Penske Tests 2012 Chevrolet IndyCar Engine Package - Engine Builder Magazine

Penske Tests 2012 Chevrolet IndyCar Engine Package

Below is the article that appeared on SPEED.com.

Chevrolet Pleased With Initial Engine Test

by Marshall Pruett

September 29, 2011

As IndyCar, Honda, Bryan Herta Autosport and driver Dan Wheldon concluded its official testing program for the 2012 Indy car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week, another engine manufacturer was beginning its testing program 40 miles away at the Putnam Park road course.

Chevrolet, with support from its anchor team, Team Penske, its engine builder, Ilmor Engineering, its competition partners at Pratt & Miller and championship leader Will Power behind the wheel, used the 1.78 mile, 10-turn road course to do a shakedown of its Chevy-powered Dallara chassis.

"I was not there, but the feedback I got was that it was a good test," GM Racing Director Mark Kent told SPEED.com on Thursday. "It was really just a test to make sure the car was ready to go to do its first proper test at Mid-Ohio. The intent was not to run a lot of laps, which we didn’t, but we learned a few things and now we’ll get ready for the next test. It was a positive outing for our first time on track."

With the trip to Putnam Park serving as a pre-test–done to ensure the car and engine would be ready for a more rigorous test on the rolling 2.2-mile Mid-Ohio circuit, Kent says GM’s IndyCar test team has plans for a more aggressive approach starting at its second test.

"We have to be somewhat cautious at this point because we only have one car, so we’re going to be cautious but somewhat aggressive. We need to learn as much as possible between now and December 15th (when the window for open testing for engine manufacturers comes to a close) and we’re continuing to develop a test plan that allows us to ramp up our performance in the amount of time we have to work with."

Running approximately 10 laps was all Power got the chance to do at Putnam, but he left the track impressed with the overall organization and resources that have been dedicated to the program.

To read the entire article on SPEED.com website, visit http://ow.ly/6JyrX.

You May Also Like

NMRA/NMCA Announce Augustine Herrera as National Tech Director

ProMedia Events and Publishing, the parent company of the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals and NMCA Muscle Car Nationals, has announced Augustine Herrera as the new NMRA/NMCA National Tech Director. His duties include overseeing fair competition in both drag racing series and leading the on-site tech staff at all national events.  “Augustine joined our team in

ProMedia Events and Publishing, the parent company of the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals and NMCA Muscle Car Nationals, has announced Augustine Herrera as the new NMRA/NMCA National Tech Director. His duties include overseeing fair competition in both drag racing series and leading the on-site tech staff at all national events. 

Shop Solutions November 2021

Check out these Shop Solutions from builders across the country!

Cam Center
Holley Classic Truck Battery Tray and Hold Down

Holley Classic Trucks can battery trays for 1981-1987 C/K Series trucks and Blazer/Jimmy/Suburban manufactured to precisely mimic the factory look with all of the original holes and contours. Related Articles – Rocker Arm Tech – Part 1 – Automotive Specialty-Equipment Retail Sales Reach New High – Rebuilders Choice Made from heavy-gauge steel and EDP coated

Holley Battery Tray
Rocker Arm Tech – Part 1

In this episode of Steve Tech, Steve Morris breaks down the fundamentals of rocker arms, rocker arm stands and valvetrain rocker arm geometry. Class is in session! Related Articles – The SCAT Story – Numbers Don’t Tell The Whole Story – Performance Rocker Arms

Automotive Specialty-Equipment Retail Sales Reach New High

Despite what occurred throughout 2020, the specialty-equipment industry showed resilience with industry retail sales climbing from $46.2 billion to a new high of $47.89 billion in the U.S., according to the new 2021 SEMA Market Report. Related Articles – Future of Engine Building: Converting the Masses – Future of Engine Building: The Road Ahead for

Other Posts

COMP Performance Group Announces Plans for 2013 Power Tour

The Power Tour is considered one of the biggest and best road trips in the nation for performance enthusiasts. A variety of special events are scheduled throughout the week, including a highly anticipated cruise night in downtown Memphis (home of CPG) on the Tuesday, June 4. Related Articles – New AETC Website Debuts – PRW

New AETC Website Debuts

Each year AETCbrings together engine builders, racers, engineers and media members from around the world to exchange information on the day’s most popular engine-building topics. In an effort to make information about the conference even more accessible, AETChas recently launched an updated, easy-to-navigate website. Related Articles – Eaton Sponsors Western Michigan University Student Race Car

PRW Opens New Corporate Office and Warehouse Distribution Center

The PRW warehouse distribution center and corporate headquarters in now located in Perris, California. In addition to being designed to maximize storage and order shipping, the facility has an abundance of office space that houses the sales, management and support teams, an employee break room, conference rooms, and a larger engineering and product development department.

Melling, Dura-Bond Consolidate Sales and Marketing Efforts

Charles Barnett, vice president of sales and marketing at Dura-Bond Bearing Co., will be heading up the consoliated efforts between Dura-Bond and Melling. Barnett has been a long-term employee at the company as president prior to the Melling purchase several years ago. He also had a career with ACDelco/General Motors and previously served as general sales