GM FastLane:GM Benefits by Racing

[Bruce Nunnally]

Alba Colon

By Alba Colon

GM Racing Program Manager, NASCAR Nextel Cup Series

Three Team Chevy wins in three races sure isn't a bad way to start the Chase for the Championship. It was great to see Tony on top again after winning the Banquet 400 on Sunday at Kansas Speedway. Not only was it Chevy's third victory in the Chase, it was also our 18th win this season. I'm disappointed that Tony is not able to defend his title this year, but the team is using these final 10 races to test for next year, and it's definitely paying off.

Since I started writing for this blog several weeks ago, I've enjoyed reading your comments from a wide spectrum of viewpoints. Some people have questioned the value of GM participating in NASCAR, so I wanted to share my perspective. As someone who is deeply involved in GM's racing efforts, I can tell you there are many great benefits to our participation in the sport.

As most of you know, racing is a fast-paced business with races taking place 38 out of 52 weekends a year. This schedule allows us to do immediate testing week in and week out, testing that would normally take months or years to complete on the production side of the company. When we gain valuable knowledge from our race vehicles in a very high-stress and fast-moving environment, we can use that data and share it with our engineering team that designs GM's production vehicles so they can use the findings to improve GM's cars and trucks on the road.

For example, when the 2006 Monte Carlo SS was created, the GM designers met with our race engineering team to seek our input on aerodynamics. Our racing and production teams work closely together to share information and practices so we can produce the best vehicles, both on the road and on the race track.

Racing is also the perfect training ground for engineers, where one advantage is forcing them to come up with creative ideas, and sometimes take those ideas and make decisions in a matter of minutes. The engineering experience gained at the race track is valuable for improving production vehicles and vice versa as well. A good example of this is Ron Sperry who has been working at GM for more than 40 years and currently manages the head manifolds for GM Racing's NASCAR group. Ron started out in the racing group and eventually transitioned to the production side for several years. There he was able to share his racing experience to help improve GM's production vehicles. He has since returned to racing to help us design heads and manifolds and has brought a different perspective to the team that has been extremely beneficial.

Racing has also proved to be a valuable advertising and marketing tool. Not only are we exposing our products to thousands of fans at the race, we are also reaching millions of viewers who tune in by TV. NASCAR has 75 million fans and is the second most watched sport behind the NFL. This TV exposure helps showcase our vehicles to millions of people. And our success in the U.S. helps communicate the reliability and dependability individuals can find in our production vehicles.

Our racing connection also allows us the opportunity to create unique incentives to introduce race fans to our products. In several cities this year we have offered a free Chevy Day experience with hot laps at a race track and driver autograph sessions to individuals that test drive a Chevy vehicle at their local dealer. The program has been extremely popular and has allowed us to increase customer traffic at dealerships while also providing race fans a fun experience at the race track. It's a win-win situation, especially considering that race fans are one of the most loyal consumer groups of our products.

Thanks again for checking out my blog posts and sharing your thoughts. I look forward to hearing more of your opinions throughout the rest of the Chase and during Team Chevy's quest for the 2006 Nextel Cup championship.

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