Did I Say I Didn’t Like Texas?
By Alba Colon
GM Racing Program Manager, NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
Last week, I mentioned that Texas was not one of my favorite tracks. But after the Chevy sweep at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, I have a new admiration for the Longhorn State. We love Texas!
This weekend we had three huge racing wins for GM. Clint Bowyer won the Silverado 350K, his first truck series victory and our first truck win here since Chevrolet came on as the race sponsor. On Saturday, Kevin Harvick scored his ninth Busch Series win and is one away from tying the Busch Series record for most wins in a season. And on Sunday, Chevy swept the top six spots in Texas. Tony Stewart got his second straight win and we tied our own record for most wins in a season: 22. That also makes it our second straight sweep of winning all three races in NASCAR's premier divisions. Talk about an awesome weekend!
In Texas we also said goodbye to a legend and true champion - Terry Labonte. Terry chose to make his last run in his home state of Texas before retiring. On Thursday I attended a dinner in his honor. It was so special to be a part of that event and celebrate his contributions to the sport. Terry is one of the best drivers out there and has been a part of the Chevrolet family for many, many years. We wish him well in the next chapter of his life.
With only two races left in the championship, this weekend we go to Phoenix, which is a solid track for Chevy. I feel good that our Chevy teams are prepared for Phoenix as well as for the championship. But aside from being prepared, I think another key element to winning is having the right mindset. Fortunately we've seen that mindset and confidence in several of our Chevy drivers this year.
I met with the No. 20 Chevy team in Texas on Friday, and that team had so much confidence. The team brought the same race car Tony drove for his Atlanta win and they just knew his car was amazing once they unloaded in Texas. Tony's team had the attitude of a winner and it was great to see that translate to another victory for a team that has been working very hard despite not being in the Chase.
Other Chevy examples would be Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. When Denny went to the first and second Pocono race this year, his entire team brought a different attitude with them. Denny went on to win both Pocono races. Truex had a good car, had that same confidence in Atlanta and was running extremely well until a late-race wheel bearing issue. That winning mindset has also been evident in one of our competitors, too, with Kasey Kahne showing that confidence at the track during the weekends of his six wins this season.
We've worked very hard all season to provide our Chevy teams with the tools to help them win and we've been fortunate to have a large amount of success already. I hope in these final two races our support will help our Chevy drivers have that confidence. A good car and the right amount of confidence could very well be the winning combination for a Chevy drivers' championship this year!
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Boring. Boring. Boring.
Clue to GM: Everyone knows there’s nothing “Chevy” about race cars.
Get up to date.
What a interesting lack of comments on this post.
I am a NASCAR fan. I think that Tony Stewart has the most charisma and best racer attitude of any of the NASCAR stars, with the possible exception of Ken Schrader.
Anyone who buys a Saturday night dirt track, sponsors upcoming drivers in other series, and races midgets in the Chili Bowl is a real racer, and clearly worthy of respect.
His performance on “Wind Tunnel” a week or so ago was really impressive, and completely counter to his sometimes “bad boy” image.
Having said that, I think that the people who are taking the time to follow this blog are so seriously interested in the survival and success of GM that they see this racing stuff as fluff, and a distraction from real existential issues.
I have total respect for this highly impressive group of bloggers (including the large number who disagree with me!) and, alas, I really have to agree.
How about a post on the GM plug in hybrid article on yesterday’s Los Angeles Times? Now that’s really exciting and important.
I am proud of what Chevy has brought to the forefront in racing including Nascar. I also think it is American to talk racing and to follow racing and to love racing, whatever racing it is. I also dont really care if it is the money driver or not, for years we have heard compares on so many issues about if the Japanese do it or not, which always has given me a pain in the –, because really I dont give a —- if the Japanese do it or not, we can do it because it is US and thats it period. Now LOOK who is entering Nascar – maybe some my fellow bloggers could tell me why? Thanks and God Bless Nascar…
P.S. The “Top Ten Chasers” are lucky Smoke is not there or they would be in trouble.
I don’t think Tony Stewart has a good attitude.
As a long time NASCAR fan all I can say is one reason you may not be seeing many posts is that many NASCAR fans know that in less than 5 years Toyota will have ruined the sport. There is little if any reason for them to be in the sport to begin with. The engine NASCAR let them “create” is a joke, it gives them an unfair advantage over competitors engines that were developed for the street before they were used for NASCAR racing.
Many long time NASCAR fans remember when the cars really were “Stock Cars” and have based their support for a manufacturer on this. The old cars used to be “Body in White” and retained many trim pieces of the street cars and these pieces on the new cars have been changed for safety reasons. NASCAR also went to a “Common Template” for all cars shape from the hood to trunk to reduce complaints between manufacturers on aero issues.
While the cars raced today are very different from the street cars they portray there is at least a long history of DCX, Ford and GM components being used to develop today’s car. The engines used in these cars can be “dropped into” many of the company’s products. The 4.3L V6 used in GM trucks was derived from the 5.7L “small block” and NASCAR racers use a “Race Block” version of this engine. Many of the improvements made by NASCAR racers in the valve train, head and camshafts of these engines are made by DCX, Ford, GM and aftermarket suppliers and sold to thousands of Hot Rodders each year to be installed in older street cars.
I no longer watch NASCAR Craftsman trucks and will stop watching the rest of the series over the next few years. It will be sad to see NACAR go the way of CART and IRL but that is what they wanted.
Bob, when word gets out that the Caddy is now being offered in China in a LONG wheelbase version with all the NEW amenities and NOT in the US where people are actually TALLER. Well you know the drill.
See new long wheelbase caddy here.
http://www.carspin.net/forums/luxury-talk/a-cadillac-sts-like-youve-never-seen.0.html
Why are all the US auto manus so intent on assuming we are dunces here. Both GM and Ford have their new interesting products in Euro or Asia.
Wonder about sales here….perhaps so.
Through sensible engineering and parts availability, GM/Chevy has done more to help the little guy get into and work his way up the racing ranks than any other company.
Seems like that commitment works well.
Tony Stewart, I love you. You are the best!