Saturday, June 4, 2011

Chevy pleased with engine dyno results

   Tony Stewart may believe everyone is “bringing a knife to a gun fight right now” when it comes to competing with Ford engines, but that is not necessarily the view of Chevrolet officials.

   “I have seen the (chassis) dyno numbers and we are pleased with them,” said Alba Colon, the GM Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup series program manager.

   “We have seen the numbers. We have discussed the numbers with our teams. I am pleased so far; we just have to keep working on it.”

     NASCAR tested engines from each manufacturer following last month’s race at Dover, Del., on its chassis dynamometer, which measures rear-wheel horsepower.

    Colon pointed out in the 12 Cup races so far this season, Chevrolet drivers had won six races and five poles. “We want to win them all but we are constantly working on our parts - us and the teams,” she said. "We are constantly looking to get better.”

    On Friday, Stewart was asked how engines at Stewart-Haas Racing (which come from Hendrick Motorsports) stack up with those from Ford.

    “I think Ford definitely has an advantage right now over the whole field,” Stewart said. “They’ve been working on this motor for a long time and we’re still on about a six-year old model.”

     Ford was the last to complete an upgrade to its engine, which debuted in the Cup series last season.