Chevy
General Motors has been very active on the track, racing cars from just about every brand including Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Chevrolet. These days, Chevrolet has taken up the mantle as GM concentrates on its core division to keep its racing legend alive.
Team Chevy and Jimmie Johnson
Despite severe problems facing the manufacturer, Chevrolet continues to race and race big. Historically, Chevrolet has won the most races with Jimmie Johnson the name best associated with Team Chevy, having won three NASCAR Sprint Cup championships thus far.
Louis Chevrolet whose name gave rise to the Chevrolet brand was himself a race car driver. Born in Switzerland, Chevrolet’s family moved to France when he was eight where he developed his mechanical skills and interest in racing. Emigrating to Canada as young man, Chevrolet eventually moved to New York and later teamed up with William C. Durant during the time when Chevrolet was racing Buicks. In 1911, Durant and Chevrolet founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company which later was absorbed by General Motors.
Louis Chevrolet continued to race even as he later sold his interest in the company bearing his name to Durant who soon folded Chevrolet into General Motors. Chevrolet participated in several Indianapolis 500 races, never winning, but seeing his brother Gaston win it all in 1920.
Legends and Today’s Stars
Lots of famous names have driven Chevrolets or Pontiacs to victory including Jack Smith, Jim Hendrickson, Cotton Owens, and Richard Petty. More recently, whether racing under the Chevrolet banner or under the Corvette Racing name we have stars such as Johnny O’Connell, Jeff Gordon, Ricky Carmichael, Ron Hornaday, Larry Foyt, Steve Wallace, Mark Martin, Scott Wimmer and Kenny Harvick among the many names powering Chevrolet to victory.
Top Teams Fielding Chevrolets
Even as Toyota continues to make inroads into the sport, Chevrolet manages to field some of the top teams in motorsports. Day Enterprises Motorsports, Jeremy Clements Racing, MSRP Motorsports, Jay Robinson Racing, ML Motorsports, Rick Ware Racing, NEMCO Motorsports, Corrie Stott Racing, Key Motorsports, Rusty Wallace Racing, Faith Motorsports, ThorSport Racing, Tagsby Racing and Fast Track Racing Enterprises are just some of the teams you can find on the NASCAR track every weekend.
Will Chevrolet Racing survive? As GM restructures, talk about dropping some if not all of its racing support has come up often. However, given the fame and notorietary of the sport, that decision won’t come easily, one that will be made as the future of General Motors unfolds.
Photo courtesy of GM Corp.
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Let’s just hope these car brands are purchased by a different auto group if GM collapses, would be very sad to see.