Chevy Notes for Richmond IRL

BOWTIE BULLET POINTS: Chevrolet Notes for the SunTrust Indy Challenge

Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Va.
Round 6 of 16, Indy Racing League IndyCar Series
Saturday, June 26, 8 p.m. EDT
TV: ESPN2 (live), 7:30 p.m. EDT

* Short Track Season Begins

    With eight races in the next 10 weeks, the IRL IndyCar Series
season begins in earnest this weekend at Richmond International Raceway.
Saturday night's SunTrust Indy Challenge on the 3/4-mile Richmond bullring
is the first of four races in the summer stretch that will be contested on
tracks of one mile or less in length. While horsepower reigns on
superspeedways, handling and torque are essential to success on the short
tracks.

* Horses for Courses

    Just as an open-wheel race car's chassis must be tailored to a
specific track, its engine also must be tuned to suit the performance
requirements of the diverse venues on the IRL IndyCar Series schedule. GM
Racing engineers have developed a new short-track specification for the
3.0-liter version of the Chevy Indy V-8 that will race this weekend for the
first time on a short track.

    "We have made substantial progress on developing the 3.0-liter Chevy
Indy V-8 since the Indianapolis 500," said GM Racing IRL program manager
Joe Negri. "It was very apparent at Texas Motor Speedway that Chevrolet is
closing the gap. We were encouraged by Alex Barron's third-place finish
after starting 22nd, the pace of Ed Carpenter, Tomas Sheckter and Mark
Taylor in qualifying, and Felipe Giaffone's top-10 finish. We still have
more work to do, but we have a plan and a timetable to regain Chevrolet's
horsepower advantage.

    "A short track like Richmond rewards an engine with strong
mid-range torque and sharp throttle response," Negri explained. "Working
with GM Powertrain and our technical partners, we have focused our efforts
on giving Chevrolet teams a power curve that will deliver quick
acceleration in traffic."

* Getting a Grip

    In addition to continuous improvement of the Chevy Indy V-8, GM
Racing also has a comprehensive chassis and aerodynamic development program
that benefits all Chevrolet IRL teams. According to GM Racing
aero/chassis specialist Kevin Bayless, the Richmond oval requires a
significant change in setup from the immense speedways that have hosted the
IRL's three preceding races.

    "Maximum grip is going to be the key," Bayless noted. "It ultimately
comes down to who can get the most out of four tires, both mechanically
and aerodynamically.

    "The teams are going to bolt on anything they can think of to
generate downforce," Bayless predicted. "Aerodynamic drag really isn't a
concern on a small oval like Richmond, but maximum downforce is crucial to
conserving tires in the race. Recent rule changes have reduced the
available downforce, but we are always working in the wind tunnel to gain
it back. We've recovered some, but certainly not all of it.

    "Traction control also could play a role in the corners, but
the importance of traction control is diminished by the reduced torque of
the smaller 3.0-liter engines," he continued. "In the same vein, drivers
will try to maintain momentum because they won't have an abundance of
torque to pull them out of the corners and to work through traffic.

    "In a previous test at Richmond, the cars generated 5.3 g's of
lateral force in the corners," Bayless reported. "These high g forces are
going to be very demanding on both drivers and equipment. On a 3/4-mile
track with 16-second lap times, there's no time to relax."

* Richmond Record

    The Commonwealth of Virginia, the birthplace of patriots and
presidents, is also a hotbed of auto racing. GM-powered cars have won two
of the three IRL IndyCar Series events contested at Richmond International
Raceway. Buddy Lazier won in 2001 with an IRL Aurora V-8 and a Chevy Indy
V-8 powered Sam Hornish Jr. to the winner's circle in 2002. Chevrolet
propelled Gil de Ferran to the RIR qualifying record at 168.705 mph in 2002
- a mark that is likely to be eclipsed this weekend.

* Chevrolet Drivers on Richmond

ALEX BARRON, Red Bull Cheever Racing Chevrolet Dallara:
"The Richmond race will be a much quicker pace than last year since
they repaved the track surface. I was surprised to hear that lap times from
some of the IRL IndyCar Series drivers who tested on the new surface were
under 16 seconds. Everything just happens so fast at Richmond because the
track is a tight oval, so there will be a lot of close racing."

ED CARPENTER, Red Bull Cheever Racing Chevrolet Dallara:
"I've raced at Richmond several times in USAC Silver Crown cars, and I
have finished in second and third there, so I really like the track. I'm
sure it will be a lot different in an IndyCar Series car, but it's a fun
track. Since the surface is smoother now, it opens it up for more racing.
It will be exciting and a lot better with the resurfacing."

FELIPE GIAFFONE, Team Purex Dreyer & Reinbold Chevrolet Dallara:
"I think it should be very good. I guess they have repaved the track.
We haven't tested there, but a couple of the teams have already been there.
I've heard that the track has a lot more grip. It's going to be fun, but it
will be tough on everybody. If we're pulling the g's that they said they
were running at the test, it will be tough on the drivers physically."

TOMAS SCHECKTER, Pennzoil Panther Racing Chevrolet Dallara:
"I'm really looking forward to racing under the lights at
Richmond International Raceway this Saturday night. It's the shortest track
we race on, just three-quarters of a mile, so the action is tight, fast and
exciting. I think it's one of the best, most exciting races of the year for
our fans as well. I remember the great crowd last year cheering and yelling
for their favorites. Richmond fans know their racing. They've made some
changes to the track including repaving it since we raced there last year,
and I hear it's even faster with our cars than it was. The Pennzoil Panther
guys are ready to go. We had a very good test in Milwaukee, which is only a
mile long, and we made some good gains on chassis setup there so we're
looking forward to a great race in Richmond."

MARK TAYLOR, Menards/Johns Manville Racing Chevrolet Dallara:
"This will be my first experience there, but I'm ready to get back out
and start racing again. The season so far has been frustrating for myself
and everybody on the Menards/Johns Manville crew. But we have work to do,
so nobody is dragging their feet or hanging their heads. The test last week
at Milwaukee was a big help in getting comfortable with the shorter tracks
again. It's been tough so far, and while we haven't had the finishes we'd
like this season, the guys at Panther have proven we can run at the front
with the best cars in the league. So now it's a matter of putting it all
together and finishing races."

* Racing From Sea to Shining Sea

Chevrolet is competing in major American motorsports events from coast
to coast this weekend. In addition to the Chevy Indy V-8s competing at
Richmond International Raceway, Monte Carlos will race in the NASCAR Nextel
Cup event at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Chevy Silverado pickups
will race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event on the historic
Milwaukee Mile, which will also host Chevy Monte Carlo coupes in a NASCAR
Busch Series race. Chevrolet Pro Stock Cavaliers and Monte Carlo Funny Cars
will compete in the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series at Gateway
International Raceway in Madison, Ill., and the Le Mans-winning Corvette
Racing team will be back in action in the American Le Mans Series event in
Lexington, Ohio. Chevy races to win across the spectrum of motorsports, and
is the only manufacturer that currently competes in NASCAR Nextel Cup, the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the IRL IndyCar Series, NHRA drag racing and
the American Le Mans Series.