Chevy Ready for Phoenix IRL

PHOENIX, March 14, 2002 -- When Chevrolet launched its first Indy car
engine program in 1986, it took one year of development and 17 races for
the turbocharged Chevy Indy V8 to get up to speed and score its first
victory. When Chevrolet returned to open-wheel racing this year with the
new naturally aspirated Chevy Indy V8, it took two hours and eight minutes
to put the red Bowtie back in the winner's circle.

    The new Chevy Indy V8 was a winner right out of the box in the Grand
Prix of Miami at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 2. Designed and
developed in house by GM Racing, the new Chevrolet racing engine won the
pole, led all 200 laps and powered Sam Hornish Jr. to a runaway victory. It
was an auspicious debut for an engine package that had never turned a lap
in competition before the green flag fell.

    Now Chevy will take the next step in its accelerated development
program at the Bombardier ATV Copper World Indy 200 at Phoenix
International Raceway on March 17. With its short straights, tight corners
and heavy traffic, the fast one-mile oval in the Arizona desert makes
different demands on an engine than the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami
superspeedway. It's a track that will suit the Chevy Indy V8 -- an engine
that is lighter, smaller and more powerful than the Oldsmobile IRL Aurora
V8 that won five straight years at PIR.

    Among the Beautiful People, it's said that you can't be too thin or
too rich. Among Indy car racers, the maxim is that you can't be too light
or too quick. Acceleration is the key to success on a short track -- and
the Chevy Indy V8 is engineered for acceleration.

    Supermodels count calories, but engineers count ounces. GM Racing
engineer Roger Allen and his colleagues pared weight at every opportunity
when they designed the major components of the Chevy Indy V8 -- including a
new block, cylinder heads, cam covers, crankshaft, pistons and connecting
rods. When the diet plan was completed, these ounces added up to an
11-pound weight saving over last year's motor. The svelte Chevy Indy V8
tips the scales at 315 pounds, the minimum weight specified by IRL rules.

    The distribution of this weight is also critical on a short oval.
By trimming seven pounds of mass from the top half of the engine, GM
engineers lowered the Chevy Indy V8's center of gravity. To appreciate the
improvement in handling offered by a lower center of gravity, imagine
driving a moving van and a sports car on the same winding road. While not
as dramatic as the contrast between these two vehicles, seven pounds makes
a difference that an Indy car racer can feel through the finely tuned seat
of a driving suit.

    Sophisticated computer-assisted design tools allowed GM Racing
engineers to pare four pounds from the Chevy Indy V8's billet steel
crankshaft without sacrificing reliability. Reducing the diameter of the
crankshaft's main and connecting rod bearings paid dividends in two ways.
First, the lightweight crank assembly has less rotating inertia so it
accelerates and decelerates quickly in response to the driver's right foot.
Second, the smaller bearings minimize frictional losses, allowing the
engine to produce more power at the flywheel -- and ultimately faster
speeds on the track.

    The Chevy Indy V8's new dedicated cylinder head design also suits
the Phoenix oval. Unlike its predecessor, which was designed for the
IRL's production-based 4.0-liter engine formula, the Chevy Indy V8 is
a purpose-built racing engine with intake and exhaust systems that are
optimized for the current 3.5-liter displacement limit.

    A do-it-yourself demonstration of the difference in port velocity
between the old and new cylinder heads is as simple as turning on a garden
hose: Turn the faucet wide open and the water will spray a few feet from
the end of the hose. Put a nozzle on the hose and the water will spray
across the yard. The water pressure and volume are unchanged, but the
velocity is increased dramatically by reducing the size of the passage. It
is the same for the air and fuel moving through an engine: higher velocity
produces quicker response, more complete cylinder filling and faster
acceleration.

    Chevrolet's original turbocharged Chevy Indy V8 dominated at
Phoenix International Raceway, scoring five straight victories in 1988-92
with wins by Mario Andretti, Rick Mears (twice), Arie Luyendyk and Bobby
Rahal. But that was then and this is now. The new-generation Chevy Indy V8
will have to prove itself at PIR with a new generation of Indy car drivers.
Fortunately, the Chevy Indy V8 has all the right moves for a one-mile oval.