Chevrolet IRL Preview: Chevy Focuses on Panther Racing

Chevy Indy V-8 Powers Scheckter and Enge in IRL Season Opener

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – You hit more bull's-eyes with a rifle than with a 
shotgun. That’s the strategy that GM Racing is pursuing in the 2005 Indy 
Racing League IndyCar Series with a tightly focused engine program 
that’s aimed at producing victories for Chevrolet.

GM Racing is concentrating its technical resources on the 
championship-winning Panther Racing team. Chevy Indy V-8 engines will 
power Panther Racing drivers Tomas Scheckter and Tomas Enge in the 
season-opening Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 6.

“Preseason testing showed the competitiveness of the Chevy Indy V-8 
engine package,” said Joe Negri, GM Racing IRL program manager. “We made 
significant gains in engine performance over the winter, and we have 
validated those gains. Recognizing that our competition has made 
progress as well, I believe that Chevrolet will be a serious contender 
in the IndyCar Series in 2005. We’ve aligned Chevy with the right team 
to win races.”

Three years ago, Chevrolet powered 85 percent of the field in the 
season-opening IRL event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with 22 entries 
using Chevy Indy V-8 engines. Now the shift from supporting virtually 
the entire grid to a single team has allowed GM Racing to accelerate its 
engine development program.

“In the past, our focus was on reliability and producing enough parts to 
supply the teams,” Negri explained. “Now we can concentrate our 
engineering efforts on tuning and tailoring the Chevy engine to suit a 
single team. Although Chevrolet will conclude its IRL program at the end 
of the season, we haven’t lifted the throttle on the engine development 
program – and we don’t intend to.”

Chevrolet has a tradition of success in Indy-style racing. The red 
Bowtie has scored 103 open-wheel victories, won the Indianapolis 500 
seven times, and claimed six open-wheel championships since 1987. GM 
engines have won 66 IRL races and 62 poles, more than all other 
manufacturers combined.

“We may be outnumbered, but we’re not outgunned,” said Negri. “Our goal 
is to do the best possible job for Chevrolet and Panther Racing.”

The season-opening race will be the first event at Homestead-Miami 
Speedway featuring the 3.0-liter version of the Chevy Indy V-8, which 
was introduced in May 2004. The four previous IRL events at the 1.5-mile 
speedway were contested with more powerful 3.5-liter engines. Last year 
Chevrolet claimed two of the top three starting spots with Alex Barron 
qualifying on the outside of the front row at 216.904 mph and Tomas 
Scheckter third on the grid at 216.673 mph. Scheckter finished fifth 
when he was caught out on a yellow flag; he led 22 laps and was in 
contention for a victory.

In addition to the 3.0-liter engine, IRL teams will also have to adjust 
to a new chassis package.

“The chassis updates for 2005 are primarily for road racing, but there 
is also a new underwing that has added more downforce to the Dallara 
chassis,” said Kevin Bayless, GM Racing’s aerodynamics and chassis 
specialist for the IRL series. “The new underwing was not available for 
the open test at Homestead-Miami Speedway, so teams will have to 
re-evaluate their setups for both qualifying and the race.”

Florida’s famous sunshine and ocean breezes are variables that also can 
affect performance at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“The track is close to the ocean and cross winds are always a 
possibility,” Bayless added. “Direct sunlight and warm temperatures can 
affect grip. Consequently the challenge to the teams will be to decide 
how much to increase downforce for the race.”

The Toyota Indy 300 is the first round of the 17-race IRL IndyCar 
Series. The race will be televised live on ESPN at 2 p.m. (EST), March 6.

General Motors Corp. , the world’s largest automaker, has been 
the global industry sales leader since 1931. Founded in 1908, GM today 
employs about 324,000 people around the world. It has manufacturing 
operations in 32 countries and its vehicles are sold in 200 countries. 
In 2004, GM sold nearly 9 million cars and trucks globally, up 4 percent 
and the second-highest total in the company’s history. GM’s global 
headquarters are at the GM Renaissance Center in Detroit. More 
information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.