Although it is well documented that Chevrolet Silverado has enjoyed unparalleled success in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) since its inaugural 1995 season, the experts at GM Racing have not rested on past achievements. Chevrolet has responded to the continual growth of the competition level in NCTS with an arsenal of technological advances and resources for Team Silverado.  In 2004, GM Racing has taken a unique approach to further advance technology and performance in the Silverado race program that will maintain Chevrolet’s winning ways in the NCTS.

Much of Silverado’s success early in the NCTS came with established teams in the form of Hendrick Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and Richard Childress Racing.  Their truck programs thrived on the valuable “trickle-down” effect from those organization’s vast resources gathered from their NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Busch teams.  Now the key players in Chevy’s future include teams such as Morgan-Dollar Motorsports, IWX Racing, Spears Racing and Kevin Harvick, Inc.  All are all independent organizations without the advantage of parent teams in NASCAR’s other divisions from which to gather information.

The Chevrolet Silverado All Star program featuring seven of Chevrolet’s top NASCAR NEXTEL Cup stars driving the #47 Acxiom Silverado, is a key component to invigorating Chevrolet’s research and development program in the Craftsman Truck Series.  It’s not just a marketing ploy to run these Monte Carlo drivers at specific tracks where they are popular or have had a lot of success.  By running them at tracks where these drivers have always performed well, the system allows for greater delivery of feed-back to the Chevrolet technical team. The equation is simple, more information flowing from this high-caliber combination to the other Chevrolet truck teams, the more success on-track for all of Team Silverado.

The debut of the Chevrolet Silverado All Star program will be May 21 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the Infineon 200 with Michael Waltrip driving the #47 Acxiom Silverado sporting a special paint theme dedicated to Sheryl Crow.  The #47 Silverado will compete in six more NCTS events with Chevrolet’s elite pedigree of NASCAR Cup stars doing the driving.  The stellar driving cast includes:  Robby Gordon, August 25 - Bristol Motor Speedway; Tony Stewart, September 9 - Richmond International Raceway; Ricky Craven, September 18 - New Hampshire International Raceway; Bobby Labonte, October 23 - Martinsville Speedway; Brian Vickers, November 5 - Phoenix International Raceway and Ward Burton, November 12 - Darlington Raceway.  The truck paint schemes will feature the likeness of megastar musical artists and groups such as Sheryl Crow, Leann Rimes, Sara Evans, George Thorogood and Joe Nichols.

While GM Racing and Chevrolet are proud of the Silverado All Star program from a marketing and promotional standpoint, the opportunities of the Silverado All Stars technological opportunities for the R & D project are huge.

"We at GM Racing are proud to say how strong our commitment is to Silverado program," said Pat Suhy, Oval Track Group Manager for GM Racing.  "With an increased focus on R & D for our Silverado NCTS program, our goal is to develop the #47 Acxiom Silverado into an effective R & D team in 2004 translates to valuable information for all Silverado teams.”

"We have drastically increased wind tunnel time," Suhy continued.  "Additionally we are providing NNC levels of access to a wide variety of R & D equipment which hasn't been as readily available to truck series teams in the past.  We have a dedicated aerodynamic and shock team of highly respected industry experts who work exclusively on NASCAR Craftsman Truck research and development.  Just one of the key elements of their focus is utilization of results of Seven Post and Shock testing.  "Our truck teams are now also utilizing the Desert Proving Ground in Phoenix," concluded Suhy.  "We have added Randy Goss to our staff as the head of the #47 R & D team. Randy brings a resume loaded with NCTS success and a winning attitude to the Chevrolet Silverado Technology team.  With him heading our testing efforts, the critical feedback he delivers will translate in to superior on-track performance for all Silverado teams."  Goss won the 2000 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship at Roush Racing with driver, Greg Biffle.  He and Biffle also captured the NASCAR Busch Series title in 2002 for Roush.

Another key element that GM Racing has spearheaded is the concept of “Team of Teams” that encourages all Chevy Silverado truck teams to share a variety of information between drivers, engineers, and crew chiefs in an effort to maximize on-track performance.

In addition, the Chevrolet Racing staff have acted as a liaison for independent teams to partner with top-Chevrolet engine builders in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing to ensure greater dependability, reliability, maximize on-track performance-in an effort to enhance team’s performance.
By maximizing the dissemination of technological information through a cooperative effort, Chevrolet and their Silverado race teams look to continue their dominating performance in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

More information on GM and its products can be found on the company's consumer website at www.gm.com.