GM Tuner Source Blog

Whitfield Racing – Chevy Aveo in Super Street Magazine

Andy Williamson — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:35:31 -0500

Super Street Magazine has been following the build inside Whitfield Racing’s garage and has been covering it in the pages of Super Street. The new August issue of Super Street Magazine covers the final build of the Chevy Aveo, and they did an amazing job with it. The story the whole way through the buildup has been really good, and this one ends great!

Make sure to run out to your local newsstand and pick up the latest issue of Super Street Magazine. Trust us, you will not be disappointed!

And be sure to check out the full collection of Aveo Super Street images at the GM Tuner Source Flickr stream.

Bryan Jimenez wins Pro Import; Dai Yoshihara Runner Up in Drift at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Carmen Smith — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:31:47 -0500

Dai Yoshihara, piloting the Pontiac GTO Drift, battled to second place in Formula Drift for the weekend. Dai has been delivering consistent, error-free runs throughout this drift season and has come close to a podium finish several times. This time he gets it – well deserved.

The two Pontiac Solstice GXP competitors Rhys Millen (pictured right) and Ryan Tuerck put down some amazing runs over the course of the weekend. Ryan, in the new, production-based Mobil1 Solstice GXP, showed off his impressive driving skills by executing great drift runs but was not at the favor of the judges this weekend. Rhys Millen, whose driving skills are unquestionable, met with a mechanical issue that sent his Red Bull Solstice into the wall during the Great 8 round. Both drivers are sure to be back with a vengeance on Formula Drift Round 5 near Seattle Washington.

Click here to view event pictures on Flickr, or jump over to the galleries on www.wreckedmagazine.com.

Get Involved In Grand-Am Online

Corey Mullane — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:32:17 -0500

As an added bonus Grand-Am has integrated an expanded multimedia gallery that will allow users to post all their favorite pictures and videos for other fans to watch. Grand-Am staff will also be putting together contests based on the best user-rated content for ticket and merchandise giveaways.

To check out the new site and get in on the action go to out www.grand-am.com.

GM Drops the Shades at HIN Night Shift in NY

Adam Dettloff and Corey Mullane — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:25:39 -0500

The Night Shift events add a completely different element to the HIN scene and the GM Tuner Tour thrives in the wide open spaces, allowing attendee’s unfettered access to all of the GM Tuner Tour vehicles and the ability for enthusiasts to check out all the cars features in detail. With all the extra space available the GM Tuner Tour was able to break out the VIP Studio which had on display the gorgeous Pontiac Solstice SD290. If you haven’t seen this Solstice in person you’re missing out, as this custom one-seater roadster is a sight to behold. Enjoy the pics from the show!

ECOtec VIP Owners Meet at Mid-Ohio Sports Course

Corey Mullane — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:36:39 -0500

The Georgian Bay Motorsports team had a special treat planned for the VIP guests and had set up a display with various carbon fiber parts they use on the track and had the stock parts next to them so the owners could see the weight difference between the two parts. They didn’t leave it at that though; the GBM team also performed a full pit stop for the owners, complete with a driver change, so the owners could see exactly what goes on during the change.

For an even closer look at the KONI Challenge Series Cobalt’s we headed on over to the Predator Auto Sport pit. At the Predator pit, the team lifted their Cobalt five feet into the air so the owners could see all the under workings of the race car, including the carbon fiber brake cooling ducts!

After all the excitement we headed back to the VIP area where everyone was treated to a catered lunch and even the Cobalt drivers stopped by to get some food and sit down with owners and talk to them. Inside of the VIP area we set up 4 Turbocharged SS vehicles, including a ‘09 Cobalt SS Coupe, with the new reconfigurable display (More on this display here soon - keep your eyes open for a post here on it.), along with 2 ‘09 Cobalt SS Sedans and an ‘08 HHR SS. We even left the keys in the cars so all the owners could rev them up and get a feeling of new LNF turbocharged engine!

We like to take care of our owners and give them the opportunity to experience things they never would have the chance to, so we organized a little something special for the most hardcore of our VIP guests. We rewarded the first 24 ECOtec owners that showed up with the opportunity to be official Grand Marshals and set up the starting grid for the race. Each owner got a row number and paraded onto the track to set up the grid. As the track officials started the race our VIP owners were up right there next to the KONI Challenge cars as they zoomed by ready to tackle the Mid Ohio Sports Course.

Overall it was a great day had by all and we can’t thank our owners enough for their enthusiasm throughout the entire day. We had an excellent response from all of our owners with over 42 cars in the group that turned out. We are definitely going to have more of these events. Keep tuned to www.GMTunerSource.com for more information on that.

Enjoy the pics!

Mid-Ohio Sports Course VIP ECOtec Owners Meet

Corey Mullane — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:53:53 -0500

Sunday, June 22

Morning

8:00    Track opens for VIP ECOtec Roll In
9:00          Final Practice - KONI Challenge ST
9:30            End of VIP ECOtec Roll In - Owners must be in place by this time     9:40          On-Track Activities
10:00         Cobalt team paddock tours
10:00         KONI Series Drivers Autograph Session (Honda Pavilion)                      10:35         Start - Formula BMW Race
11:00        Guest welcome, Cobalt driver/team intros - Chevy hospitality area      11:00          Cobalt team paddock tours (if needed)
11:30          Lunch - Chevy hospitality

Afternoon

12:30 Recon Laps - KONI Challenge ST
12:45 START - KONI Challenge ST race (2 1/2 Hour Time Limit) 3: 45 START - Formula BMW Race

Rhys Millen on Podium Again at Formula Drift Englishtown

Carmen Smith — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:39:00 -0500

After three events, Pontiac is well represented at the top of the Formula Drift championship points ladder. Dai Yoshihara and his Pontiac GTO drift in 4th, Ryan Tuerck and the Gardella Racing Solstice GXP Drift in 6th, and Rhys Millen and the Red Bull Solstice GXP Drift in 7th. Four events remain in the 2008 season. Next up is ‘The Oven’ (yes, I just made that up) Formula Drift Las Vegas on July 12th.

Check out pictures from Englishtown at Flickr.

Three-Time Pro Front-Wheel-Drive Champ Jason Hunt Bringing the Matco Tools Chevy Cobalt to IHRA’s President’s Cup

Will Stewart — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:07:33 -0500

Hunt has never raced the Matco Tools Chevy Cobalt on a handicap tree before, so qualifying will be a little bit of a learning curve. They will also be competing with limited electronics keeping the car legal for their next race.

“We will be happy to even qualify. The field will be large and fast, hopefully we can fall somewhere in the middle. I can’t wait to mix it up next to the rear wheel drive cars. I think some of the other competitors will be surprised at what 130 cubic inches can actually do.” informed Hunt.

The Matco Tools Pro Front Wheel Drive Chevy Cobalt is a Roush built all-tube chassis race car, with the big Mickey Thompson’s on the front, a Borg Warner Air Werks turbo, NGK spark plugs, MSD Ignition system and 1600 horsepower General Motors ECOtec engine.

Team Blog: www.myspace.com/matcotoolsracing
Contact: matcotoolspfwd@yahoo.com

Cobalt dominates KONI Challenge

Andy Williamson and Corey Mullane — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:25:00 -0500

Georgian Bay operates one of the best Cobalt-based road race teams out there and currently their two best drivers, Jaime Holtom and Eric Curran, are running a gambit in the points race, while the Georgian Bay team heads the points chase in the Team standings. It’s always fun to watch Chevy show Acura, BMW and Honda, who’s boss in the Engine Manufacturer points race.

Check out photos from Jaime and Eric's winning performances at last weekend's KONI Challenge event at Lime Rock.

Make sure to come out to the Ohio Koni Challenge event on June 22^nd. We are hosting a GM ECOtec VIP Meet for owners on Sunday, to help cheer on our top teams! See you out there!

Free Chevy Cobalt VIP Enthusiast Meet - Ohio

Andy Williamson — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:00:00 -0500

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
7721 Steam Corners Road
Lexington, OH 44904

Sunday, June 22th
9:00am – 4:00pm

Register quickly because SPACE IS LIMITED and we need to send out the tickets in time for the event!

What is included:

VIP Parking
(2) General Admission Tickets
Private Tech Talk with GM Engineers/Teams
Full Catered Lunch
Goodie Bags

What is the cost?

There is no cost. It's FREE!

What you need to do to get in on this?

Be able to bring your Cobalt (or other ECOtec powered vehicle)
Make sure you can go on Sunday June 22nd
Have the urge to have a great time
Respond quickly! Registration ends , June 16th at 3:00pm (eastern)

ITINERARY
To be posted.

The agenda and activities are work in progress, so please note that these items are subject to change. Please check back for updates!

Also, EXLUSIVE opportunity for those that attend this event…

GM is planning a VERY limited space Lordstown Assembly Plant Tour, and everyone that attends this event will have first dibs on the tickets to go to the plant and get the experience of seeing a 2008 Cobalt SS being built from beginning to end! This is an EXTREMELY VIP opportunity and the first 50 cars to attend the Mid Ohio Sports Course KONI Challenge race will be eligible to receive tickets to this upcoming event. To clarify, in order to be eligible to attend the Lordstown Plant tour you must register AND ATTEND the Mid Ohio Sports Course KONI Challenge. At the race we will take first come first serve registrations for the Lordstown Plan Tour.

Send an email to corey@theoryconcept.com or call 954.428.1800 with your name, mailing address (no PO Boxes), telephone number, and email address. You will receive a package the week of June 18-20 containing maps to the event, (2) tickets to the event, and (2) access passes.

Tuner Tour Goes Big In Columbus!

Andy Williamson, Corey Mullane and Adam Dettloff — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:58:17 -0500

Of course, the Tour staples where on hand like the Pontiac Solstice SD290 and Jason Whitfield LSJ Aveo, were on display and garnished the majority of attention as usual. If you haven’t gotten a chance to check out these cars at a Tuner Tour stop near you, make sure you do because both of these vehicles you have to see to believe. We know a lot of guys like the go-fast cars more than show cars and the Columbus show had you covered there with the new “terror of the streets” 2008 Chevy Cobalt SS Turbo on display for fans to check out. These bad boys are at your dealer now for you to see in person, but if you’d rather check them out in an informal and comfortable setting and ask some questions to guys that actually know the guts of the car, come by any of the GM Tuner Tour events and ask away! Enjoy the pics from the show!

Super Street Features Whitfield Racing’s LSJ Aveo

Andy Williamson and Corey Mullane — Thu, 29 May 2008 08:33:03 -0500

Grand-Am Cobalt Conquers at Lime Rock

Andy Williamson and Corey Mullane — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:42:31 -0500

It’s a big accomplishment to qualify with pole position and then come away winning the race and it goes to show how determined the Georgian Bay Team is and how good the 2008 Cobalt SS is at carving out a track. Once again Congratulations to all the guys.

Check out more on the Koni Challenge Series and see photos from the event.

Bruno Massel wins Division 5 Comp Eliminator

Carmen Smith — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:33:23 -0500

Congratulations to Bruno Massel Racing for snagging your spot in ECOtec history.

For NHRA coverage of the race event, click here. For a photo of the WyoTech Chevy Cobalt in Brainerd, click here.

2008 Cobalt SS Turbocharged Impresses Modified Magazine

Andy Williamson and Corey Mullane — Fri, 23 May 2008 10:38:16 -0500