GM FastLane:In Celebration of Corvette Racing

[Bruce Nunnally]

By Ed Peper

Chevrolet General Manager

We have a phrase at Chevrolet that sums up our feelings for GM's largest division: “Chevy Proud!” I was Chevy Proud when we outsold Ford in 2005 to become the best-selling brand in the U.S. And I was Chevy Proud today when we celebrated Corvette Racing's fifth win in the GT1 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a parade through the streets of downtown Detroit.

In years past, it might have been a tickertape parade, but both tickertapes and office windows that open are only memories now. But we did celebrate the occasion with hot dogs, ice cream, American flags and fast Corvettes – a heartfelt homecoming for America's team in international road racing.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is simply the biggest, most prestigious and most important road racing event in the world. Although the race is not as well known in the U.S. as the Indianapolis 500 or the Daytona 500, it's the "Big One" in the rest of the world. This year's race was covered by 2,200 journalists from 37 nations, seen by nearly a quarter of a million spectators, and broadcast to a worldwide TV audience. For Corvette Racing to win Le Mans five times in the last six years is huge.

http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/archives/2006/...elebration.html

[GreenMachine]

If only Cadillac decided to pursue the LMP category with a bit more spirit. With the effort they could have debunked Audi, never had an engine failure, that twin-turbo northstar was a nice beginning.

They are still doing good in the Speed World Challenge GT class though.