Chevy might've pulled out of NASCAR if it weren't for new Gen 6 car

We've been on the fence with NASCAR for some time now. On one hand, it's some of the closest racing anywhere in motorsports, with actual passing and door-handle-to-door-handle action as a matter of course. But on the other, it's become template racing – a personality-driven sport more about the drivers than any sort of loyalty to a particular automaker. The Car Of Tomorrow format really rammed that message home, with a racecar's identity coming down to little more than headlamp stickers slapped on the nose. That's not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but we've wondered for some time what's in it for the automakers, who pay big money to stay in a series that has had little increasingly little do with street car sales, let alone innovation.

Apparently General Motors was beginning to wonder the same thing. In a new ESPN report, Rick Hendrick, team owner of Hendrick Motorsports, suggests that GM would have seriously considered leaving NASCAR if it wasn't for the move away from the COT to the new Gen 6 racer. According to Hendrick, GM North America boss Mark Reuss spearheaded the charge away from the 2007 COT and toward a racecar with clearer automaker ties – cars like the new Chevrolet SS racer shown above. Learn more about the fight for a closer-to-production look in the ESPN story at the link.

Articles Source : Autoblog

SRT Announces Return to Le Mans 24-Hour Race with New Viper GTS-R

Even SRT boss Ralph Gilles has admitted that the previous Vipers had an “axe-murderer” kind of demeanor but, despite that, the “snake” has had been quite successful in racing, competing against the best production-based rivals in the world and beating them not only in America but across the globe, too.

One of its greatest triumphs has been finishing in the first two places in its class for three years in a row, from 1998 to 2000, in the most prestigious endurance race in the world: the 24 Hours or Le Mans.

2013 is heralding the return of the Viper to La Sarthe, as SRT Motorsports will field two GTS-R racers in the LM GTE Pro class of the race that will take place on June 22-23.

“Racing is truly a part of the illustrious history of Viper and a proving ground for the SRT brand”, commended Gilles. “Historically, the Viper GTS-R has enjoyed great success at Le Mans, so we couldn’t be more excited and proud to accept the challenge to return to France”.

The new racer is based on the 2013 Viper GTS and has been developed by SRT Motorsports in cooperation with Riley Technologies. It made its debut last year in Mid-Ohio, as a part of a four-race test in order for a full-on assault on the GT class of the 2013 American Le Mans Series (ALMS).

You can scroll down for an image gallery and videos of the 2013 GTS-R as well as the Viper’s racing history right after the break.

Articles Source : Carscoop