ASA: GM enters into new four-year agreement with ASA
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
March 14, 2001
VORTEC ASA 5700 V8 ENGINE REVS UP FOR 2001 ASA ACDELCO RACE SERIES
IRWINDALE, Calif. (March 14, 2001) – General Motors and the American Speed Association (ASA) have entered into a new four-year agreement, announced GM and ASA officials today in conjunction with the tires.com 300 Presented by BF Goodrich Tires at Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, Calif.
The new agreement for the series builds upon GM’s history with the ASA dating back to the 1980s. It includes the continued series naming rights for ACDelco in 2001, its 12th season as the ASA Series title sponsor. GM’s presence at ASA events also include s two GM body styles in competition – the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Pontiac Grand Prix. Special graphic decals featuring Vortec, Pontiac, Chevrolet, GM Powered or ASA ACDelco Series will be showcased on the race cars, track signage, and driver and crew un iforms.
GM will provide a pace vehicle for each season including a 2002 Chevy TrailBlazer for 2001 events. In addition, GM will be represented on TNN broadcasts, the ASA website and in various print and broadcast promotions. GM will also provide ASA with conting ency money for prizes.
“This new agreement demonstrates our commitment to ASA and provides an excellent opportunity to showcase the uncompromised power of our Vortec ASA 5700 V8 in very demanding conditions,” said Al Alvarez, GM Powertrain Vortec brand manager.
According to Mark Gundrum, vice president of Sales and Marketing for ASA, this agreement strengthens an already great partnership.
“This newly restructured contract further strengthens ASA’s relationship with General Motors,” said Gundrum. “GM has played a key role in the series growth over the past decade and this new four year blanket agreement provides ASA with continued and enhan ced opportunities to showcase stock car racing the way it was meant to be.
“GM has proven, time and time again, to be a true marketing partner. Their vast resources have allowed ASA to remain at the cutting edge of innovation, bringing current technology to the sport, and addressing the issues that face motorsports.”
As the record book closed on the 2000 ASA racing season, GM and ASA officials gave the Vortec ASA 5700 engine high marks for its performance throughout the 20-event schedule.
The engine is based on the production LS1 V8, featured in the Chevrolet Corvette, Camaro and Caprice (Middle East application), Pontiac Firebird, and Holden Commodore and Statesman (Australian applications).
“The Vortec ASA 5700 demonstrated proven success for the ASA ACDelco Series as the engine delivered outstanding power, fuel efficiency, rugged durability and required low-maintenance, all while performing under the most demanding conditions of the 20-race season,” said Alvarez. “These attributes contributed to the successful 2000 season and we look forward to the Vortec ASA 5700 engines continuing to deliver those key factors important to race drivers as this season progresses.”
Proof of the successful performance is evident by the impressive numbers the Vortec ASA 5700 engine produces. Rated at 430 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque, the engines have proven to supply ample power in race conditions and make for the close, competi tive racing for which they were developed. ASA Timing and Scoring recorded a total of 229,485 laps turned by the Vortec ASA 5700 engine in the 20 events in 2000, including practice, qualifying, qualifying races and main events. A total of 91 different te ams and 114 different drivers helped compile the lap totals for last season.
Throughout the engine’s initial season, four different track records were set, varying from the .375-mile Louisville (Ky.) Motor Speedway to the .75-mile Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park. The track record was shattered at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway when r ookie Larry Foyt turned the fastest lap ever in an ASA stock car, circling the speedway in 15.656 seconds, besting Mark Martin’s 15.741-second lap recorded in 1980.
In addition to the outstanding power provided by the Vortec ASA 5700, the introduction of this engine into the race series also provided drivers with cost effectiveness and a level playing field. The overall engine price for ASA entrants was significantly reduced with a engine cost of $12,000, a fraction of what teams were paying for the previously used V6 powerplants.
As a result, the season-ending BFGoodrich Tires 200 on October 14, 2000 at Gateway International Raceway (Madison, Ill.), 65 cars entered with intentions on qualifying into the 43-car starting field. Those 65 cars represented the highest number of entries for a single event in 2000 and the highest number of entries dating back to a 1978 event at the Minnesota State Fair Speedway.
The Vortec ASA 5700 engine is highly durable and has an expected life of an entire 20-race season. Throughout the season there were no mechanical failures during official competition, including qualifying, qualifying races or main events.
The potential to utilize a single racing powerplant for an entire 20-event ASA season, including testing, practice and qualifying, was previously unheard of and unprecedented in American motorsports. Four of the 26 teams who competed in all 20 ASA events used the same engine for all activities in 2000. They included the top-20 finishing teams of drivers Jack Landis, Brandon Sperling, Dave Sensiba, and Tim Taylor.
Text provided by Jeremy Troiano
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