Chevrolet Unveils New Midget Racing Engine
Tony Stewart Racing to Introduce All-New Chevy Engine in USAC National Midget Car Series
Tony Stewart (second from left) stands with (l to r) Ed Keating of GM Racing Powertrain, Director of GM Racing Mark Kent, TSR driversTracy Hines and Levi Jones. (Photo by Ron McQueeney for General Motors) .
INDIANAPOLIS – Chevrolet's all-new Midget racing engine was unveiled today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by GM representatives and United States Auto Club (USAC) team owner Tony Stewart. Designed by GM Racing specifically for the USAC National Midget Car Series, the new purpose-built, four-cylinder Chevrolet racing engine will initially power Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers Tracy Hines and Levi Jones in upcoming events. The new Chevy Midget engine will be available to all USAC competitors through independent engine builders.
"One year ago, Chevrolet announced its sponsorship of Tony Stewart Racing in open-wheel competition," said Chevrolet general manager Ed Peper. "Now Chevrolet has taken the next step by creating an all-new racing engine for this popular grassroots racing series. Chevrolet races to win, and America's brand is aiming for more victories in this uniquely American form of motorsports."
The new methanol-burning 166ci (2.7-liter) Chevy Midget racing engine produces more than 350 horsepower. The lightweight, inline four-cylinder engine employs an aluminum block and cylinder head with two valves per cylinder. Per USAC rules, the Chevy Midget engine is equipped with mechanical fuel injection and utilizes an electronic ignition system.
“The Chevy Midget racing engine is definitely going to be an asset to Tony Stewart Racing," said team owner Tony Stewart. "Having the Chevrolet bowtie on the engine and not just on the side of the car as a sponsor is indicative of how much technical support the brand has given our program. In the past, we’ve competed with engines that were based on Chevy parts but weren't necessarily a Chevrolet engine. The Chevy Racing engineering and marketing staffs have really embraced the TSR racing programs, and the debut of this new engine is the start of another exciting new chapter in our relationship.”
Starting with a clean sheet of paper and a blank computer screen, GM Racing engineers developed a package that is a departure from the engines traditionally used in Midget racing. The new Chevy powerplant stands out from its competition with an innovative architecture that improves its combustion efficiency, enhances airflow and lowers the center of gravity. Advanced technical resources such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and solid 3-D modeling used to design GM production engines were also used to develop the Chevrolet Midget racing engine.
"The Chevrolet Midget racing engine represents another step in GM's continuous development of high-performance, high-rpm overhead-valve engines," said Tom Stephens, executive vice president, GM Global Powertrain and Global Quality. "Like the championship-winning Chevrolet R07 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the record-setting LS.7R small-block V-8 in the American Le Mans Series, the new Chevrolet Midget engine was designed and developed using many of the tools and technologies GM engineers employ to create exceptional production engines like the new 638-horsepower LS9 small-block V-8."
The major components that define the Chevrolet Midget engine package – the cylinder block, cylinder head and certain ancillaries – will be available to all USAC competitors. Independent engine builders can then assemble Chevy Midget engines using internal components from their preferred suppliers. Kistler Racing Engines of Fremont, Ohio, supplies the Chevy engines that power the two TSR entries.
"Many of the aftermarket engines currently racing in the Midget series are based on the four-cylinder Chevy II engine produced in the '60s," explained GM Racing director Mark Kent. "Others are essentially one bank of a conventional V-8 engine. We took a different approach to bring innovative technology to the series while respecting a racing heritage that reaches back to the '30s. We've also incorporated lessons learned in designing and developing race-winning engines for NASCAR, ALMS and NHRA competition. By harnessing GM's technical resources to create a brand-new Midget racing engine, we're putting more Chevy into the cars that wear bowties on the race track."
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Anderson Carries O’Reilly POWRi National Midget Point Lead into Second Weekend of Action
Belleville native leads point standings after winning 2008 opener, his third career
MILLSTADT, Ill. (May 4, 2008) – Belleville, Ill. native Brett Anderson knows it’s early in the 2008 O’Reilly POWRi National Midget Series season, but he carries the most momentum heading into the second and third rounds of competition this weekend.
Having won the season opener at Macon (Ill.) Speedway on April 26, Anderson leads the point standings by 20 over Gary “Bubba” Altig and Davey Ray heading into Friday’s race at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill. The series races in conjunction with the World of Outlaws before heading to Belle-Clair Speedway for Saturday’s race. POWRi’s Micro-Sprint division will also be in action Saturday.
Anderson won at both venues last season – his first and second career POWRi victories – and hopes to extend his point lead over Altig and Ray. Anderson win at Macon came after he passed Altig with 13 laps remaining.
Both Tri-City Speedway and Belle-Clair are strong supporters on the 2008 POWRi schedule. Tri-City hosts six POWRi events this season, including the season-ending Gold Crown Midget Nationals, while Belle-Clair hosts the series five times this season.
Danny Stratton and Zach Daum, who finished fourth and fifth respectively at Macon, are tied for fourth in points with 160. Defending series champion Brad Loyet has five POWRi victories at Belle-Clair, including three in 2007, and is looking to get back on track after finishing 11th at Macon. Loyet is seventh in series points.
The POWRi Micro-Sprint division will also be on hand at Belle-Clair on Saturday night. Eric Edwards won the Macon race and leads the standings by 30 points over Ryan Guyett and Tony Roney. Devon Piper and Ryan Frantz are fourth and fifth in Micro-Sprint points.
Tri-City Speedway practice will begin at 6:00pm, with racing to start immediately following hot laps and WOO qualifying. For ticket information on Tri-City Speedway, you can visit www.tricityspeedway.net.
Belle-Clair pit gates open at 1:00 PM and general admission opens at 4:00 PM. Hot laps begin at 6:00 PM with racing at 7:00 PM. General admission tickets are $12 each with kids 6 and under free. Stop by your local metro area O’Reilly Auto Parts Store to purchase your tickets and you’ll pay only $10.
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