Got the attached from our friend Ken Fengler at the Justin Bell GT Motorsports Experience in West Palm Beach, Florida........one of the official Chevrolet Driving Schools that have featured the Camaro SS, the Corvette Z51 Coupe and the Z06.
......The Camaro SS did us proud at both Justin Bell and Bragg-Smith.........and as much as it hurts to see a beloved car disappear from the market, I believe there is a bright future --not in the next year or so.....but in the future. ( 'nuff said about that....)
Those of you who know me well know that nothing seemed to make me happier than to take a Camaro SS around the track at Bragg-Smith -- at ridiculous (to some) speeds with the tail hanging out. It really made a point of how well our Camaro Guys and Gals put the 'right stuff' into the Camaro to make it one of the best handling automobiles ever.
People like Jim Perkins, Harry Turner, John Heinricy, Ted Robertson, Mel Richards, Norm Fugate, John Cafaro, Jerry Palmer, Jim Westby, Bill Vantiem, Art Spong, Cheryl Pilcher, Stacy Tucker, and manymanymany more within GM (and I know I've probably left some very important people out...but hey, the hour is late)--- and of course, we can't forget our friends at SLP Engineering such as Ed Hamburger and Jeff Yachnin and their great group of men and women.................
The REAL test was to see how well the Camaro would perform against the Corvette. We knew it would be good....we just perhaps did not realize HOW good......
On many occasions, I had the opportunity to watch owners of some very high priced 'imports' shake their heads in disbelief as they found the Camaro SS a real contender in terms of overall performance to cars costing 3 times as much. The tracks proved that point very clearly.
It made us proud to see just how durable the Camaros would be -- day in and day out-- on the tracks as thousands of students learned the 'art' of performance driving. I also think you'd be surprised to know how inexpensive it was to maintain the fleets of Camaros from day one......another testament to how inherently good these cars are..............
Ah well...................enough from me................on to Mr. Fengler's note:
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2003 MIAMI HOMESTEAD SPEEDWAY
DAY 3 THE JUSTIN BELL GT RACING SCHOOL
WHAT COULD BE BETTER, CRYSTAL CLEAR BLUE SKIES, 76 DEGREES IN MID FEBRUARY, I STAND IN PIT LANE OF THIS SPARKLING 55 MILLION DOLLAR RACING FACILITY STEWARDING A GROUP OF 20 STUDENTS LAPPING THE 2.25 MILE ROAD COURSE IN CAMAROS AND ZO6 CORVETTES.
THIS FINAL LAPPING SESSION HAS STUDENTS GRINNING WITH ACCOMPLISHMENT, SATISFACTION AND EXCITMENT. A CAMARO COMES DOWN PIT LANE, THE DRIVER GETS OUT GRINNING. AS HE PULLS OFF THE HELMET HE EXCLAIMS TO ME, "THAT CORVETTE GROUP DOES NOT RUN AWAY FROM THE CAMAROS TODAY KEN, NOT LIKE DAY ONE!"
YUP, THATS THE WAY IT ALWAYS GOES.
AFTER SOME TRAINING, PRACTICE, AND INTENSE COACHING THEY START TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO WORK WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE CAR BUT YET GET THE MOST OF WHAT CAR HAS TO OFFER.
BUT AS I WATCH THE CARS ACCELERATE OUT OF TURN 14 UP ON TO THE BANKING OF NASCAR 4, IT IS SAD TO THINK THAT IT IS ALMOST 2 YEARS TO THE DAY THAT A SHINY NEW FLEET OF CAMAROS AND CORVETTES SHOWED UP FOR OUR NEW CHEVROLET SPONSORED PRORAM.
THE INSTRUCTORS, STAFF AND STUDENTS WERE EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW CARS. WE ALL KNEW WHAT THE CORVETTES WOULD BE LIKE ON THE THE TRACK, BUT WE ALL WONDERED IF THE CAMAROS WOULD BE UP TO THE TASK.
OUR PROGRAM PUTS OVER 500 TRACK MILES ON EACH CAR OVER A THREE DAY PERIOD WITH A VARIETY OF DRIVING TALENT BEHIND THE WHEEL. BUT FROM THAT FIRST DAY IN JANUARY 2001 TO OUR LAST DAY FEBRUARY 13, 2003, THE CAMAROS HAVE NEVER DISAPPOINTED OR LET US DOWN.
OUR STAFF ENJOYED THE OPPORTUNITY TO TEACH THE FINER POINTS OF PERFORMANCE DRIVING IN THEM.
OUR CUSTOMERS APPRECIATED THE OPPORTUNITY TO DRIVE "AN OLD FASHION KICK IN THE PANTS--I HAVE TO DRIVE IT--NO EXCUSES--DRIVE AROUND THE RACE TRACK CAR!" THEY MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THE KING/QUEEN OF THE PROM, BUT THEY LOOKED GOOD AND WERE A HELL OF A LOT OF FUN!
SO OVER THE NEXT WEEK WE WILL SAY GOODBYE TO AN OLD FRIEND, REPLACED BY A SHINY NEW FLEET OF CORVETTE Z06'S AND COUPES.
----NOT SUCH A BAD DEAL--
BUT WE WILL ALL MISS THAT SS NAME BADGE ON PIT LANE.
--AND WE CAN ONLY DREAM OF WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN IF THE SPOTLIGHT OF THE CAR MAGAZINES AND AUTOSHOWS WERE SHINING ON THE NEXT GENERATION OF TWO OF THE STRONGEST BRAND IDENTITIES IN THE ENTHUSIASTS MARKET -- MUSTANG AND CAMARO
AND IN SOME WAYS IT WOULD HAVE FELT LIKE 1967 ALL OVER AGAIN.
KEN FENGLER, EVENT MANAGER, JUSTIN BELL MOTORSPORTS
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