{"id":21917,"date":"2018-02-23T21:39:01","date_gmt":"2018-02-24T01:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=21917"},"modified":"2018-02-23T21:39:01","modified_gmt":"2018-02-24T01:39:01","slug":"camaro-zl1-crashes-the-sedan-party-at-daytona-500","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2018\/02\/camaro-zl1-crashes-the-sedan-party-at-daytona-500","title":{"rendered":"Camaro ZL1 crashes the sedan party at Daytona 500"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/9ba0cd8841efc7d47d97aa2f03b9fa21f7cbedc0\/c=619-240-5088-3600&amp;r=x404&amp;c=534x401\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/02\/15\/DetroitNews\/B99629885Z.1_20180215201549_000_GOB1S8LQM.1-0.jpg\" alt=\"camaro_nascar-track\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">When the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series field rolls to the green flag for the start of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, it will be Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry family sedans versus&#8230; the Chevy Camaro ZL1 track beast. Doesn\u2019t seem like a fair fight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">For the first time in NASCAR Cup Series history, Chevy will officially enter its Camaro muscle car in America\u2019s premier racing league.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">While the Camaro-Fusion-Camry competitors will still be largely the same under the skin according to NASCAR\u2019s strict vehicle rules, the jarring contrast in car models marks a break from recent manufacturer marketing. And it echoes NASCAR\u2019s 1960s glory days when automakers fielded hot rods\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.racer.com\/403-nascar\/104696-great-rivalries-richard-petty-vs-david-pearson?showall=&amp;start=1\">like the Plymouth Superbird and Ford Talladega to give superstar drivers like Richard Petty and David Pearson<\/a>\u00a0a leg up\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.roadandtrack.com\/motorsports\/a14454478\/that-time-richard-petty-forsook-plymouth-for-ford\/\">in the championship fight<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><div align=\"left\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/58a9a8ea00e3dbec5d8915addd2c3a8a05b4a82e\/c=271-0-4580-3232&amp;r=x408&amp;c=540x405\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/02\/15\/DetroitNews\/B99629885Z.1_20180215201549_000_GOB1S915D.1-0.jpg\" alt=\"The Camaro ZL1 production car is an earth-pawing athlete\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div><p>The Camaro ZL1 production car is an earth-pawing athlete following in the tire tracks of this NASCAR prototype.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Chevrolet)<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">We are looking forward to bringing the Camaro ZL1 to the race track,\u201d GM Vice President for Motorsports Jim Campbell said at Daytona last month. \u201cWe race Camaro in the Xfinity Series, Pirelli World Challenge GTS category, NHRA Stock, Super Stock Sportsman classes and up through Funny Car. This is another logical extension for us with racing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">On paper, America\u2019s greatest race should be no contest. The Camaro ZL1 production car is an earth-pawing, Nurburgring-tested athlete with the same supercharged 650-horsepower engine that fires the Chevy Corvette Z06. In showroom trim, the Camry and Fusion are 4- or 6-cylinder powered, four-door grocery-haulers with half the Camaro\u2019s horsepower.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-QqzIodlB1A4\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/01f59e26d7d38e9d29fee247f81cdd3a91ca18aa\/c=205-0-4990-3598&amp;r=x408&amp;c=540x405\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/02\/15\/DetroitNews\/B99629885Z.1_20180215201549_000_GOB1S8LQQ.1-0.jpg\" alt=\"Based on the 650-hp, supercharged Camaro ZL1 production\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2018\/02\/15\/DetroitNews\/B99629885Z.1_20180215201549_000_GOB1S8LQQ.1-0.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/4044b1e7645488621f157de466cf1a990870caa2\/r=500x333\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/02\/15\/DetroitNews\/B99629885Z.1_20180215201549_000_GOB1S8LQQ.1-0.jpg\" \/>Based on the 650-hp, supercharged Camaro ZL1 production mode, left, the new Camaro ZL1 NASCAR Cup car bucks the trend of family car NASCAR racers like the Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Harold Hinson \/ Chevrolet)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n<div class=\"clearfix\">\u00a0In the 21st century, however, NASCAR has enforced strict aerodynamic and engine rules to make entries from its three marquee manufacturers the same in order to promote tight racing, keep costs down and put a spotlight on individual drivers. Distinct car models have given way to strict body templates with similar V-8 engines under the hood.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cThings had become so homologized in NASCAR that in 2007 Toyota decided to go racing with the least likely race car of them all, the Camry,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.carthrottle.com\/post\/the-cars-that-ruined-nascar-and-how-theres-hope-for-the-future\/\">wrote Chris Smith at CarThrottle.com<\/a>. \u201c(It is) the culmination of the trend in removing any sort of \u2018stock\u2019 from stock car racing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">NASCAR Cup racers bear little resemblance to their production avatars, save for glued-on headlights and badge stickers. As a result, manufacturers have fielded family sedans like the Fusion and Camry and Chevy Impala in order to market their brands to NASCAR\u2019s family-friendly viewing demographic \u2014 a fan base that has also attracted household names like Tide, Cheerios and FedEx as sponsors.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-QqzIodlcxRM\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><div align=\"left\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/5c13687994dcb78d4fb7186ee6b4024e63e5213e\/c=180-0-2282-1581&amp;r=x408&amp;c=540x405\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/02\/15\/DetroitNews\/DetroitNews\/636543237037511378-camaro-rr-template-SUB.jpg\" alt=\"NASCAR makes a race car body template the Chevy's Camaro\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2018\/02\/15\/DetroitNews\/DetroitNews\/636543237037511378-camaro-rr-template-SUB.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/f579be005587fc062ce82a69c39ba3e4c4027040\/r=332x400\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/02\/15\/DetroitNews\/DetroitNews\/636543237037511378-camaro-rr-template-SUB.jpg\" \/>NASCAR makes a race car body template the Chevy&#8217;s Camaro design must conform to. While the front end closely resembled the Camaro production car, the rear view shows how dramatically the NASCAR template differs in height and design.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Chevrolet)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><p>\u201cFusion was launched into the sport because of great aerodynamics and as a way to introduce the new brand name to a very large segment of America,\u201d a Ford spokesperson says of the midsize car\u2019s replacement of the Taurus sedan in 2006. \u201cA big part of the plan has always been to market Fusion to the NASCAR audience demographics.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Toyota\u2019s 850-horsepower, V-8-powered Cup car has been badged as a Camry. The Japanese brand entered NASCAR in 2007.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cNASCAR has been a great platform for Toyota\u2019s brand,\u201d a spokesperson said ahead of Daytona. \u201cIt has introduced our company to a loyal and diverse audience that may not have known what our brand represented before we came into the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The NASCAR Camaro will pack a V-8 under its hood just like the ZL1 on dealer floors. It marks the first time a Camaro has been on a NASCAR Cup grid since 1971 when Tiny Lund fielded a private entry \u2014 but the first time that Chevy has entered the muscle car as a factory effort.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cThe biggest challenge translating Camaro to the NASCAR Cup design template was maintaining the strong character of the production car while working with our race teams to create a great aero platform for them to build fastest race cars possible,\u201d says Chevy NASCAR program manager Pat Suhy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"partner-outstream\">\u00a0Camaro\u2019s debut has led to speculation that Ford might counter with its own V-8 powered muscle car, the Mustang. Ford confirms it has gotten a lot of interest in that possibility, but is tight-lipped on future plans.<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cThis is racing, and we are always working on actions to improve performance and that includes engine, body, aero, everything on the car. We will make an announcement on any future body actions when we are ready,\u201d says Ford Motorsports chief Mark Rushbrook.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Toyota\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/business\/autos\/foreign\/2018\/02\/13\/toyota-supra\/110377038\/\">teased the return of its new Supra<\/a>\u00a0this week, which will give the Japanese brand its own muscle car for NASCAR consideration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">After fielding the Chevy Impala family sedan until 2012, GM bucked the family car trend for NASCAR Cup cars by entering its V-8 powered rear-wheel drive Chevy SS. Trouble was, the SS \u2014 a four-door muscle car \u2014 sold just 4,000 cars in the U.S. market. The under-performing SS was discontinued for 2018, and the Camaro \u2014 with annual sales just under 70,000 vehicles \u2014 took its place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201c(The SS) was the most authentic entry in NASCAR from track to showroom,\u201d said GM Motorsports boss Campbell. \u201cWe wanted to keep that principle intact as we went forward, and Camaro was the right place for us to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series field rolls to the green flag for the start of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, it will be Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry family sedans versus&#8230; the Chevy Camaro ZL1 track beast. Doesn\u2019t seem like a fair fight. For the first time in NASCAR Cup Series history, Chevy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,87],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21917"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21918,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21917\/revisions\/21918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}