Chevrolet's Ed Peper Discusses Brand's Success in NASCAR

[Ming]

GM discusses Chevrolet's success in NASCAR, business
By Ron Lemasters, NASCAR.COM

INDIANAPOLIS -- Ed Peper is sitting on top of the world.

As general manager of Chevrolet, Peper is presiding over a first-class rout of NASCAR's top division. Chevrolets, both the Monte Carlo SS and its COT counterpart Impala SS, have captured 16 of 20 races so far this season. Chevrolet drivers occupy 10 of the 12 spots in the Chase, if it were to start today.

The opposition? Ford has won three races and has two in the Chase as we speak, and Dodge has won once and has no drivers in the top 12. Toyota hasn't sniffed Victory Lane yet, and likely won't the rest of the season.

Peper, fresh off another Allstate 400 at the Brickyard triumph on Sunday, sat down to talk about the season, his teams and the business of NASCAR.

Q: Chevrolet has had a phenomenal year, as it always seems. What is the primary reason for that?

Peper: First of all, it's no secret that we have the best teams and the best drivers. When you have talent like we have out on the track, just really, really great racers ... We've got very good technology, as well. Our racing team, both from the technical side and certainly the marketing side, has done a very good job of pulling this thing together. All of those ingredients help to add to a winning solution for us.

Mostly, it's the drivers who go out there and get it done every week. They're the ones making it happen.

Q: But they have to have a piece to drive, and you provide that piece.

Peper: We do. I really think the technical side of the house, Mark Kent and the GM Racing team, countless other people that I'd like to mention, really have helped to provide these solutions for us. It's working very, very well, especially on the Car of Tomorrow.

Source: http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/busi...z.chevy.peper/

[ZvetteGuy]

This is the place where Chevrolet does not have any problems staying on top of the game...

[Mrbowtie]

Nascar is great and all but how does finishing first in a race translate to sales in the dealership.........it doesn't, look at the Monte Carlo.

I'm a huge fan of chevy racing, but what does chevy have that is desirable under 45K?

Young people would rather drive a Corolla S instead of a Cobalt SS and I don't see Nascar helping that at all.

[Ming]

Originally Posted by Mrbowtie

Young people would rather drive a Corolla S instead of a Cobalt SS and I don't see Nascar helping that at all.

I'll agree in that the Craftsman Truck Series seems much more suited to the target audience if you're trying to sell more than just the Chevrolet name.

They can still have Chevrolet is NASCAR, just targeted more effectively. What they're doing with the Impala is like using the Saturn Aura in Formula Drift competitions, or the Cadillac SRX in NHRA Drag Racing.

RWD, V8, Trucks, Silverado, Ram, F-150 and Tundra battling it out --- it fits the Southern NASCAR viewer's (and stoplight racer's) tastes far more than a Ford Fusion ultra fake V8 RWD car vs. a Camry or something.

I think GM should pull out of Chevrolet sponsorship of cars in everything NASCAR but the Craftsman truck series since GM is really only interested in selling the powerful image of its trucks these days anyway, and that's all your typical NASCAR fan cares about, too, it seems. Perfect match.

That doesn't mean Chevy can't sponsor a race or something, just avoid plastering Impala on a car that is not even remotely similar to an Impala.

Focus your dollars where they count and are the most likely to influence a sale, GM, isn't that what giving up the Olympic sponsorship is about?

Like you say, Mr. Bowtie, where is the attractive, muscular (RWD+V8) mainstream car that Chevy sells that is worthy of running under the typical NASCAR races? Answer: There isn't one, and no one is fooled. Put the money into the "trucks" where it seems the most appropriate. Tha'ts where I see the most NASCAR stickers anyway - on the rear or side rear window of pickup trucks.

But maybe what I'm saying simply makes too much sense, and GM has to keep blindly pumping money into NASCAR Impalas and Ford into NASCAR Fusions in the hopes of selling more of their oh-so-race-worthy FWD family cars.

[Chevy Ryan]

The problem with only marketing in the truck series is that it only has about one-tenth of the exposure and viewership of the Nextel Cup series. I don't think Chevy races in NASCAR so much to sell Impalas, but just to get exposure to its 75 million fans. NASCAR fans are the most brand-loyal of any sports fan, so if you can get in their head, you may have a customer for a long time. The last NASCAR race I went to in Chicago, I spent three days at the track with 75,000 other people. In all that time, I saw a grand total of two imports in the parking lot; a Volvo and a Mercedes. That says a lot about the type of person Chevy is marketing to.

[megan]

Next year, Gibbs goes to Toyota. We'll see how much loyalty Tony Stewart has to Chevy. My guess is he will be bragging about his Toyota, if he reaches victory lane next year.

[likearock00]

[TahoeMikeZ71]

Ed Peper couldn't be happier with NASCAR!

[bowtie]

Gm Should Do Everything It Can To Keep Gibbs