NASCAR, the red-blooded American sport. This racing series has produced superstars like Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Darrell Waltrip, just to name a few. And the cars are just as important to the fans as the drivers are. As Bob Tasca said, “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday.” There has to be some truth to this statement as well. While we can’t look at the number of cars sold due to racing, we can see that some of the biggest brand names in the world sponsor these organizations and drivers. Millions of dollars are spent every season as teams look to find a competitive edge over their competition. Trying to go a little faster, turn a little harder, better fuel mileage, and greater aerodynamics are all critical keys if you want to win.
One company that is switching up the program this year is Chevrolet. While they have campaigned the Camaro ZL1 for the past two seasons, winning 11 points-paying races, including the 2018 Daytona 500, they have decided to move on. It’s not that they are leaving the ZL1 for another car; instead, they will campaign the new ZL1 1LE.
According to TheBlock.com, “The Camaro ZL1 1LE will join a stout lineup of Camaro models competing in a wide range of racing series. These include the Camaro SS in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NHRA Funny Car and Pro Stock classes; the COPO in NHRA Factory Stock Showdown, NMCA Factory Super Car, Stock, and Super Stock competition; and the Camaro GT4.R in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge and SRO GT4 series. In addition, a wide range of late-model and classic Camaros compete in various drag racing, circle track and road racing series throughout the country.”
There is little doubt that the ZL1 1LE is the fastest Camaro built to date. The car is built to fly straight from the factory with its supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 V8. Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President of Performance and Motorsports, states, “The ZL1 1LE is the highest performer within the Camaro production-car lineup, We took lessons from the production car and applied them to the new 2020 Cup car.”
According to TheBlock.com, The Camaro ZL1 1LE has been prepped after extensive work by Chevrolet as the engineers utilized computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation and wind-tunnel testing. The goal of the design and testing was to optimize aerodynamic performance.
We wish Chevrolet the best on its new NASCAR, and as Dayrell Waltrip would say, “Boogity, boogity, boogity! Let’s go racing boys!”