The Sprint Cup  SS will closely resemble the SS production model that is set to debut early next year. The production version will hit showrooms in late 2013, with a model year of 2014. This will mark the first time in 17 years that Chevy will offer a rear-wheel-drive sedan in the U.S.

General Motors North America President Mark Reuss said:

As a passionate race fan, the debut of the SS NASCAR race car is a genuinely exciting moment for me. With the SS, Chevrolet is delivering a true rear-wheel-drive NASCAR race car that is very closely linked to the performance sedan that will be available for sale, ensuring that our most loyal enthusiasts will have the opportunity to experience the same thrill every day on the open road that our race car drivers enjoy on the track on race day. The Chevrolet SS also demonstrates how we are able to leverage our global product portfolio to deliver a unique performance experience. The specialized development and testing work done for the race car will certainly benefit the entire Chevrolet product lineup.

Jim Campbell, vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, added:

We are looking forward to another exciting year of NASCAR competition and expect that the new SS race car, with some of the most skilled drivers on the circuit behind the wheel, will distinguish itself on the track.

In an effort to get more brand identity on the Sprint Cup cars, NASCAR eased the rules on where  manufacturers were allowed to put glass and solid body parts. The sanctioning body also eased rules on the front and the rear of the cars, allowing manufactures to make the nose and rear of the car look more like the production model. And, the sides now allow character lines that come from the street models.

Earlier this year, Chevy unveiled its 2013 Nationwide Series Camaro.

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Chevrolet unveiled its 2013 Nationwide Series entry: the Camaro SS. The car will make its debut in February at Daytona International Speedway.

It will compete against the Dodge Challenger and the Ford Mustang in the series.

The car has not been on track, it was completely designed based on mathematical calculations of aerodynamic targets using computer assisted design.

Jim Campbell, vice president, Chevrolet Performance Vehicles and Motorsports said:

Chevrolet is proud to bring the Camaro to the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2013. The Camaro Nationwide race car incorporates many of the distinctive styling elements of the production Camaro, including the unique power-bulge hood and deep recessed grille. In addition, the design incorporates the distinctive halo light rings and dual-port grille appearances, and the gold bowtie.

Pat Suhy, of the Chevrolet Racing Oval Track Group, added:

Our team of Chevrolet designers and aerodynamic engineers did a fantastic job capturing the great looks and styling cues of the production Camaro, while providing our NASCAR Nationwide teams with a highly competitive aero platform. For the remainder of 2012, our engineers will be busy working with our Chevy teams on wind tunnel and on-track testing to fine-tune the car in preparation for next year. It will be great to see Camaro compete on the track against its showroom competition starting with the 2013 season opener at Daytona.

Chevy is also working on a new model for the Sprint Cup Series that will be branded the SS. No word has been given as to when that vehicle will be unveiled.

Related Posts

• 2013 Sprint Cup Toyota Camry Unveiled
• Chevy To Use SS In Cup Series In 2013
• Chevy Working On New Model For 2013 Cup Competition
• Dodge Unveils 2013 Sprint Cup Charger
• Ford Unveils 2013 Sprint Cup Fusion

Johnson is now eighth on the all-time wins list with this victory, tying Rusty Wallace’s 55 wins.  Chevrolet has now claimed the manufacturers championship for the season, their 35th championship overall.  Johnson led the race from lap 24 and dominated the field the entire race.  He had to beat his future teammate Kasey Kahne, who finished the race in second place.  Critics who doubted the No. 48 team are now retracing their statements and tucking their tail between their legs.

You can never count out five-time champion Jimmie Johnson.  Before the race at Kansas, the No. 48 team was in the midst of 21 race winless streak.  Many drivers go over 100 races without a win, yet the media was concerned with 21 for Johnson?  The battle for this championship gets more intense every week and you definitely can’t count out Johnson for this championship title.

Keselowski Stays Consistent

Brad Keselowski keeps up his consistent finishes after finishing second at Kansas Speedway.  He moved up to the fourth position in the standings, just 11 points behind the leader.  Keselowski has finished in the top-5 three out of the past four races.  Although he finished in 20th position last weekend at Dover, he overcame power steering issues to finish strong.

Like I’ve said before, Keselowski is one of the biggest contenders for this championship.   He never gives up and has consistent finishes every week.  He came into the Chase as the underdog and will leave it as the champion, or as the driver who gave the champion a run for his money.

Carl Edwards Takes Over Points Lead

Leaving Dover last week Carl Edwards was tied with Kevin Harvick for the points lead, in second position.  He is now leading the standings, one point ahead of Harvick.  Edwards salvaged a fifth place finish at Kansas after falling a lap down during the race.  In post-race interviews Edwards said that he felt like he won the race.  Managing to finish in the top-5 after overcoming such obstacles is a big accomplishment for the No. 99 team.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Just Wants to Win a Race

After the race at Kansas, Dale Earnhardt Jr is leaving with a different mind-set.  ”I just want to win a race,” he said. “That’s a goal of mine right now, is to just go out there and win. Man, if we could do that, no matter what happened in the Chase I think we’d be real happy with our season”.

Earnhardt seemed to have a fast car throughout the race, but wasn’t happy with his tires.  He said during the race that the various sets of Goodyear tires were inconsistent, and he couldn’t figure out why.  Earnhardt finished the race in 14th position.  He gained one spot in points, moving to ninth position.

Gordon’s Chase Hopes Take A Big Hit

Although Gordon ran in the top-10 for most of the race, he was never happy with how his car was handling.  With 23 laps to go, Gordon noticed smoke coming from underneath the hood.  The team knew it was a matter of time before their day was over.  With two laps to go, the engine expired, leaving Gordon with a 34th place finish.  His finish dropped him down to 10th position in the points.

Being 47 points behind the leader, are Gordon’s championship hopes over?  With just six races left in the season, Gordon would need a miracle to win the championship.  However, if the drivers ahead of him in points were to finish poorly in the last few races and Gordon was to finish top-5 every week, he may still have a chance.  With the points battle being so close this season, he still has a small chance.

Chase for the Sprint Cup

As we head to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the fifth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Carl Edwards is now your points leader.  Kevin Harvick lost the points lead, but only by one point, leaving him in second place.  Johnson gained two positions and is now in third place,  just four points behind Edwards.  Keselowski and Matt Kenseth both gained two positions, now sitting in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart both dropped positions in standings and now are sixth and seventh place, respectively.  Kyle Busch remains in eighth position and is now 20 points behind the leader.  Earnhardt gained one position, moving him to ninth position with his teammate Gordon in 10th.  Newman and Hamlin’s chase hopes are no longer viable, sitting in 11th and 12th position, more than 50 points behind the leader.

The answer? Probably not much would happen.

While NASCAR touted the safety aspects, the savings, and the closer competition as reasons for the new car design, I think that the Car of Tomorrow also freed NASCAR from the mercy of the carmakers.

Sprint Cup cars are made by teams individually. There are no NASCAR factories that crank out COTs like GM or Chrysler plants. These cars are custom built in race shops by Sprint Cup teams. I imagine that other than providing parts, the carmakers have little to do with production or maintenance.

Don’t get me wrong, I know that carmakers provide support for their cars. But, if that support goes away, the make wouldn’t necessarily.

Last year, Dodge announced it would pull its factory support from what is now the Camping world Truck Series. At the time, Mike Delahanty, senior manager of Dodge Motorsports, said:

We’ll have no factory-funded teams. When times are tough, there are certain things that are lower on the priority list than others. There’s a lot of Dodge trucks, engines and parts out there, [teams] may choose to run them. We just won’t be writing the checks to any teams.

I’m sure that any carmaker that left the sport at this point would take the same stance.

Sure, some teams might stop using their cars. But, teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Petty Motorsports would continue building their race cars, and would still compete.

Large sponsorships would, most likely, keep the bigger players in the sport. And the relatively low cost of competing these days, with the testing ban, would keep most of the smaller teams in the sport.

So, even if Dodge and Chevy were to leave, the sport would find a way to survive. After all, this isn’t the first time automaker support was in jeopardy.

In her column dated yesterday, she wrote:

If Obama can tell GM and Chrysler that their participation in NASCAR is an “unnecessary expenditure,” isn’t having public schools force students to follow Muslim rituals, recite Islamic prayers and plan “jihads” also an “unnecessary expenditure”? Are all those school condom purchases considered “necessary expenditures”?

Upon further reading about this story, it looks like Car and Driver didn’t originally label the article a joke.

Media Matters for America features a Live Search cache snapshot of the article, which does not include the later-added Happy April Fools text under the headline.

Knowing that, it’s no wonder so many people are up in arms about the article, and were so easily duped.

I apologize for being under the impression that the article was clearly marked all along. This explains why C&D said they went “too far,” and pulled the article.

C&D is a reputable magazine, and most people would take their reporting at face value. I know I would. And other than the computer-generated image of Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Chevy, driven by the late Dale Earnhardt Sr, there was no indication that something was fishy with this article.

I point to the image because it is not authentic in that the supposed Chevy is supporting a Mercedes Benz-like grill, not the Chevy front with the bowtie. But is that really enough to know the article is fake? No.

Regardless of whether or not I think that article was in poor taste, it is certainly understandable to take it at face value.

And, in this case, C&D used its reputation to trick people, and for that they should be sorry. 

Several media outlets are still covering this story. They are: ESPN, Newsday, Investor’s Business Daily, and CNBC, just to name a few.

DEI currently has Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola, Regan Smith, and Paul Menard  as its drivers, which would leave no room for Robby Gordon.

But, Menard is said to be a candidate for a Yates Racing Ford next season, so his status with DEI is unclear.

Kobalt Tools, a Lowe’s brand, is said to be the leading candidate to sponsor the truck series. Craftsman, a Sears brand, will not renew its sponsorship of the series.

Stanley Tools and NAPA have been rumored to be potential sponsors as well.

Should Kobalt reach and agreement to sponsor the series, it would replace Craftsman as the official tool of NASCAR. Lowe’s could also become the official home improvement store of NASCAR, replacing Home Depot.

Anheuser Acquired By InBev

Anheuser-Busch has agreed acquired by InBev for $52 billion. Under the deal, which will create the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser will receive two seats on the board of the new company. The takeover also contains a provision that requires either side of the agreement to pay a “breakup” fee of $1.25 billion if it was responsible for the breakup.

The deal shouldn’t affect the company’s NASCAR sponsorship. Budweiser has signed a multiyear agreement to remain as sponsor of the Budweiser Shootout.

Budweiser will also become primary sponsor on Kasey Kahne’s World of Outlaws team.

GM Woes Trickle Down To NASCAR

Chevrolet will not renew sponsorship agreements with two tracks that host Sprint Cup races next season. The company is also evaluating all levels of its motorsports operations.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway are the two tracks. GM has contracts with 12 of the 22 tracks where the Cup series races and is the title sponsor for the fall race at Richmond International Raceway. GM also is the official vehicle provider for Daytona International Speedway.

SK Telecom In Talks To Acquire Sprint

SK Telecom would solicit the help of private equity firms, which would provide the cash for the deal.

Sprint has been contemplating a sale as it struggles with subscriber losses and remaining competitve with Verizon, which recently acquire Alltel. Should Sprint decide against a sale, SK will not pursue on, sources say.