10-02-2006: Team Cobalt Looks to Win First Grand-Am Cup Series Championship for Chevrolet
Source: GM Media


Chevy Locked in Tight Battle atop Standings after Finishing Third in 2005 Rookie Season

WARREN, Mich. - Team Cobalt began the 2006 Grand-Am Cup Series season with the goal of winning Chevrolet's first Street Tuner class Manufacturer's Championship, and heading into the final race of the season next weekend at Virginia International Raceway, the goal is still within reach.

Powered by five Chevy Cobalt SS Supercharged race cars and supported by GM Performance Division's experienced team of race engineers, Team Cobalt will look to finish as far ahead of the competition from Acura and BMW as possible during the six hours of racing on Sunday, Oct. 8 to secure Chevrolet's first title in the Series.

"The math is fairly simple," said GM Performance Division's Ken Wasmer, whose engineering team provides technical support for all Cobalt SS Supercharged entrants in the Grand-Am Cup Series. "If a Cobalt SS Supercharged wins the race, Chevrolet wins the Manufacturer's Championship."

With five wins on the season going into the 2006 finale, Chevy is locked in a fierce battle atop the Manufacturer's points standings, trailing by only two points.

Drivers Jamie Holtom and Eric Curran have led the pack for Team Cobalt in 2006 with four wins in the #01 Georgian Bay Motorsports/ClearSCADA Cobalt, and will look to duplicate their season-opening victory at VIR this past April.

In addition to Curran and Holtom, the #00 Georgian Bay/SCADAPack Cobalt will be driven by Jamie's father, Jim, and Daniel Colembie. They've finished on the podium once this year, and Colembie has qualified on the pole. There will also be a third #0 car piloted by Bo Roach and Tom Lepper.

Team Cobalt California's two cars will be driven by VJ Mirzayan and John Trefethen, and by Aaron Povoledo and team newcomer Christopher Zakin. Povoledo and Brian O'Shaugnessey earned the Manufacturer's points for Chevy at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah on Sep. 2 with a ninth place finish.

Team Cobalt California will have some additional pit crew assistance on race day as several members, volunteers and parents of Special Olympics Virginia - Halifax County Program will help prepare the team's two racecars and then join them at the finish line.

Powell Motorsport has also contributed to Chevy's position in the 2006 points standings with a win by Marc-Antoine Camirand and Dave Thilenius at Trois-Rivières on Aug. 6.

"Team Cobalt has great depth and a number of talented drivers in its ranks, and when you combine that with solid car preparation by all our teams and excellent pit stop strategy, we're hard to beat," added Wasmer. "There were 33 cars from nine manufacturers here in April and we expect even more for this race, so our preparation and strategy will be crucial."

The GM Performance Division offers all Cobalt SS Supercharged entrants a contingency program along with the engineering technical support currently provided at every Grand-Am Cup race. The program awards contingency money for every Top Five finish: $5,000 for a win, $3,000 for second, $2,000 for third, $1,000 for fourth and $500 for fifth place.

Engineered by GM Performance Division, the Cobalt SS Supercharged is the most powerful and agile of the model line, with a suspension developed on Germany's famed Nurburgring race track and a 2.0-liter ECOTEC Supercharged engine named among the industry's 10-Best Engines for 2006 by the editors of Ward's Communications.

GM Performance Division develops compelling, low volume, high-performance production and specialty vehicles, including the 205 hp Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged, 395 hp Chevy Trailblazer SS and 400hp Chevy SSR; the 400 hp CTS-V, 469 hp STS-V and 443 hp XLR-V from the Cadillac V-Series; and the 205 hp Saturn ION Red Line.