Set to replace the outgoing Chevrolet SS which ceased production earlier this year, the Camaro ZL1 will be carrying the automaker’s colors in NASCAR’s 2018 Monster Energy Cup Series. The race car was unveiled today at General Motor’s headquarters in Detroit by Mark Reuss, executive vice president of GM Global Product Development and 7-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, who drives the Lowe’s Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. In addition to members of the Hendrick organization, representatives of other Chevy teams including Richard Childress Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, Germain Racing, JTG Daugherty Racing and Leavine Family Racing also were on hand.
Also: Get your first look at the new and redesigned cars of 2018
“Chevrolet, Camaro and ZL1 are all synonymous with winning, both on and off the track,” said Reuss. “We are thrilled to run Camaro in NASCAR next year, with the time-honored and track-tested ZL1 badge, and we’re just as excited for our drivers, teams, fans and customers.”
Also: See the 12 Kelley Blue Book Best Buys of 2017
To ensure this new Camaro will be as competitive as its SS predecessor when it takes to the track next February in Daytona, Chevy’s race engineers dug deep into their bag of tricks to optimize its aerodynamics while still maintaining much of the car’s original design flair. Key to those efforts was the extensive use of computational fluid dynamics analysis as well as wind-tunnel testing with various partial- and full-scale models. As for the number “8” prominently displayed on the doors of this NASCAR-spec Camaro ZL1, it pays homage to the number favored by Chevrolet co-founder Louis Chevrolet, who also successfully designed and drove a variety of racing cars from 1905-1920.
More Chevrolet News:
2018 Chevrolet Equinox: Video Review and Road Test
