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| News and Results | Point Standings | 2006 Schedule | 2006 Teams | 2005 Schedule and Results |
GM Adds 13 Championships to Racing Portfolio in 2006
GM Racing Teams Around the World Conclude a Highly Successful and Record-Setting Season in Stock Car Racing, Road Racing, Drag Racing and Off-Road Racing
DETROIT - General Motors completed a stellar 2006 racing season with 13 combined driver and manufacturer championships, record-setting achievements, prestigious race wins and impressive accolades among GM's Cadillac, Chevrolet, HUMMER and Pontiac brands.
GM teams also captured victories at significant races including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Daytona 500, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the Mac Tools U.S. (Drag Racing) Nationals and the Dakar Rally (Open Score category). Additionally, GM brands were honored with four notable awards in road racing competition.
"To achieve 13 championships and record several major milestones in a single season is a tremendous achievement for our entire GM Racing group including our engineers, teams and drivers," said Mark Kent, director of GM Racing. "This year we continued to grow our engineering and powertrain teams and that proved to be a key factor in our success. Our goal is to continue steadily investing in our internal resources and capabilities so we can provide our teams the tools they need to achieve additional success for GM next year."
Nine different Monte Carlo SS drivers contributed to 23 Chevrolet wins this season, breaking the Bowtie brand's own Modern Era (1972-present) single-season win record of 22 wins set in 1980, tied in 2004 and unequaled by any currently competing brand in Nextel Cup. Victories by Johnson (five), Kevin Harvick (five), Tony Stewart (five), Jeff Gordon (two), Denny Hamlin (two), Jeff Burton (one), Kyle Busch (one), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (one) and Brian Vickers (one) also helped Chevrolet earn its 30th all-time Manufacturers Cup. Hamlin's victories and third-place finish in the season standings helped the 26-year-old Chevy driver take home the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award. With 596 all-time race wins Chevrolet continues to be the most successful nameplate in NASCAR's Cup Series.
The Bowtie brand also found success in NASCAR's Busch Series, winning both drivers and manufacturers titles. Kevin Harvick and his Monte Carlo SS dominated Busch Series competition in 2006 with nine race wins, tying the record for most Busch Series wins in a season. Harvick finished the year with an 824-point advantage over second place to win his second Busch Series championship. Chevy drivers scored 22 wins this season to collect the Bill France Performance Cup, the 13th manufacturers championship for Chevrolet out of 16 possible titles. Rookie David Gilliland scored the 300th Busch Series victory for Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway in June (his first career win in the series). Chevrolet now has 311 total wins in the Busch Series.
In NASCAR's third premier racing series, Chevy Silverado drivers scored five victories this season. Ron Hornaday took a pair of wins while Kyle Busch, Mike Bliss and Clint Bowyer each tallied a Team Chevy victory in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Bowyer's win at the Silverado 350K was his first career Craftsman Truck Series win and Chevrolet's first victory in five years at the Chevy-entitled Texas race.
Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta's runner-up finish in the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R during the season finale wrapped up Chevrolet's sixth consecutive manufacturers title and gave the pair their second straight drivers championship. The No. 3 Corvette C6.R of Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell scored one win and seven podium finishes to end the season in fourth. Strong performances by both teams also helped Chevrolet capture the GT1 manufacturers championship finishing just three points ahead of their Aston Martin rivals.
In June, Gavin, Beretta and Jan Magnussen finished fourth overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and first in class to win the GT1 category of one of the world's most grueling sports car races. It was Corvette Racing's fifth GT1 class win in six years at the 24-hour endurance race. Piloting the No. 64 Corvette C6.R the trio earned their third consecutive class victory at Le Mans after running lap for lap against the No. 009 Aston Martin DBR9 until the 22nd hour when the Corvette C6.R took the lead and eventually won by a five-lap margin of victory.
Corvette also achieved multiple awards this season adding an exclamation point to an already excellent season. Race fans voted Fellows the Most Popular Driver in the ALMS for an unprecedented third year in a row. Corvette Racing's Dan Binks was honored as the GT1 Crew Chief of the Year and GM's small-block V-8 LS7.R engine was named the Global Motorsport Engine of the Year at the inaugural Professional Motorsport World Expo in Cologne, Germany.
En route to these championships, a GTO.R was on the podium for every race of 2006. Combined with the six consecutive podiums from the end of last season, Pontiac's performance set a new Rolex Series record. Pontiac's outstanding season was comprised of eight wins, six second-place finishes, six third-place spots and a podium sweep in Phoenix, a first for a GT manufacturer in the series.
Pontiac's Daytona Prototype (DP) effort ended the season at a solid second place in the standings, only seven points shy of first. Despite a slow start the brand was able to finish second at Virginia International Raceway, the fifth race of the season, and from then on only missed the podium once. Wins at Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio helped propel Pontiac to the manufacturers lead during the mid-point of the season yet ended the year in second missing the championship by only seven points.
Cadillac's third year in the SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT class concluded with Andy Pilgrim finishing third in the drivers championship. Pilgrim, the defending series champion, won at Road Atlanta after starting from the pole and scored three additional podiums while Ron Fellows won the race in Long Beach. The two CTS-V drivers along with Max Angelelli and Johnny O'Connell scored a total of nine podium finishes in 10 races. In an extremely tight manufacturers battle, Cadillac ended the season two points behind Porsche and one point behind Dodge for third place. Team Cadillac program manager Dave Spitzer received the Jim Cook Memorial Trophy at the post-season award ceremony for his significant contributions to the overall success of the series through promotional activities and a consistent display of good character and sportsmanship.
In the Grand-Am Cup Series, Chevrolet finished third overall in the Street Tuner (ST) class for the second consecutive year. Cobalt SS Supercharged teams won an unprecedented five races during 2006, four by the Georgian Bay Motorsports team and one by the Powell Motorsport team. With its success in its sophomore season in the ST class, Chevrolet was in contention for the manufacturers championship until the final race of the season and finished a slim four points outside of second among the 11 competing manufacturers.
Pontiac's strong performances all season and national performance records earned the brand its 10th NHRA Manufacturers Cup in the last 11 years. In addition to 12 national-event victories and 27 final-round appearances, five different Pontiac GTO drivers set 32 new track elapsed-time and top-speed records. Pontiac has now achieved 171 all-time wins in NHRA Pro Stock competition, the most of any manufacturer in the history of the category.
In sport compact drag racing, Ron Lummus captured his second straight NHRA Xplod title in his ECOtec-powered Pontiac. Lummus had five wins this year and eight straight final-round appearances. In Pro FWD, Chevy Cobalt driver Marty Ladwig ended a solid season with his second straight second-place finish in the championship standings.
Finally, the Bowtie brand had one of its best seasons ever on the quarter-mile drag strip. Chevy swept the table in the NHRA Lucas Oil Sportsman Series taking five titles in the seven classes contested - and in IHRA, Chevy wears the champion's crown in eight of 11 classifications including titles in Torco Racing Pro Nitro Funny Car and Torco's Competition.Plus.com Pro Modified.
At the SCCA National Championship Runoffs in October, Don Knowles drove a Pontiac Solstice to its first-ever Runoffs win and kicked off a three title weekend for GM vehicles. Knowles' Solstice was one of five racing in the 28-car SSB class, and the win earned the veteran road racer his third SCCA National Championship. Two other Runoff wins for GM included a Pontiac Firebird driven by GM Performance Division executive John Heinricy in American Sedan (AS) class and a Chevrolet Corvette C5 Z06 driven by Lance Knupp in Touring 1 (T1). Their victories bring GM's grand total to 128 SCCA championships since 1956 and extends GM's consecutive championship win streak to 51 years.
Other SCCA notables include the Solstice winning two SCCA Solo National Championships in C Stock Open and C Stock Ladies autocross competition, the Cobalt SS Supercharged totaling 11 wins and seven additional podium-finishes in Touring 3 (T3) class, and five Touring 2 (T2) class national wins by Chris Brannon in a Pontiac GTO.
Robby Gordon and Andy McMillan scored another off-road victory for Chevrolet after winning the Baja 1000 in Ensenada, Mexico. Gordon piloted their Chevy Silverado CK1500 Trophy Truck for 725 miles before handing over to Andy McMillan who completed the final leg of the 19-and-a-half hour trek. With this victory Gordon becomes a three-time Baja 1000 winner.
In Argentina, Matias Rossi became the new TC2000 champion. The 22-year old Chevy Astra driver beat out Ford and Honda competitors to win the 14th and final race of the season in Parana, Argentina to secure him and Chevrolet the TC2000 drivers title. Rossi scored five wins this year including a victory with his Chevy World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) co-driver Alain Menu in Buenos Aires this fall. This championship marks back-to-back drivers titles for the Chevy Astra with Christian Ledesma's drivers crown in 2004.
In its second year of WTCC competition, Chevy Lacetti drivers have made significant strides in the touring car series. Alain Menu scored Chevy's first WTCC win at Brands-Hatch in May. Despite heavy rain and poor visibility Menu kept his Lacetti out front to score a historic first win for Chevy in the series. Rob Huff continued the winning tradition for Chevy in September with a victory in Brno despite starting in the 24th position. Never before in the history of the WTCC did a winning driver start further back. In addition to its two victories, Chevy Lacetti drivers recorded three podium finishes to round out a productive race season.
Around the world in Australia, Holden teams are currently preparing for the final round of the V8 Supercar Series. With one race remaining Holden Toll HSV Racing driver Rick Kelly has a seven-point lead in the championship standings, while Kelly and his team-mate, Garth Tander, already secured the coveted team's championship for the Toll HSV Racing outfit when the series made its inaugural trip to Bahrain in the Middle East. The championship will be determined at the Caterpiller Grand Finale at Phillip Island, on Dec. 10.
"Even though we have many championships and achievements to celebrate this season it was a tough fight with many of the championships being determined on the last lap of the final race of the season," said Kent. "While GM raises its game, so does our competition. But as we strive to keep our prominent positions across multiple racing venues, the experience we gain and the technical knowledge learned helps not only our race teams but those who purchase GM cars and trucks. What's learned on the track is applied to our road cars and vice versa, and that's why we continue to develop race cars that are representative of what we sell in GM showrooms."
GM teams exceeded season expectations by not only winning championships but also setting new records and passing milestones in a full spectrum of racing series. Chevrolet broke its own Modern Era record for the most wins in a single season by any currently competing manufacturer in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series while the Bowtie brand scored its 300th victory in NASCAR's Busch Series. Pontiac set a Grand American Rolex Series record with 19 consecutive podium finishes in the GT category (starting in 2005) and was the first-ever manufacturer to complete a GT podium sweep. And in NHRA drag racing Pontiac teams set national performance records at three different venues with five GTO drivers setting a total of 32 new track elapsed-time and top-speed marks this season.
Chevrolet completed a trifecta in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series sweeping driver, manufacturer and top rookie awards. Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Monte Carlo SS, secured his first-ever Nextel Cup championship, the 23rd drivers title for Chevrolet. Johnson's impressive season included five victories including wins of the Daytona 500 and Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
Corvette Racing capped off Corvette's 50th anniversary in international road racing by sweeping the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) manufacturers, drivers and team championships and scoring its fifth GT1 class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Pontiac's first full GT season exceeded expectations as Pontiac garnered three separate championship titles with its production-based GTO.Rs in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series. In addition to the brand capturing its first GT class manufacturers trophy, Pontiac drivers Andy Lally and Marc Bunting of the No. 65 TRG/F1 Air GTO.R took driver titles; their team TRG clinched the team championship.
Not only did Jason Line win his first NHRA Pro Stock crown, GM drivers swept the top five in championship points in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Line and his Summit Racing Pontiac GTO clinched the championship with one race remaining and achieved Pontiac's fourth straight Pro Stock drivers title. Fellow Pontiac driver and three-time defending Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson won the NHRA Finals against Line in an all-GTO final round to earn the runner up spot in the standings. Chevy's Dave Connolly, Pontiac's Mike Edwards and Kurt Johnson in a Chevy Cobalt finished third through fifth in the championship standings respectively.
Off-road racing legend Rod Hall piloted his stock-class HUMMER H3 to five class wins to take the 2006 SCORE Mini-Stock points championship. Hall's wins included the Best in the Desert's Bluewater Resort and Casino Parker 425, Terrible's Town 250, Las Vegas 300, SCORE International's Tecate Baja 500 and Las Vegas Primm 300. Hall's son Josh also recorded a successful season taking full-stock class victories for Team HUMMER in his stock class H2, including Best in the Desert's Terrible's Town 250 and TSCO Vegas to Reno and the 2006 SCORE Tecate Baja 1000. Further demonstrating its dependability and capabilities, HUMMERs were the only stock class vehicles to complete the SCORE Tecate Baja 500.
GM vehicles had a banner year in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) racing as the Pontiac Solstice debuted for 2006 with a podium finish in Showroom Stock B (SSB) club racing and went on to win six races during the season. he Solstice set three track records for fastest lap along the way and Andrew Aquilante earned the Solstice its first Northeast Division Championship with his four wins.
Pontiac GTO driver Rhys Millen finished second in the Formula D championships after winning the crown last year. Millen won the fourth round in Formula D competition at Infineon Raceway and finished second three times this season resulting in a runner up finish, 28 points outside of first place.
Kicking off the 2006 race season a Chevy Silverado won the Open Score category of Dakar Rally, considered by many as the most grueling off-road race in the world. Eric Vigouroux and co-pilot Alex Winocq powered their Trophy Truck Silverado, equipped with a Corvette LS6 engine, through rocks, sand, dirt and dunes during the two-week event in January. The Pro-System Racing team drivers fought hard in every stage and found themselves among the top 10 during the final four stages to eventually take their first Dakar victory.