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Thursday,
July 26th, 2007
(partial reprint from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
A
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 paced the field for the Allstate
400 at the Brickyard on Sunday, July 29 at the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway.
A
Chevrolet has performed pace car duties for all 14 editions
of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, one of NASCAR's
most highly anticipated events since the inaugural in
1994.
To
celebrate Chevrolet's pace car tradition, each of the
past 13 Chevy pace vehicles were featured at the Chevy
Racing display at IMS. Previous Chevy Brickyard pace
vehicles include the Monte Carlo (1994, 1997-2004),
a C-1500 Full-Size Pickup (1995), the Camaro (1996),
the SSR (2005) and a Corvette Z06 (2006).
"The
fact that a Chevrolet has paced every NASCAR NEXTEL
Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway since the inception
of this event says a lot for our vehicles," said
Ed Peper, general manager of Chevrolet. "Pace cars
must be safe, reliable and capable of leading a field
of race cars. We're proud to have our Corvette Z06 pacing
this race and look forward to sharing that heritage
with a special Chevy pace car display."
The
Corvette Z06, designed using extensive race car technology,
is the fastest vehicle ever offered by Chevrolet and
General Motors. With 505 horsepower and 470-lb.ft. of
torque, the Corvette Z06 leaps from zero to 60 mph in
3.7 seconds and has a top speed of 198 mph. The Corvette
Z06 pacing the field was nearly identical to the 2007
model available in dealer showrooms with the only major
modifications being the addition of strobe lights, racing
safety belts and a unique paint scheme.
The
paint scheme for this year's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
pace vehicle will go back to basics with an American
red, white and blue design featuring a geometric pattern
that plays off the checkers of the legendary bricks
found at the Indianapolis track.
"The
last few Corvette pace vehicles featured a free-flowing
design, so this year we thought it would be fun to return
to a more straightforward paint scheme," said Kip
Wasenko, GM director of design, specialty vehicles.
"The blend of the three colors we selected represent
the metaphor of America's favorite sports car pacing
the field at the 'big house' of American racing."
Also,
Chevrolet once again supplied event support vehicles,
including Silverado pickup trucks, for on track activities.
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