IMPALA SS ON THE TRACK: Talladega Superspeedway

QUOTABLE QUOTES - TECH TIPS FOR TALLADEGA: Pat Suhy, NASCAR Group Manager for GM Racing: "Chevy has a 9 year tradition of winning the spring race at Talladega. Our teams are the best in the business at restrictor track racing. With the new track surfaces grip and high banking, handling is at less of a premium than it is at Daytona, making horsepower even more important at Talladega.

"With the importance of horsepower at this track, all of our Chevy team's engine groups have been busy working on every aspect of the engines to make more power in restricted form. The R07 engine has only seen use in 2 other restrictor races and we know that there's more horsepower waiting to be found as development continues. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of the efforts the Hendrick and Earnhardt-Childress Racing Technologies engine group's efforts.

"There's plenty of hard work going on in the wind tunnel as well. Careful use of all or our aerodynamic tools, from wind tunnels to computational fluid dynamics, continues to yield improvements in the Impala SS Sprint Cup cars that our teams will take to Talladega this weekend. Our engineers continue to work with the teams to find the sweet spot for downforce and drag that will help the cars drive comfortably in the traffic. That comfort will allow a driver to take full advantage of drafting opportunities at a track that only rewards those who can do so."

EVENT FACTS:
Event Name: Aaron's 499
Race Length: 188-laps/500.08-miles
Track layout: 2.66-mile superspeedway; 33-degree banking in the corners
Green Flag: 2:00 p.m. (EDT) Saturday, April 27, 2008
Live Coverage: TV: FOX, 1:00 p.m. (EDT); Radio: MRN, SIRIUS Satellite Radio

TEAM CHEVY NEWS FROM DETROIT - PEPER PROMOTED: Effective June 1. Ed Peper is appointed North America Vice President, Chevrolet Channel. Peper is a 23-year GM veteran and has served as Chevrolet General Manager since April 2005. He has had numerous assignments in GM's field operations and central office, including general manager of GM's Northeast Region and vice president of sales for Saab Cars USA.

In his new role, Peper emerges as the lead executive for Chevrolet Racing and will closely oversee the continued growth and success of Team Chevy on-track.

TEAM CHEVY STREET BEAT: Help Chevy Help Autism: Autism Speaks and Chevrolet announced a month-long promotion to help generate up to $1 million for the non-profit organization and create greater awareness of autism, a disorder that is now diagnosed in one in every 150 children. During Autism Awareness Month, people who visit the Autism Speaks website, www.autismspeaks.org, can click on the “Help Chevy Help Autism” icon and take a free virtual test drive of the 2008 North American Car of the Year – the all-new Chevy Malibu. Chevrolet has committed to a minimum contribution of $500,000, but every virtual test drive taken gets Chevrolet closer to its goal of donating up to $1 million to Autism Speaks to support its mission of increasing awareness of autism and raising money to fund autism research. Those who participate in the virtual test drive will be offered a free 30-day online trial of XM Satellite Radio.

FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT:
JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 AT&T IMPALA SS, CURRENT NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES POINTS LEADER: “I’m always nervous to run at Talladega. You have to go into that race thinking that there is going to be a multi-car incident and how am I going to miss it. To me, it’s a stressful Sunday morning and once the race gets going, I calm down. But as the laps start winding down, the intensity level just goes through the roof. It’s unbelievable how you can feel it there more than any other race track. At every other race track, if you’re racing for the lead you might be racing with maybe two or three other guys. At Talladega, you’re contending with 30. When the intensity level increases for 30 people versus three, it changes the way you race.”

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DUPONT IMPALA SS, DEFENDING WINNER OF THE AARON'S 499: "I don't think a lot has changed since the last time we were at Talladega. We had an awesome, awesome day (last October), awesome race. Love to have the same result. Certainly any time we go to a restrictor track, and Talladega being one of the best ones out there for us, I always look forward to going there. I love coming here. I love racing with 10 (laps) to go and it’s wild and crazy like that. And I think the fans here get to see an awesome show.”