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Great Odds
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Chevy Monte Carlo Enters NHRA
Funny Car Competition
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By Jeff Romack, Photos by Brian Wood, GM Racing |
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Since the inception of the National Hot
Rod Association in 1951, Chevrolet has built a rich tradition and
winning legacy unmatched by any manufacturer in the history of the
sport. With the entry of Monte Carlo onto the high-profile stage
of professional Funny Car competition in 2004, Chevy and GM Racing
have reestablished the red bow tie's commitment to excellence in
the nitro drag racing category and continued the American Revolution
that is uniquely Chevrolet.
"We simply have a passion for racing at Chevrolet," said
Jim Campbell, Marketing Director for Monte Carlo. "If you look
at Chevrolet, our co-founder, Louis Chevrolet, was a terrific engineer,
but his real love was racing. We are clearly a leader in motorsports,
whether it be in the American Le Mans Series with the Corvette C5-R,
the Indy Racing League with the Chevy Indy V-8 or the Chevy Cavalier
in NHRA Pro Stock. Chevrolet has already established a rich legacy
in NASCAR with more than 400 Nextel Cup wins and 23 manufacturer's
championships in the modern era (1972 - present), and we look for
that success to continue with the Monte Carlo Funny Car in NHRA
Drag Racing." 
"A Funny Car body has to make a tremendous amount of downforce," explained Terry Laise, GM Racing aerodynamicist and Monte Carlo project engineer. "The nitromethane engines create an enormous amount of horsepower, so you've got to have enough downforce to apply it all to the track. As the speed of the car increases, you produce more traction by taking advantage of the ambient air. You also need enough front downforce so that the driver can steer the car down the track. Obviously, you don't want any more drag than necessary, but with the amount of power that is created, drag does not become a primary factor when designing the car.
"The Funny Car is so reshaped that you could probably make
a pretty good one out of most production cars. But we wanted our
Funny Car to actually look like a Monte Carlo. We've managed to
develop a racecar that looks a great deal like a Chevrolet Monte
Carlo but performs better than the cars we've raced in the past."
Working with Don Prudhomme's Snake Racing Funny Car team, extensive
research was conducted at the GM Aero Lab in Warren, Michigan, and
demonstrated to the delight of GM Racing engineers that the five-year-old
molds (the oldest in Funny Car competition) for both the Firebird
and the Camaro templates were still very competitive.
For example, the actual measurements of the Camaro and the Firebird
fell far short of the maximum dimensions allowed by the NHRA technical
department. The 2004 Monte Carlo has been constructed to take advantage
of these rules. The Camaro and the Firebird were also notably light
on the front, creating a slight front-to-rear balance deficit which
at times made the cars difficult to drive. The 2004 Monte Carlo
addresses these shortcomings, and with its new shape and overall
balance, a significant amount of aerodynamic efficiency has been
established without a great deal of additional drag.
"The nice thing is that the Camaro was an outstanding reference
point when we began building the Monte Carlo," said Josh Peterson,
GM Racing program manager. "You want to have downforce, but
you want to have a nice balance from front to rear on the car. You
want to have some adjustment built in so that the driver feels comfortable
steering the car. Every driver has a preference on how much front
downforce they like. Some drivers like it light, and some like it
heavy so that they know when they turn the wheel the car turns.
Obviously, you want to offset that with rear balance so that it
coincides with each crew chief's clutch setups on the car. Drag
is also an important point to consider, but not nearly as important
as getting the front and rear balance and overall downforce established
on the car.
"I think the biggest area we've been able to play with is the greenhouse. Since we designed the 1999 Camaro, the NHRA has mandated a maximum height where we were able to take advantage of the production Monte Carlo's roof shape. We brought it down by a small amount and tucked it in a little bit. That will improve the air flow over the driver's compartment all the way back to the box. We also shortened the overall length of the car by eight inches and ended up constructing the greenhouse to match the overall shape of the production car."
GM Racing engineers are also proud to point out new safety features
incorporated into the 2004 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. GM Racing's dedicated
safety research program actively seeks to improve safety in all
motorsports series. GM personnel and facilities have been instrumental
in the testing and validation of safety enhancements such as crash
data recorders, head and neck protection, rear impact attenuators,
seats and seat belts, and wheel restraints.
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