Chevy will field Camaro in Cup series starting in '18

Chevrolet will field the Camaro ZL1 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starting in 2018.

The manufacturer unveiled its new car Thursday at its headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. After Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove the street model up the driveway, seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson arrived in the new racecar and the two sat parked nose-to-nose.

The similarities were striking, so much so that the popular adage of “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” very much resonated throughout the announcement.

"It was very important,” Jim Campbell, vice president, performance vehicles and motorsports, said of the two models looking alike. "Having that connection and the relevance from the showroom to the track, the track to the showroom, is really an important element. Because when you win on track it elevates the brand.

“People put you on their shopping list more quickly and if they’re in the market for a sports car, the Camaro’s going to hit their shopping list. It’s very, very important for us.”

 

The Camaro will replace the Chevrolet SS, whose street version is ceasing production. The SS brought Chevrolet 71 wins in the Cup Series and two Daytona 500 victories. The current relevance of the Chevrolet Camaro is why the manufacturer decided it would be its next racecar.

"Chevrolet, Camaro and ZL1 are all synonymous with winning, both on and off the track," said Mark Reuss, executive vice president of GM Global Product Development. "We are thrilled to run Camaro in the NASCAR Cup Series next year, with the time-honored and track-tested ZL1 badge, and we’re just as excited for our drivers, teams, fans and customers."

The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will make its NASCAR Cup Series debut in February at Daytona International Speedway. In the Xfinity Series, Chevrolet runs the Camaro SS, which debuted in 2013.

NASCAR was well represented at the announcement, with those on hand including new president Brent Dewar, executive vice president and chief racing development officer Steve O’Donnell as well as vice chairman Mike Helton.

All the Chevrolet team owners were also present, including Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress and Chip Ganassi. Chevrolet drivers arrived in street model Camaros and they were just as excited as others to be on hand. Wednesday was the first time the drivers saw what they would be driving next season.

“It’s cool that our organization got to be a part of building it,” said Chip Ganassi Racing driver Jamie McMurray. "They’ve done such an amazing job on our cars this year that you hope they put a little bit of that into this and feel really good about that.”

The envy of his peers, Johnson will go down as the first driver to sit behind the wheel of the new Chevrolet racecar. And with a laugh, he revealed he was only thinking about one thing.

“I hope I don’t stall it. There’s a lot of people watching,” Johnson said. "They wanted me to make a lot of noise, so I erred on the side of a lot of RPM and not stall the thing in front of everybody.”

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