Chevrolet Exec Dewar Says Company Remains Committed To NASCAR

Dewar Says Chevrolet Committed To NASCAR For Long Haul, But Has No Plans To Add Teams

Chevrolet VP/Global Operations Brent Dewar Saturday said that "despite having to renegotiate all of its NASCAR team and track contracts, his company will remain in NASCAR as long as there is an even enough playing field for Chevrolet to win races and, in turn, sell cars," according to Bob Pockrass of NASCAR SCENE. Dewar: "The Chevrolet brand is still committed to our racing series. ... We've been in it from the beginning, and we're in it for the long haul." He added NASCAR has tried "to not allow costs to creep into the sport that we've seen in other racing series that we've participated in where sometimes it gets too far ahead of you and the (return of investment) goes away." Dewar said that GM's "decrease in support impacted all the teams ... but wasn't the same for each team." Pockrass noted Chevy does not "plan on adding any more teams, although Dewar did say he likely would have some talks with non-Chevrolet people as part of the course of business in racing." Dewar: "We're probably going to be staying at the levels we currently are now." Dewar also discussed why Chevrolet did not want to bring the Camaro into the Nationwide Series, saying, "We have got some iconic designs in Corvettes and Camaros. We're really proud of that, and the more it gets away from that is the reason we're not going to race the Camaro. … We just think it's an important distinction. It's not a Camaro. It's a Chevrolet that we're racing in the series" (SCENEDAILY.com, 9/6).

INTERESTED IN DANICA: With IndyCar driver Danica Patrick reportedly planning to race in some Nationwide and Camping Truck series races beginning next year, ESPN's Ed Hinton noted sponsorship "is not going to be an issue" for Patrick. Hinton: "She is going to be an exception to the bad economy. ... Chevrolet is very interested in Danica. Whatever manufacturer in NASCAR signs Danica, that's going to be a huge branding boost for them" ("NASCAR Now," ESPN2, 9/6).