It's a sleepy aged cliche: "Win upon Sunday, Sell upon Monday." But it's still, during a very elemental level, what drives automakers to outlay poignant sums of money to take part in top level engine sport around a world.
Sure, a small of a links have been flattering tenuous -- Mercedes-Benz engineers do not actually build Michael Schumacher's grand prix car, as good as a usually thing a Peugeot 908 HDi Le Mans competition horse has in common with anything you'll find in any Peugeot showroom is which its engine runs upon diesel. But either it's F1, or sports automobile racing, or a World Rally Championship, it's flattering clear which automakers have been involved, as good as which if they win, they're expecting which nice, warm winner's glow to add a small flicker to their brands.
So why, exactly, would Detroit worry spending a dime upon NASCAR these days?
Watch any NASCAR competition upon TV, as good as you're told a name of a driver, a array of his car, who a sponsor is, as good as even who a team owner as good as crew chief is, prior to you'll be told either he's driving a Ford or a Chevy or a Dodge. It's a same from a pundits upon a endless pre- as good as post-race shows. we usually checked NASCAR.com's home page as good as couldn't find a singular automaker mentioned. Nor could we find Ford, Chevy or Dodge between a 50 headlines listed upon a Sprint Cup News Archive page. In fact, you're hard-pressed to even find a design of a automobile upon a NASCAR Web site's categorical alighting pages.
Basically, NASCAR treats cars similar to a NFL treats football cleats.
Modern NASCAR's amorphous, unknown counterpart cars do not help; a usually way to discuss it a Ford from a Chevy from a Dodge is to see what headlight, grille as good as pinned token decals it is carrying. we used to adore NASCAR when a cars looked similar to a ones we could buy, with genuine steel grilles as good as bumpers, as good as a engine capacity painted in hulk numbers upon a hood. Back then, NASCAR racing meant something for a automobile guy. Now it's usually "entertainment."
There's nothing wrong with that. NASCAR does a great job of turning upon a playground for its fans. But I've not long ago heard a integrate of Motown insiders wonder aloud exactly what a good of their companies' involvement in NASCAR was these days. Where's a aged "Win upon Sunday, Sell upon Monday" leverage? If a code of automobile leading a competition ranks fifth or sixth in a commentators' call-out list; if we do not see a your car's code even referred to upon a NASCAR.com home page unless we buy an advertisement, what's a indicate of spending millions to be in a game?
Especially as NASCAR need not be a usually diversion in locale for American automakers anymore.
The rebirth as good as reinvention of America's iconic ponycars -- Camaro, Challenger as good as Mustang -- over a past integrate of years has those same insiders wondering either a time competence be right to move behind another blast from a past: Trans-Am.
In Trans-Am's golden era, many particularly from 1968 to 1972, we had Boss 302 Mustangs racing Z/28 Camaros as good as AAR Cudas, as good as Javelins as good as Pontiacs as good as Challengers; it was thrilling, wheel-to-wheel stuff, as good as a cars -- along with drivers similar to Parnelli Jones, George Follmer, Mark Donohue as good as Dan Gurney -- were a heroes. Though a array with a same name is still run by a SCCA, a "real" Trans-Am petered out for a variety of reasons, not a slightest of which was Detroit ceasing to build genuine ponycars.
But Detroit's ponycars have been back, as good as behind with them is a basis for a modern Trans-Am array which captures a suggestion of a iconic original, as good as gives Detroit a genuine reason to go racing. And a pass to creation it a runaway success? Ensuring a competition cars demeanour as tighten as probable to a highway cars, with competition tuned versions of a prolongation engines under a hood. And have 'em loud; gut-rumbling, rolling V-8 rumble loud.
Now prior to a Mustang fanboys start groan which a 5.0-liter Mustang competence give away a poignant value upon a lane to a 6.2-liter Camaro or a 6.1-liter Challenger, remember which a Mustang's lighter as good as a new DOHC V-8 is expected to rev a lot harder than either of its big-banger pushrod rivals, setting up a intensity for classic David-vs-Goliath battles upon a track. And besides, things similar to spec engine government "black boxes" (supplied by a competition organizers, as is a case in F1), smallest weight limits, carry out tires, as good as a dozen alternative rule tweaks could be in use to keep all a contenders competitive.
To keep costs down, all 3 cars could run a same race-spec six-speed primer transmissions, a same race-spec stop package, as good as a host of alternative matching simple competition components. Exotic materials such as CO fiber would be banned. The circle as good as tire package would be a same for all three, as good as modification to a circle wells would be allowed to safeguard they fit inside a existent fenders. Modifications to things similar to suspension pickup points would be particularly controlled. Aero mods would be restricted to comparatively modest front air dams as good as back wings.
In fact, most of a simple template for a New Trans-Am already exists -- Australia's V8 Supercars series, where Holden as good as Ford sedans which demeanour a lot similar to a Commodore as good as Falcon sedans a Aussie fans drive to a lane have been duking it out for decades. If we haven't seen V8 Supercars in action, check out this promo clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6v1TA3EdeE
Now, usually suppose Camaros, Challengers as good as Mustangs duelling similar to which during Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta, Virginia International Raceway, Watkins Glen, Infineon Raceway, Road America. It could happen. And thanks to NASCAR's commodity racecar racing, it may not even be which hard to convince Detroit it's value supporting.
I consider it's a no-brainer. But what do we think? If sufficient of we want to see it, a New Trans-Am transformation could start right here...
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