove my jo

n the rst 48 hours after winning the

2012 IZOD IndyCar Series championship, I

felt a weight had been lifted from my

shoulders. Having always believed I was

capable of achieving this, given the right

opportunity, suddenly getting the proof was

hugely satisfying and something that no

one can ever take away. But very quickly we

were talking about next season, and a new

pressure arrived expectation!The No. 28

Andretti Autosport team has proven its a

world class championship team, so wearing

that No. 1 (and 28!) brings a different

burden. We have to stay at that level, we

have to perform week in, week out for

myself, for the team, for Chevrolet, for our

sponsors DHL and Sun Drop, and for our

fans. But thats absolutely ne with me,

because I truly love my job.

I knew from my rst race weekend with

Andretti Autosport, Brazil 2010, that as a

team we could be strong. We were fourth or

fth fastest in the rst practice, and by the

end of the race we were standing second

on the podium. I hadnt been consistently

that high on the timing charts throughout a

race weekend for 18 months, and I thought,

Man, this is looking good After the win

in Long Beach, I knew we had championship

potential. At that stage, there were still

pieces of the puzzle to put in place we

needed more consistency from race to race

but we had high hopes for 2011.

Those hopes were quickly deated as we

were challenged by every problem imaginable.

Yet, in terms of speed, we were really starting

to perform strongly on all types of tracks.

After the rst half of the year we were only

21st in points incredibly bad! Then we

strung together some really strong nishes

and a win and scored more points than

anyone else in the second half of the year

incredibly good! So we had momentum

coming into the 2012 season, during which

we kept working hard and improving, earning

four wins, three of them in succession and,

ultimately, the championship.

So now we have the IndyCar Series title,

i a check for a million dollars and I have abeautiful wife whos expecting our rst child!

Whats next? Someones reply to that was,

The Indy 500! but neither life nor racing

quite work that way. Nothing comes easy at

Indy. I was eaten alive during restarts at this

years 500 because of overboost

penalties but, as an example of how

proactive Chevrolet is, by the next race, it

had implemented a solution to that issue.

Chevy is also working on running cooler in

2013, as Dallaras current layout favors

single-turbo engines in that regard, so

cooling our twin-turbo engine will be a big

help at Indy and Fontana.

Its tough enough to compete for the

championship, let alone win one, but I think

we can do it again if we have the right

approach. The off-season is interesting

because various teams can go in different

(or the same) directions to improve their

cars. But when you head down certain

development paths, theres no way of

knowing whether its the right or wrong

one until you have that precious on-track

validation; and even if its a right path, will it

gain you as much speed as if youd focused

more energy on a different aspect of the

car? Often the answers wont reveal

themselves in testing because teams may

run different age tires, different fuel levels,

or they may be sandbagging. To compete

for another championship depends on

consistently making the right decisions on

and off the racetrack as we did in 2012!

Ill also be intensely focused on continuing

to progress as a racing driver; I will not

allow complacency in any regard to set in.

The bottom line: Myself, everyone at

Andretti Autosport and Chevrolet are wellup to the task of ghting for another

championship title, the difference being this

time around we know what we are capable

of when we extract our full potential. The

2012 IZOD IndyCar Series championship,

the right to run the coveted No.1 on our car

and the Astor Cup are the proof.

Now the toughest workload lies ahead:

to repeat as champions.

Foo Ryan on Ttter at@RyanHunterReay

and Andrett Autosort [email protected]/lAT

F.peircewiiams/lAT

Back in 2004, Ryan

Hunter-Reay set

the record for most

laps led in an Indy

car race, when he

ran P1 throughout

the 250 laps of

Champ Cars race

at the Milwaukee

Mile. This year,

however, he had to

ght hard for his

rst win of the

season, eventually

conquering both

Dario Franchitti and

Helio Castroneves.

WALKING THE WALK

AT MILWAUKEE

Just a fe raes nto

hs Andrett Autosort

ontrat, Ryan as

sure that he and fe

bey oud soon e n

a oston to eerate

a hamonsh.

No he ants to

do t aan.
http://twitter.com/ryanhunterreayhttp://twitter.com/ryanhunterreayhttp://www.twitter.com/followandrettihttp://www.twitter.com/followandrettihttp://www.twitter.com/followandrettihttp://twitter.com/ryanhunterreay


23/120

Ryan Hunter-Rea2012 IZOD IndyCar Series Champio

2012 Indy Racing League, LLC (dba INDYCAR). All Rights Reserv

2013 IZOD INDYCAR SERIES SCHEDULE

From all of us at INDYCAR, congratulations to Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosporand Chevrolet for bringing home the 2012 IZOD IndyCar

Series ChampionshipWe look forward to having you back for another fantastic season in 2013!

Schedule subject to change. Oval Street/Road Course

Congratulations are in order.
http://www.indycar.com/


24/120

24 THE DREAM SEASON

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES

Chevrolets return to the IZODIndyCar Series provided an epicseason of action and broughta Manufacturers and DriversChampionship double for Chevy.

WORDS David Malsher

MAIN IMAGE Rick Graves

http://chevrolet.com/racinghttp://chevrolet.com/racinghttp://chevrolet.com/racing


25/120

25RACER.com

WINNING AN EPIC BATTLE

he 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series was one of

the most competitive in U.S. open-wheel

racing history. Central to it was the return of

engine competition and the enthralling,season-long ght between Chevrolet and its

battle-hardened rival, Honda.

When the nal checkered flag waved,

it was returnee Chevy holding the

Manufacturers Championship trophy, with

Chevrolet-powered Ryan Hunter-Reay

celebrating his first Drivers Championship.

Chevy had been attracted back by new

rules which provided a platform to build

race engines with genuine relevancy

direct-injection, turbocharged, 2.2-liter V6

units that would allow for a transfer of

technology and ideas between its race and

road car engineering groups. Partnering

with Ilmor Engineering, Chevy wouldpitch its twin-turbo V6 against Hondas

HPD-built, single-turbo unit.

A new racecar, the Dallara DW12, added

to the intrigue and expectation ahead of

the season. But with Team Penske and

Andretti Autosport among its team

partners, Chevy came out at a gallop,

winning rst time out and adding 10 more

through a close-fought, 15-race season.

Heres the story of Chevys epic return

from some of the key players involved.

T

(MAIN) Andretti

Autosports Dallara

DW12-Chevrolet, which

Ryan Hunter-Reay (TOP)

drove to title glory after

some typically gritty

performances from

the American racer.

JameyPrice/LAT


26/120

26 THE DREAM SEASON

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES

Even before the IndyCar teamsreceived their full complement of newDallara DW12 racecars, the enginemanufacturers still needed test milescompleted, as well as developmentalinput from drivers and teamengineers real world feedback,you could say. Chevrolet had its

various teams take it in turns to logmiles; then the data was pooled.

CHRIS BERUBE

(Chevrolet project manager)

Were proud of the key-partner concept

we devised in IndyCar, modeled on what

we do in NASCAR, working as a team off

the track while remaining competitors on

track. If you collaborate, you get better

results. And because the chassis was new,

too but no one would discuss it in front

of their rival teams everyone remained

focused on the engine and worked

through what we needed them to do.

MICHAEL ANDRETTI

(Andretti Autosport team owner)

That was a great way of unifying Team

Chevy, making us all work for the common

good. Camaraderie is too strong a word,

but there was denitely a realization that

if we improved the engine, wed all benet.

DAVE FAUSTINO

(Will Powers Penske race engineer)

When we did the manufacturer tests,

when it was our turn Will in the car, me

engineering all the other Chevrolet

teams engineers and drivers would be

there, listening and watching. So, yeah,

that kept us away from doing chassis

development and focused us more on the

engine. No way were we going to try our

setups or discuss handling just to share

that with our rival teams!

WILL POWER

(Team Penske, twice title runner-up)

The power delivery was very differentcompared with the normally aspirated

engines. These new ones had much less

torque, being only 2.2 liters. But being a

turbo, it would get delivered all at once;

that got a lot better as the year went on.

RAY GOSSELIN

(Andretti Autosport race engineer forRyan Hunter-Reay)Once the teams got their own cars and we

all started going off in our own directions

regarding setup on the DW12, Ryan was

right where we thought we should be

While Chevrolet is

renowned for V8

icons like the

Camaro (BELOW),

the companys

return to IndyCar

was a chance to

showcase and

develop some of its

other technologies.

IndyCar rulesdemanding small-

capacity twin-turbo

V6s tted Chevys

needs perfectly.

POWERFULATTRACTION

Its winter in Florida and

(BELOW) James

Hinchcliffe is about to put

in more Sebring test

miles for Andretti andChevy. Same deal for

Team Penskes Helio

Castroneves (RIGHT) and

Will Power (BELOW

RIGHT), who both

knew hard work now

would pay off later.

PUTTING IN MILES,CHEVY-STYLE

MichaelLevitt/LAT

MichaelLevitt/LAT

D B d / L A T


27/120

27RACER.com


As Chris Berube, Chevys IndyCar project manager, says: Look

at the top fve fnishers o each race and youll see it was a

close competition. So were very proud to have prevailed.

Winning a championship against an opponent as experienced and

successul in racing as Honda is a big deal especially frst year back.

Drivers rom three Chevy-powered teams appeared in the top 10,

KVs Tony Kanaan joining fve Penske and Andretti representatives

Penske drivers took

six o Chevys 11

wins, with Andretti

Autosports Ryan

Hunter-Reay adding

our and owner-

driver Ed Carpenter

bringing home No. 11.

Three wins, three other

podium fnishes and fve poles

helped Power to a third

straight Mario Andretti Trophy.

Two wins and a ourth in fve

races gave RHR the A.J. Foyt

Trophy. Power scored just 86

points on let-turn-only tracks.

Points system:In each race, the highest-placed manufacturer

scores 9 points, the second highest 6 and the third highest 4.

A DOUBLE TITLE-WINNING RETURN

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES

MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

WINS

ROAD COURSE CHAMPIONSHIP OVAL CHAMPIONSHIP

CHEVROLETHONDA

LOTUS

123

60

102

Points system:Winner: 50 pts, then 40-35-32-30, etc. Pole:1pt;

Most laps led: 2pts. Indy 500 qualifying earns bonus points.

Points system:Simple one, this: identical to the main points

system, but only tracks of respective type are counted!

CHEVROLET

HONDA

11

4

OTHER RACE WINNERS15th HONDA Justin Wilson (Dale Coyne Racing) 278 (1);18th CHEVY Ed Carpenter (Ed Carpenter Racing) 261 (1).

RYANHUNTER-REAY468pts(4wins)

(AndrettiAutosport/CHEVY)

WILLPOWER465(3)

(TeamP

enske/C

HEVY)

SCOTTDIXON4

35(2)

(TargetChipGanassiRacing/HONDA)

HELIOCASTRONEVES431(2)

(TeamP

enske/C

HEVY)

SIMONPAGENA

UD387(0)

(SchmidtHamiltonMotorsports/

HONDA)

RYANBRISCOE

370(1)

(TeamP

enske/C

HEVY)

DARIOFRANCH

ITTI363(1)

(TargetChipGanassiRacing/

HONDA)

JAMESHINCHC

LIFFE358(0)

(AndrettiAutosport/CHEVY)

TONYKANAAN

351(0)

(KVRacingTech

nology/

CHEVY)

GRAHAM

RAHA

L333(0)

(ServiceCentralChipGanassi

Racing/HONDA)

1 23 4

56 7 8 9

10

WILLPOWER

CHEVY379PTS(3wins)

RYAN

HUNTER-REAY

CHEVY168PTS(2WINS)

RYAN

HUNTER-REAY

CHEVY300(2)

TONYKANAAN

CHEVY148(0)

SCOTTDIXON

HONDA291(2)

SCOTTDIXON

HONDA144(0)

HELIOCASTRONEVES

CHEVY288(2)

HELIOCASTRONEVES

CHEVY143(0)

SIMON

PAGENAUD

HONDA279(0)

JAMESHINCHCLIFFE

CHEVY138(0)

RYAN

BRISCOE

CHEVY249(1)

DARIOFRANCHITTI

HONDA134(1)

relative to the Penskes. But in the fnal

pre-season open test, the Honda cars that

we really wanted to gauge ourselves

against werent there until later in the week.

The lap times showed that the Ganassicars, in particular, were really quick, but

Sebring picks up a lot o time rom

rubber, so you couldnt directly compare.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY

(Andretti Autosport, ve IndyCar wins)I was confdent wed be strong enough to

fght or wins and poles, but there are

always unknowns. Both Chevrolet and

Honda made improvements day by day.

Wed only done a handul o tests by the

frst round, so you do worry. But each time

we were on track, it got more promising.

ANDRETTI Because o IndyCars tight

control over perormance, I thought they

were both pretty equal as testing ended.

WILL PHILLIPS

(IndyCar vp of competition)The initial targets or these engines were

550hp on superspeedways and 700 on

road and street courses. We werent going

to mandate maximum power output

otherwise competition goes away. But

we also didnt want the power battles

to get out o hand.

(TOP TO BOTTOM) Ryan

Hunter-Reay let Sebring

confdent; the input rom F1 vet

Rubens Barrichello was useul;

Panther was a single-car

team that benefted rom the

Team Chevy collaboration.

Ryan Hunter-Reay

I was confdent wed be strongenough to fght or wins and poles,but there are always unknowns

Jon

athanFerrey/GettyImages

Dan

Botd

/LAT

MichaelLevitt/LAT

PaulWebb

/LAT


28/120

28 THE DREAM SEASON

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES

Team Penske drivers took pole andvictory or the opening our races,the latter two against increasingodds. Helio Castroneves gaveChevrolet a memorable victory frst

time out at St. Petersburg, with WillPower winning the next three. TheAussie won rom 12th on the gridon the streets o Long Beach, aterChevrolet changed all its engines oran update to improve reliability, thusincurring a 10-place grid penalty.

HELIO CASTRONEVES

(Penskes three-time Indy 500 winner)We arrived in St. Petersburg and

discovered in qualifying that Chevrolet was

already ahead of expectations, which was

great! They took ve of the top six places

on the grid. Winning the race, I was happy

for several reasons. 1) I know that whenyou start a season strong, youre probably

going to battle for the championship, and

thats what I wanted very bad. 2) I was

thrilled for my guys, because 2011 had

been a horrible season for us. 3) It was the

rst win back for Chevy, and right from

the start of Penske and Chevrolet joining

forces, I felt it would be a good marriage!

GOSSELIN That was the most intense

weekend in terms of development work.

Every weekend the Chevrolet Ilmor guys

worked on drivability maps, anything to

try and make life better for the drivers.

But at St. Pete there was a lot of hardware

as well as software development. It was

eye-opening to go from nowhere in rst

practice, to the second row of the grid inqualifying, and then have Ryan on the

podium. We were clearly competitive.

POWER Winning at Barber after starting

ninth [a spinning car caused a red ag

during the second round of qualifying]

was a great result for us. It was kind of

like a warm-up for the grid penalty at

Long Beach! Seriously though, Chevy was

absolutely right to make that change. It

would have been stupid to risk a DNF.

FAUSTINO I didnt assume a win was out

of the questionbut maybe only because

it came on the calendar right after

Barber, where wed gone from ninth to

win. But Long Beach was one of the rst

races where we really saw Chevrolets

superior fuel economy come into play.

POWER Yeah, Chevy denitely had the

edge on fuel mileage. You can never be

sure, but I think the Chevy gave me an

extra lap of fuel to play with.GOSSELIN The call made against Ryan

when he collided with [Takuma] Sato on

the last lap and dropped us from third to

sixth was totally wrong in my opinion.

I remember thinking, I hope those lost

points dont come back to haunt us.

We were also worried when Honda got

the rules break regarding its turbo inlet in

time for Brazil. At Sao Paulo, the Ganassi

cars and [Simon] Pagenaud were on par,

and their fuel consumption improved, too.

PHILLIPS IndyCar was trying to ensure

parity between single and twin turbos.

That doesnt mean as installed in the

car, because you could put a great turboin, but badly installed and it wouldnt work.

But as far as single and twin-turbo units

compared in efciency and performance, it

was clear they werent equal, so the process

was about rectifying that. Yes, it was

Hondas choice to go the single-turbo route,

but the understanding was that if there

wasnt parity, then parity would be provided.

There was a slightly different interpretation

on Chevrolets part! So they pursued their

viewpoint with all means available to them

which, as a competitor, you have to do.

Roger Penskes

victorious past with

Chevrolet stretchesback as far as

1967, when he

entered a Camaro

in the Trans-Amseries for MarkDonohue. This

mighty triumvirate

won the 68 and69 titles.

In IndyCar racing,

Chevy-poweredPenske cars took

the 1988 and 89

CART titles withDanny Sullivan and

Emerson Fittipaldirespectively, as well

as ve Indy 500s

Rick Mears in 88and 91, Fittipaldi in

89 and 93 and

Helio Castroneves inPenskes Dallara in

02. Could theTeam Penske-Chevy

combo take Helio to

his record-equalingfourth 500 in 13?

PENSKE & CHEVY UNITED IN HISTORY

A STUNNING STARTTO THE CAMPAIGN

R b t L b / G t t I

PhillipAbbott/LAT

MichaelLevitt/LAT


Powers three straight

wins, including a

charge through thefeld at Long Beach

(LEFT and BELOW)

vindicated Chevrolets

return to IndyCar.

Following Castroneves

win in the season

opener (BELOW LEFT),

Chevy was unbeaten

ater our rounds.


29/120

29RACER.com


Qualifying for the 96th Indianapolis 500

saw turbo boost pressure raised from 1.3-to 1.4-bar, and Chevrolet-powered cars

dominated. Penskes Ryan Briscoe took

pole at 226.484mph, ahead of three

Andretti Autosport cars and his teammates.

But on race day, the Ganassi cars of Dario

Franchitti and Scott Dixon carved through

from mid-grid for a Honda-powered 1-2.

ANDRETTI With 1.4-bar boost, Chevys

dual turbos had a clear edge over

Hondas single; but at1.3-bar race boost,

the new-spec Hondas were difcult to

overcome. I think Indy qualifying and Indy

race day were two of the rare occasions

where you could see one concept had a

clear advantage over the other.

GOSSELIN I was pleasantly surprised by

qualifying, but Hondas engines on race day

were a step forward. We werent horrible:

Ryan had issues with overboost penalties,

so initially we got freight-trained on

restarts, but ultimately it was a CV joint

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY...

failure that took him out. I think Marco

[Andretti] was our strongest car hemight have been able to beat the Hondas.

bERubE Once we had nine of the top

10 grid spots, we never thought we had it

wrapped up, at all. The Ganassi cars had

an edge toward the end of the race, but

Tony Kanaan (KV Racing-Chevrolet) wasthird, and it would have been interesting

to see what Marco could have done, too.

CASTRONEVES I want Chevy to really

concentrate on the Indy 500 for 2013.

I dont want Dario to have a chance of

beating me to the four-time winners club!

bERubE We just have to take what we

learned this year and problem-solve. If we

can analyze the data and see when the

HPD-powered cars were faster, when we

were faster, and nd out why, then we can

go into the next Month of May with a

different strategy.

Were not going to lay down in

qualifying; if it turns out we have eight of

the Fast Nine again, thats great. But

were going to look at things that are

more relevant late in the race and make

sure that we have the opportunity to race

for the win. The Ganassi cars just drove

through the eld at the end, so we need

to help our teams be able to do that.

(ABOVE) Chevys front row Briscoe

(right) on pole, alongside Hinchcliffe

and Hunter-Reay. (TOP) Kanaan was

top Chevy in the race, taking third.

While Chevy-powered cars monopolized the front two rows, race day at the Indy 500 failed to deliver.

MariaW.Grady/LAT

Ray Gosselin

I think Marco was our strongestcar at Indy. He might have beenable to beat the Hondas


30/120

30 THE DREAM SEASON

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES

Ater its frst loss o the year at Indy(see previous page), Chevrolet andIlmor were well aware that Hondawas coming ater them in a big way.With the battle heating up, it wasHunter-Reay who would put Chevypower back in Victory Lane

BERUBEWinning the rst four races ofthe season was a shocker, but we never

looked away from Honda and thought we

had them under control; the competition

was too close to think that way. Winning

four in a row was surprising, but losing

three in a row Indy, Detroit and Texas

was even more surprising

GOSSELIN After the CV joint failure at

Indy, we lost an engine in Texas, but in

between those two there was also an

undisclosed problem at Detroit, where we

lost 150hp. For Ryan to nish seventh

that day was amazing denitely one of

his greatest drives. No one in the media

knew the circumstances, so it went

largely unappreciated even by RACER!

BERUBE We never expect everything to

run smoothly. The key is how quick you

react to problems, and Im very proud of

our team at how we identied, reacted and

came up with countermeasures to them.

But Ryans issue at Detroit was something

that did take us a little longer to get our

heads around and get a x in place.

HUNTER-REAY At times, I wondered if

my title chances were slipping away. It

had been promising, grabbing so many

points early in the season. But after three

down weekendsI wouldnt say we lost

faith, but it was concerning. So we came

out swinging at Milwaukee and won.

GOSSELIN Ryan did an exceptional job

there and the win at Iowa was great, too.

That was a bizarre weekend because of

the heat races. First practice was our only

chance to do long runs. In second practiceyou had to be in the top eight to get into

the shootout race, which was too short,

too early in the day and with too few cars

to be representative of anything youd do

in the proper race!

HUNTER-REAY I had an imbalance with

the car, but I learned as I tried different

lines through the race that there was a

certain way I could drive which got more

out of it at the end of a stint. So we won

there and in Toronto, too. That was when

the manufacturers rst gave us push-to-

Michael Andrettihas fond memoriesof Chevrolet power.He was runner-upin the CART IndyCarchampionship vetimes in his career,but nailed the titlein 1991, drivingNewman/Haas

Racings LolaT91/00-Chevrolet.His teammate washis illustrious father,Mario (BELOW).

ANDRETTI WOREA BOWTIE BEFORE

In June, Hunter-Reay (RIGHT) went

on a winning spree, but it was halted

by Castroneves Edmonton victory

(BELOW). Power (BELOW RIGHT) was

unlucky to miss out at Sonoma,

where Briscoe (FAR RIGHT) prevailed.

FLYIN RYAN WONTBACK DOWN

KevinYork/LAT

Jon

athanFerrey/GettyImages

G T i d / S t I l l t t d / G t t I


31/120

3RACER.com


pass boost, which didnt hurt reliability at all.

Then we got pole at Edmonton but had

to give it up because we were upgrading

to the next-step engine. That was tough!

PHILLIPS There were instances whenteams chose to change their engine for

the next step and instances when a

manufacturer made the choice for its own

reasons. Had the penalty for doing that

been harsher, maybe they wouldnt have

done it so often. That tells us a 10-place

due to be changed until Baltimore, but

when Ilmor told us the next-step Chevy

had a 12-15hp gain, myself, Dave [Faustino]

and Tim [Cindric, Powers strategist] felt OK

taking a grid penalty now: Edmonton is a

track where you can pass and, obviously, it

meant having this improved engine sooner.

And that paid off: Helio kept the older-spec

Chevy, kept his grid position and won for

Penske, while we went from 17th to third,

despite no caution ags. Couldnt have

done that at Mid-Ohio or Sonoma!

Will Power

When Ilmor told us the next-stepChevy had a 12-15hp gain, wefelt OK taking a grid penalty

JameyPrice

/LAT

grid penalty for early [pre-1800 miles]

changes wasnt harsh enough.

POWER We were caught out by a dryingtrack in qualifying at Edmonton, so I only

qualied seventh. The engine I had wasnt

PerryNelson

/LAT

ChrisTrotman

/GettyImages


Win No. 1ST. PETERSBURGHelio Castroneves

Win No.8EDMONTON

Helio Castroneves

Win No.7TORONTO

Ryan Hunter-Reay

10 poles (Power 5, Briscoe 2, Castroneves, Hunter-Reay and

Marco Andretti 1) from 15 races were curtain raisers to 11 visits

to Victory Lane for the 2012 roster of Chevy-powered racers.

HIT RATES AND HIGH POINTS

CHEVY ROLL OF HONOR

Win No.2BARBERWill Power

Win No.9SONOMARyan Briscoe

Win No.3LONG BEACHWill Power

Win No.10BALTIMORER. Hunter-Reay

Win No.4SAO PAULOWill Power

Win No.11FONTANAEd Carpenter

Win No.5MILWAUKEERyan Hunter-Reay

Win No.6IOWARyan Hunter-Reay

KevinC

.Cox

/GettyIm

ages

MichaelLevitt/LAT

ToddWarshaw

/GettyImages

MichaelLevitt/LAT


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32 THE DREAM SEASON

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES

Poles for Power at Mid-Ohio andSonoma converted only intosecond places, but Hunter-Reaysuffered an engine failure and acollision at those two events, settingup a showdown at the Fontana nale.Meanwhile, Castroneves win at

Edmonton came at a price

CASTRONEVES Edmonton was great:

we justifed keeping the older-spec engine

because we won. But getting a new engine

and taking the penalty at Mid-Ohio, where

you cant pass... Wow, that hurt! We qualifed

only 13th, so we started 23rd. Talk about

destroying our championship chances!

GOSSELIN Ryans engine failure at Mid-Ohio

was tough to swallow, because we were

heading or ourth there. Then, Sonoma,

we got taken out o third by another car.

ANDRETTI Chevrolet is always totally

open with us. They apologized or Mid-Ohio

and made sure it didnt happen again. Andthats all you can ask. When manuacturers

are pushing the limit, theres gonna be an

occasional ailure, but Id ar rather they take

a risk than not push. Racing is about

improving perormance; Chevy get that.

HUNTER-REAYWe went to Baltimore

36 points down on Will and in qualiying

someone crashed, so we couldnt even get

a lap in! So, it wasnt just a points defcit

that we had to overcome, but a mid-grid

starting position. Still, it just made us that

much more determined to do something

special that day; we were ully aware that

the title pretty much hinged on this.

GOSSELINKeeping Ryan out on slicks in

the wet, the great passing he was doing,

the crowd chanting USA! USA! at the

end as he held up the agand knowing

wed halved the gap to Power. Thats the

greatest race Ive ever been involved in!

POWERSo it came down to the Fontana

fnale... Like I said at the time, wed beenquickest or the previous fve races and

something always kept us rom the win. But

spinning out o the fnal race was my ault.

HUNTER-REAY I really enjoyed winning

the championship or an iconic American

brand, but also or the people involved

guys like Jim Campbell and Mark Kent at

Chevy, and John Proctor and Steve Miller

at Ilmor. All o their people worked so hard

and improved the engine at every race.

That really opened my eyes to their

capability. Chevy deserved this success.

ALL-CHEVY FIGHTTO THE FINISH

(ABOVE) Will Power

was a gracious loser,

Ryan Hunter-Reay a

magnanimous winner.

(TOP) RHRs drive to

fourth in the Fontana

nale was another

mind-over-matter

performance afterfailing to nd the setup

sweet spot in practice.

Chris Berube, Chevrolets IndyCar

project manager (ABOVE), is a quiet,

modest guy, but even he admits: It was

a fairy-tale story to return to Indy car

racing and capture four championships

manufacturer, driver, road course

driver and oval driver. But we werent

obsessed with winning them; we just

focused on winning races, treating each

one as a mini championship. Win those

and titles will take care of themselves.

Will Powers Team Penske race

engineer, Dave Faustino, says:

Chevrolet did a really good job of

working with the drivers, focusing on

the torque coming off the corners. With

IndyCar having such a lockdown on what

can be changed, for Chevy to make

those very noticeable differences over

the course of just 15 races was great.

Power himself adds: I had absolutely

no issues during any race weekend in

the season, and the more I think about

that, the more I think thats pretty

amazing work from Chevy and Ilmor.

Berube smiles at that. Yes, if I plotted

a graph for the issues encountered

from rst race to last, theres denitely

a decrease. And there was another

parallel to the road car world: As well as

power, torque and reliability, you have

to always consider fuel mileage, too,

because depending on how many laps

IndyCar decides to stipulate and how

many yellows there are, it may or may

not be a fuel mileage race. Just like in

road cars, everyone wants more power,

but customers and the government!

demand good fuel mileage, too.In everyaspect of engine-building, we

were considerably smarter by the end

of the year than we were at the start.

A FOCS ON WINNING

CHEVY TO THE FOUR!

C d T h h / L A T

L l A M i l l / L A T

RobertLaberge/GettyImages

MichaelLevitt/LAT


33/120

n Two great IndyCar races on one amazing weekend!Saturday and Sunday, June 1 and June 2

n Redesigned race course with an extended straightawayfor faster speeds and more passing opportunities

n World-class competition also featuring the GRAND-AM RolexSports Car Series and Pirelli World Challenge Series

n Family-friendly activities, live music, autograph sessionsand interactive entertainment

n Friday Free Prix Day on May 31 provides complimentaryadmission and paddock access for all

n Free general admission access for children 12 and underwhen accompanied by adult

The Fastest Weekend of the Summer! May 31 June 2, 2013

Individual tickets starting at $25 or experience the entire weekend for as little as $45!Tickets/info: www.DetroitGP.com Call for tickets: 866-464-PRIX (7749)
http://www.detroitgp.com/http://www.detroitgp.com/


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34 THE DREAM SEASON

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES

GM engineerMatthew Wiles has

swapped Michigan

for Brixworth,

England, as he

works with Chevys

IndyCar engine

partner, Ilmor,

on crossover

technologies in the

race and road car

engine programs.


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35RACER.com

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

ake your car, engine or piece of

technology to the track. Test it, race it and

compete head to head with other brands to

prove and promote which product is better.

That process the concept of

transferring street- and race-proven wares

back and forth to make better vehicles

can be traced to the very origins of motor

racing. And its certainly found within

Chevrolets championship-winning IndyCar

Series engine program, but theres an

added element that has played a valuable

role in the teams immediate success.

General Motors recognizes that to

make great products, we need great

people, and thats why we use motorsports

to train young engineers, says Mark Kent,

director of Chevrolet Racing. Putting

them in a racing environment, where they

have that sense of urgency and

responsibility, and its filled with pressure

and the need for thinking on their feet, is

incredibly dynamic. Those engineers are

pushed to their limits, and when they

return from the field to GM, theyre betterand our products come out better as well.

A perfect example of Chevrolets

human-tech transfer initiative is UK-based

American Matthew Wiles, a GM employee

whos embedded with Ilmor Engineering,

the specialist engine firm responsible for

Chevys 2.2-liter, twin-turbo IndyCar V6.

Tasked with leading Chevrolets IndyCar

tech transfer, Wiles is expected to grow his

personal knowledge base to become a

smarter, more capable engineer wholl raise

IndyCars direct-injection,

turbo V6 engines are ripe forroad-race technical transfers.Enter Matthew Wiles...

T

WORDS Marshall Pruett

MAIN IMAGE Jakob Ebrey


36/120

36 THE DREAM SEASON

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES

the bar within GMs technical ranks.

Its difcult sometimes to point to a

specifc engine part, or example, and

explain all o the things that made it better

by going rom a production environment

to racing, or vice versa, says Wiles. But

one thing thats easy to explain and

applicable or production cars, is that aracing environment prepares engineers or

a more rigorous production environment.

Racing gives you near-instant

eedback, week to week or even on the

pit stand during a race, he adds. So it

really compresses the time rame that

engineers have to work through and

trains them to thrive in that environment.

Working inside this program, it eels like a

ast-paced engineering think-tank.

That cycle is not only critical to GM as

it looks to build better products through

its engineering corps, but also pays rather

large dividends on the stopwatch.

As much as Wiles is meant to improve

the production side o GM through his

IndyCar engine training, the program goes

both ways. Hes expected to inuence the

perormance o the IndyCar engine with

whatever personal knowledge and R&Dinormation GM can provide.

Beore being assigned to this project,

I worked in GMs advanced engineering,

which alls somewhere between pure R&D

and production; we basically take the

uture technologies that are fve to

10 years out and make them viable

or production, he says. One o those

technologies is direct injection. So what

Ive been able to do is take those same

empirical and analytical techniques, certain

dyno testing strategies, and analysis tools

such as cylinder spray modeling and

combustion development, and apply them

directly to the IndyCar engine program.

Based on the impressive uel mileage

the Chevy-powered IndyCar teams were

able to achieve, this is just one

production-related area o expertise that

helped the marque to win 11 o 15 racesin its frst season back in the series.

Looking at the most eective areas or

Chevrolet and Ilmor to intersect on their

IndyCar engine program, you might be

surprised at how much production

knowledge has been incorporated into

such a purebred racing motor.

Ilmor handled the major design

architecture o the small displacement

powerplant, but with extensive use o

small, turbocharged, direct-injected,

ethanol-riendly engines in GMs road

Chevrolets IndyCar V6 engine

(RIGHT) makes use o technology

derived rom road car programs and

accelerates it or reapplication to

GMs direct-injection, turbocharged,

small-capacity street production

engines, such as the 2-liter, 4-cylinder,

259hp Ecotec available in the

2013 Chevy Malibu.

(Above) the bowtie on

every Chevy-powered

Dallara DW12 isnt just a

marketing exercise. The

program is key to

accelerating knowledge

in road car-relevant

technologies such

as direct injection.

MichaelLevitt/LAT

WATCH

VIDEO
http://openpopup%28%27pg36%27%29/http://openpopup%28%27pg36%27%29/http://openpopup%28%27pg36%27%29/


37/120

37RACER.com

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

cars, Wiles and his GM associates had a

significant hand in shaping the final

IndyCar concept before it hit the track.

Weve been working with a supplier that

we use in production, Hitachi Automotive

Systems, explains Wiles. Theyve been

helping us adapt and optimize production

fuel system components, injectors anddirect injection fuel pumps for application

to the IndyCar engine. Its a great example

of using production knowledge to fill a void

on the racing side. And were talking about

direct-injection parts that you can find in

most of our products, both four-cylinder

and six-cylinder engines.

If achieving greater fuel efficiency

through direct injection has been a

significant area of tech transfer, IndyCars

use of an alternative fuel has also

fostered an educational opportunity.

The IndyCar program has helped GMunderstand the limits of engine biasing for

E85, says Wiles. 50 percent of the

products GM makes are direct injection, and

the vast majority of those are flex fuel, but

because our customers need to be able to

run them on both gasoline and E85, we cant

bias the engines too far in one direction.

We can share with Ilmor what we know

about E85, then learn from using it in

racing, so that it provides the production

program with a performance benchmark.

That will help our future flex fuel engines.

And thats the bottom line. As Kent says,

The ultimate goal for this project has

always been to develop powerful,

fuel-efficient engine technologies that

could be transferred to production cars.

With GM involved in so many major auto

racing series, Wiles wont be the only

production engineer wholl be re-allocatedto its competition programs. Hes been

invaluable to the Chevy-Ilmor IndyCar

program but, despite his impact, will head

back to Detroit when his UK tour is over.

We do fully intend that when Matt goes

back into production, another will take his

place, Kent confirms. Were looking

forward to having more engineers come

through our racing programs, bringing their

learning from production to racing, and

more of that racing education back to their

regular jobs. Matthew is just the start.

Matthew Wiles

Racing gives you near-instantfeedback, week to week, or evenon the pit stand during a race

(LEFT) Matthew Wiles

has been able to

incorporate techniques

from GMs advanced

engineering dept, such

as dynomometer testing

strategies, into thedevelopment of

Chevrolets IndyCar V6.

(BELOW right) The

pressure and frenetic

pace of a racetrack

environment provides

a hothouse for developing

Chevys next generation

of road car engineers.

As the latest in a

long line of auto

enthusiasts in his

family, Matthew

Wiles learned how

to wrench all kinds

of cars, and trucks,

and I was also good

at math and science

so engineering was

a natural fit.

The son of an

engineer, he went

to undergrad at

Virginia Tech,

decided I wanted to

get my Masters

degree, but what in?

Enrolling at the

University of

Wisconsin, Madison,

renowned for its

engine research

center, Wiles

eventually joined

GM through an R&D

internship and

basically made my

inroads there.

After eight years

in the advanced

engineering dept.,

the opportunity

with Ilmor came up.

At the 2012

Indy 500, Wiles was

among those

recognized when

the annual Louis

Schwitzer Award

for engineering

excellence in racing

was given to Chevy

for its work on the

IndyCar engine

program (BELOW).

ENGINEERING A

DREAM VOCATION

StevenHolman

LesleyAnnMiller/LAT

JakobEbrey


38/120

38 THE DREAM SEASON

NASCAR

A sweep of NASCARs

three Manufacturers

Championships in

2012 was the end

result, but there were

numerous highlights

along the way

including Jimmie

Johnson earningChevy its 700th

Sprint Cup win at

Texas in November.


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39RACER.com

CHEVY TO THE POWER OF THREE

TRIPLECROWNSWhen it comes to helping its NASCARteams win, Chevrolets philosophy isthat the sum is greater than the parts.

The results speak for themselves...

WORDS Tom Jensen

MAIN IMAGE Tom Pennington/Getty Images

http://racer.com/http://chevrolet.com/racinghttp://chevrolet.com/racinghttp://racer.com/http://chevrolet.com/racing


40/120

40 THE DREAM SEASON

NASCAR

ne of the truisms of sports is that you

are what your record says you are. In the

case of Chevrolet, its record says it isnt just

a NASCAR championship manufacturer,

but the dominant one in the sport of

stock car racing. In 2012, Chevrolet won

Manufacturers Championships in all threeof NASCARs top divisions, the Sprint Cup,

Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.

In Sprint Cup, Chevy has been top

manufacturer 36 times, including 32

times since 1972 and the last 10 in a row.

Add in 15 Nationwide Series titles and

eight more in the Truck Series and you

have an era of true domination.

Chevrolet won 15 out of 36 Cup races

in 2012, 13 of 34 in Nationwide, and

12 of 22 in the Truck Series. Dating back

to Fonty Flocks triumph at Columbia, S.C.,

on March 26, 1955, Chevy has a record

702 Sprint Cup race victories.

Chevrolet drivers closed out the 2012

season with four straight Sprint Cup race

victories, each with a unique story behind it:

In October, Jimmie Johnson clinched the

manufacturers title by winning from thepole at Martinsville Speedway, the slowest

oval in NASCAR. A week later, Johnson

won from the pole again, capturing the

700th win for Chevy at Texas Motor

Speedway, one of NASCARs fastest tracks.

Im real proud of the fact that weve

been the team to actually clinch the

Manufacturers Championship for Chevrolet

a couple of times, says Johnsons crew

chief, Chad Knaus. Its always nice to see

everybody from Chevrolet step up and be

happy when were in Victory Lane after

Jimmie Johnson

joined his Hendrick

Motorsports

teammate Jeff

Gordon as theBrickyard 400s only

four-time winners

when he took his No.

48 Lowes Chevy

Impala to victory at

Indianapolis Motor

Speedway, July 29,

2012 (RIGHT).

Chevys record

in the Brickyard 400

is now 14 victories

in the events

19-year history.

JIMMIE JOINS THE

FOUR-TIME CLUB

O

Hendrick Motorsports

Jeff Gordon (ABOVE)

and Kasey Kahne

(RIGHT), team owner

and racer Tony Stewart

(LEFT), and Childress

driver Kevin Harvick

(ABOVE LEFT)were

among the guys

putting Chevy in the

Sprint Cup win column.

ChrisTrotman/GettyImages

JustinEdmonds/GettyImages

ToddWarshaw/GettyImages

SeanGardner/GettyImages


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41RACER.com


doing that. They do an awul lot or us, and

its an honor to be racing with those guys.

Ater Johnsons two very signifcant wins,

Kevin Harvick put Richard Childress Racing

into Victory Lane or the frst time all

season in the years penultimate race at

Phoenix International Raceway. And, fnally,

our-time Sprint Cup champ Je Gordon

closed things out by winning or the frst

time at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Despite the gaudy stats, winning at this

level isnt easy. By their nature, racers are

Being the dominant manufacturer in one of NASCARs top divisions

is a huge achievement in itself, but to achieve that feat across a

three, against intense opposition, is more than noteworthy.

The 2012 Manufacturers Championship was Chevrolets

10th straight in NASCARs top division and its 36th overall.

In 2012, Chevrolet took the Manufacturers Championship for

the 15th time in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition.

Chevrolet has a .500 batting average in the Truck Series, earning

nine Manufacturer Championships since its inception in 1995.

Hendrick

Motorsports

contributed 10 wins,

with Stewart-Haas

Racing and Richard

Childress Racing

adding 4 and 1,

respectively.

Championship-

eligible drivers took

7 of Chevys 13

2012 wins, with

runner-up Elliott

Sadler on 4, Austin

Dillon with 2 and

Justin Allgaier on 1.

2012 Drivers

Champion James

Buescher led the

series in wins,

taking 4 at the

wheel of his

Turner Motorsports

Chevy S ilverado.

Points system:In each race, the winning manufacturer earns

9 points; second highest, 6; third highest, 4; fourth highest, 3

CHEVYS MANUFACTURER SWEEP

NASCAR

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER STANDINGS

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER STANDINGS

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES MANUF. STANDINGS

WINS

WINS

WINS

CHEVROLET

TOYOTA

FORD

DODGE

CHEVROLET

TOYOTA

FORD

DODGE

CHEVROLET

TOYOTA

RAM

6

7

9

15

13

12

5

3

1

10

10

CHEVROLET 249 PTS

CHEVROLET 216 PTS

CHEVROLET 166 PTS

TOYOTA 213

TOYOTA 189

TOYOTA 151

FORD 174

FORD 170

RAM 93

DODGE 156

DODGE 151

FORD 74

selfsh and secretive, which they almost have

to be i they want to be best o the best.

But Chevy works closely with its top

teams including Hendrick Motorsports,

Richard Childress Racing, Earnhardt Ganassi

Racing with Felix Sabates, and Stewart-Haas

Racing to create an environment ocooperation frst, then competition. Winning

requires a dedicated eort across the board,

with the manuacturer and the teams

working together, pulling in one direction.

Its not something that comes naturally to

racers, but they understand its necessary

to win. And it starts with leadership rom

Chevrolets racing executives.

We look to the core teams in each series

to provide the Team Chevy key partner

approach, says Pat Suhy, group manager

o Chevys oval track group. I think what it

Chad Knaus

[Chevrolet ]does an awful lotfor us, and its an honor to beracing with those guys

JeffZelevansky/GettyImages


42/120

42 THE DREAM SEASON

NASCAR

really amounts to is they all know there

are certain things they can learn faster if

they share and receive like information.

Alba Colon, Chevys NASCAR Sprint Cup

program manager, agrees, noting that it

isnt just speed of development, but the

simple economics of the situation that

make it logical for teams to cooperate.

We see each other as, We are a team,

she says. We are the Chevrolet team. Weall know there are some things we have to

do together for the good of making the

Chevrolet camp better and to help each

other. The reality is, there are some things

that it doesnt make any sense that each

team goes and develops themselves. The

strength of a team makes the group better.

Recent evolution in NASCAR has made

it easier for Chevy and its teams to work

together. Under the hood, NASCAR now

mandates that manufacturers provide the

engine block, cylinder heads and intake

manifolds to each team. And over the last

two decades, economic realities have

reduced the number of teams building

their own engines. In Chevys case, there

are just two primary engine builders:

Hendrick Motorsports and ECR Engines, a

partnership led by Richard Childress Racing.

When you go back in time to the early

1990s, there were nine to 10 Chevrolet

engine builders, says Doug Duchardt, aformer GM executive whos now vice

president of development at Hendrick, and

each team had their own engine shop. But

its evolved to where its just Hendrick and

Childress. The Hendrick guys and the

Childress guys sit down and talk about

engine parts and any issues were having,

or the direction future parts should go.

Still, Hendrick and ECR operate in what

Colon calls two differing schools of

thought, working in different directions on

items like pistons and headers and cylinder

heads. The relationship between them

helps a lot. You have to have two sides who

trust each other to make it work, she says.Likewise on the aerodynamic side, the

advent of the Car of Tomorrow in 2007

meant teams could no longer build cars

that had radically different aerodynamic

proles and body mounting locations. Still,

even todays cars are subtly different.

GM periodically tests each teams cars in

its wind tunnel and, after all the cars are

tested, shares the raw drag and downforce

numbers with all the teams but not

which car produced what set of numbers.

The teams know what their own

Kevin Harvick was

the only driver in

2012 to win in all

three of NASCARs

national series.

He put an Impala

into Victory Lane in

Sprint Cup (Phoenix)

and the Nationwide

Series (Richmond

and Texas), and took

a Silverado to a win in

Martinsvilles opening

Camping World

Truck Series counter.

KEVIN HARVICK ISMR. VERSATILITY

JaredC.

Tilton/GettyImages

Doug Duchardt

We know in a big sample where westack up. Thats benefcial to knowi youre out in the weeds or not

JaredC.

Tilton

/GettyImages


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43RACER.com


numbers are, says Suhy. So if they see

numbers above or below them in a

particular area, they know that theyre

better than others, or have work to do.

It gives you an understanding of how you

stack up against your peers, says Duchardt.

We dont really know who specically ran

what, but we know in a big sample size

where we stack up. Thats benecial to

know if youre out in the weeds or not andit also helps Chevrolet know where their

cars are from a trend standpoint.

Chevy also provides access to a whole

host of resources and tech, from the

ability to test at proving grounds in

Yuma, Ariz., and Northern Michigan, to

computer simulation tools and hardware

such as seven-post and pull-down rigs. It

also provides engineering help during the

week and an IT expert on race weekends.

What they dont share is chassis

setups. Those are proprietary to each

Seven months between Sprint

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