Cat unveils 2013 Sprint Cup car
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 05 December 2012 12:54
- Written by Paul Gordon
Driver Jeff Burton and team owner Richard Childress show the 2013 Chevrolet SS at Cat Visitors Center
NASCAR racing team owners are still awaiting word on what the final rules package will be for the 2013 season, which begins in February in Dayton.
But some are showing off prototypes of their new car, including the Richard Childress team, owner of the No. 31 Caterpillar sponsored car driven by Jeff Burton.
Burton and Childress unveiled the new car, a Chevrolet SS with new aerodynamics and an enhanced safety package, during a stop Wednesday at the Caterpillar Visitors Center.
The Caterpillar racing team is confident new NASCAR rules, which have yet to be announced, will make Sprint Cup racing a more even playing field in 2013, the driver and owner said Wednesday.
And they believe the 2013 Chevrolet SS bearing the Caterpillar logo next to the number 31 will be as competitive a stock car as they've driven.
A prototype of the new Cat car was unveiled Wednesday at the Caterpillar Visitors Center, with driver Jeff Burton and owner Richard Childress on hand to talk about it and sign autographs for NASCAR fans.
"The biggest thing new about the car would be the aerodynamics package," Childress said. "The previous car (which is on display at the Visitor's Center) has been a good car but we need one that is going to be more competitive. We think this could be it."
Burton noted that 2012 was a tough year for the Cat team. "It wasn't the car's fault. We didn't do a good enough job having it ready" under new NASCAR safety regulations put in place last year, he said.
The new rules, which ESPN reporter were distributed to racing teams on Tuesday will be step two and while it will still be a package built around safety, it should make it more even for all cars and drivers, Burton said. "We need to be on the same playing field as everybody else and the new rules, we hope, will put us there," he said.
"We're stepping back to what NASCAR is all about, which is making the races competitive and exciting for the spectators. NASCAR has been working exceptionally hard to make racing better. We have to make it more fun to watch, more exciting with more side-by-side racing.
"The fans deserve to go to any race track and see a great race. We're super excited about this," Burton said.
The Cat team will build 14 cars based on the new rules to replace the vehicle that has been in use for seven years. Childress said the new car will look more like a Chevrolet street car while safer for the drive than ever before, including additional roll bars inside. IT also will use renewable fuel.
Childress acknowledged there will be a time crunch to have the cars, which are manufactured in Australia, ready for Daytona in mid-February, the first race for new cars. "But if NASCAR does all it says it has been working on, it will be good for us and all of racing," he said.
Burton and Childress said they were impressed with the Caterpillar Visitors Center, which they were seeing for the first time on Wednesday. "I hope those who work at Caterpillar take pride in what they see here, like they do in their work," Burton said.
Also on hand Wednesday was the transport vehicle, a semi-trailer that holds two of the race cars as well as all the equipment. Tours were given of that vehicle as it was parked just outside the Visitors Center.
Burton, 45, has been racing the NASCAR circuit for 19 years and 21 wins and more than $81 million in winnings to his credit. The coming season, 2013, will be his fifth driving the Caterpillar car. He has yet to win driving the Caterpillar car and finished 19th in winnings in 2012.
He is the brother of Ward Burton, a previous driver for Caterpillar.
Wednesday was the only day the prototype Chevrolet SS was to be shown in Peoria.
Paul Gordon is editor of The Peorian. He can be reached at 692-7880 or editor@thepeorian.com
