GM Racing Notes - Daytona Test, Jan. 16

DOUG DUCHARDT, GM RACING GROUP MANAGER, OVAL TRACK, COMMENTS ON THE 2003
NASCAR WINSTON CUP TEST SESSIONS:

(WHAT DID YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE IN THE TWO TEST SESSIONS?) "We hoped to see
our GM teams get up to speed with the new Monte Carlo and Grand Prix race
cars and new template rules from NASCAR.  And for the most part, our teams
have been competitive. We're doing a pretty good job of being on equal
ground with the other manufacturers (Ford and Dodge). We have seen that the
Chevrolet and Pontiac have been very similar, and that was one of our goals.
We're pretty happy so far."

(ARE YOU PLEASED WITH THE PROGRESS MADE TO THIS POINT?) "It's been a lot of
work from last fall to the early part of this year. I think the teams have
been fairly pleased with their new cars in speedway configuration.  We're
getting ready to go to Las Vegas Motor Speedway at the end of this month,
and we'll get another shot at our downforce configuration. We had our first
shot at Homestead (November '02) and for the most part, the teams seem to
feel like there is potential for the cars.

"After the Las Vegas test, we will have already been to a speedway test -
obviously this test at Daytona - and gone back to the downforce
configuration with the cars that they're planning on racing. We'll have a
real good idea then of where we're at. Las Vegas is probably one of the
tracks that needs all the downforce you can get. So the guys will go there
with the cars maxed out."

(THE GM TEAMS WORKED REALLY HARD TOGETHER THROUGH THE DESIGN AND BUILD OF
BOTH THE '03 MONTE CARLO AND '03 GRAND PRIX. NOW THAT THE SEASON IS ABOUT TO
BEGIN, HAVE THEY STOPPED SHARING INFORMATION?) "During the time prior to the
cars being approved by NASCAR, the teams worked very well together on what
was needed for the cars - or in other instances, the cylinder heads.  I saw
this same scenario when I worked on the SB-2 engine. But as soon as the cars
were approved, it changed to each team being on its own. You still have
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) working
together, but Hendrick Motorsports and Gibbs Racing are developing the cars
on their own.

"So, once a new race car is approved, it's pretty much every man for
himself.  There is some discussion (among them) on various concerns or
pieces that need to be fixed and so forth.  But for the most part, the teams
take it from there."

(ARE THE TEAMS HOLDING BACK DURING THIS TEST?) "Well, nobody out there puts
in all the special fluids and things like that during a test. There has been
a lot of talk about sandbagging in the past, but none of these cars have
been through full inspection and gotten a sticker from NASCAR to know which
ones would be legal or not legal. The teams are running their own agendas.
For example, some people might just work on engine issues for a whole
session. In that case, you're not really trying to get speed out of the car;
you're just trying to work on the engine. Sometimes you just work on chassis
and sometimes on aero. So the teams have their own test plans and they
usually try to stick to that. They don't really chase numbers on the board.

"I'm sure nobody is here with every ounce of horsepower they have. We see
people running around 49.00 flat, I'm sure the pole (for the Daytona 500)
will be faster than that. The two test sessions have been pretty consistent
as far as fast times. I think last week was 48.9 and change and we were
right around 49.00 this week. So I think the sessions have been similar.
We've seen an equal split of (manufacturer) makes at the top of the chart.
And, it's been pretty quiet actually.  From a manufacturer's standpoint,
that's been nice."

(ARE YOU EXPECTING ANY CHANGES FROM NASCAR BASED ON THE TESTS?) "No. I think
the thing that's important, is that if you have a problem you need to work
out, you're not spending a lot of emotional downtime complaining at the
(NASCAR) trailer or lamenting your situation. You can go about the business
of solving an engineering problem instead of complaining that you don't have
the right tool to get the job done. And that's been a nice change."