CHEVROLET STILL GOING OLD SCHOOL DESPITE RIVAL MANUFACTURERS BEARING FRUITS FROM MAJOR REVAMPS

With only 8 races left this season, 2025 plans are underway. NASCAR Cup Series teams have roped in new faces, and a fresh charter deal has been signed by most. A points-paying Cup race has been scheduled at Mexico City for the first time, and Shane van Gisbergen is preparing to be a threat at the Cup level. But even amidst all these changes, Chevrolet will probably continue to stick to its old body.

The 2024 season witnessed revamped car bodies of the Toyota Camry XSE and the Ford Mustang Dark Horse. These cars, especially Ford, could not live up to their expectations initially, but now Ford leads with the most wins. Despite rivals’ success, Chevy still cannot let go of its old charm.

Old is gold for Chevrolet

The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which debuted in 2018, has made a significant mark, including Kyle Larson’s impressive 10-win season in 2021. General Motors kept the Camaro fresh with updates for the Next Gen platform in 2022, and Chevy continued to rack up wins this year despite concerns that new bodies from Ford and Toyota might outpace them.

While Chevrolet thrived, its rivals did too. Toyota stayed competitive, and Ford made a strong comeback this season, starting with Brad Keselowski’s victory at Darlington. Ford’s momentum continued with Chase Briscoe’s win, putting them ahead in the OEM race. Despite concerning updates from its rivals, Chevrolet may stick to its current model. Bob Pockrass updated on X: “NASCAR will let GM continue with the Camaro. I haven’t heard anything about a new body style coming for next year but how they brand it is still TBA (a Ross Chastain 2025 diecast image just says Chevrolet on it).”

   

Even last year in November, speculations were rife about GM abandoning the Camaro once and for all. Certain alternatives sprung up, like the Chevy Malibu, a four-door sedan, and a direct rival to the Toyota Camry. Even a potential EV bowtie race car was on the cards, given NASCAR’s electrification efforts.

Yet Dr. Eric Warren, a GM executive director, meaningfully said, “The Camaro’s story has not ended.” He added, “It’s come in and out in the past, and the auto industry and the models, it’s very dynamic and there’s a lot of things going on in it, and we have a lot of great products coming out in the future.”

Chevy’s dominance continues, even as all three OEMs battle each other in neck-to-neck competition.

True matches for each other

Nobody had a clue about Ford winning the Cup championship in 2023. Ryan Blaney did not impress in his regular season performance, but he dazzled like a star in the playoffs, winning at Talladega and Martinsville. Toyota has proved to be a solid contender for the championship this year, with stellar teams like 23XI Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing. Tyler Reddick frequently shuffles places on the leaderboard. And of course, Chevrolet is the OG manufacturer. It may retain its pride as the winner of the last three Cup Series manufacturers’ championships.

So GM executive director Dr. Warren marveled at the three OEM’s battle. He appreciated race teams adapting to model variations so quickly to dominate the race field.

He said, “It’s so close. I mean really, honestly, they’re on top of each other. So we kind of know what the performance of those cars is, and so it’s not as much of an unknown as before. I would say when the aero balance maybe is a little bit different or if it moves, say, forward a little bit, that’s where understanding your car and the notebook comes in because you have a lot more comfort in it. And you see that every year when we’ve come out with new cars, it takes a while to really get your hand on them because there’s a lot of things that are unknown.”

Both Toyota and Ford know how to tackle the old-school Chevrolet. With the latter possibly sticking to its old model, the Camaro may continue to dominate the NASCAR Cup Series.

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2024-09-19T02:58:47Z dg43tfdfdgfd