My TMS Mediagraphy

Magnethead · Nov 10, 2009

I'll update the thread as I get stuff uploaded to the website. All images are about 1920x1080 pixels or greater.

Last weekend at Texas, I worked my longest and most diligent weekend of the year, shooting over 1200 images, 70 videos, writing 3 race reports, and recording over 10 interviews. Below is a sampling of my imagery, there are hundreds more that have not been uploaded (If you would like an image, email [email protected]). However, due to equipment issues, the audio-only interviews have not been digitized and uploaded yet.

Among my hectic schedule, I took an hour out of his schedule (actually, it was compressed and injected into a whitespace in his schedule) to join Chevy Racing Marketing Manager Terry Dolan, fellow reporter Austin Kilgore, and Chevy Represenative Nancy Wager at the Chevrolet Ride and Drive event, which took place at TMS' Bus Lot on Saturday, November 7, before the Nationwide Race. While there, he was schooled on Chevrolet's Racing and Marketing Relationship, and why Chevy chose not to run a Camaro in the Retro-themed Nationwide Series. The Interview is avaliable below (254 MB, 30 minutes), and a shorter and more internet-friendly version will be avaliable soon. Dolan said that because of the stringent template requirements of the Nationwide COT, it was practically impossible to form the Camaro's design into the templates, without sacrificing the stance and attitude of the street car.

Following this interview, I took the V8 Camaro and the Silverado Hybrid through a cone course to see just how nimble the car and truck handled.

Of course, both understeered- horribly. Yes, this may be something that is put in for safety use, but it makes a cone course pretty much, for lack of better phrase, as entertaining as watching any given ESPN broadcast of a NASCAR race that has Jimmie Johnson in it.
The multiple tight turns of the course were a challenge in the Camaro with the paddle shifters. It was difficult to downshift from second to first gear while un-steering to accelerate down the straightway, so I would definitely say I prefer the shifter-based manual mode than the paddle-based in tight racing, as this could be marginal in drag racing, where you need both hands on the wheel to hold the car stable in the lane, or in road racing, where you would obviously want a much quicker steering box. To make an approximately 200 degree turn, I had to rotate the steering wheel more than 1.5 rotations, which I suppose would be about on-par for a street car. The cone course just was not optimally designed for a car of that performance level, with such a slow steering box. However, the body roll was minimal, and I did keep the tires just on the verge of squealing, meaning the suspension itself is fairly well tuned for the car at street speeds. Since I didn’t reach any good speeds, or take it out on the street, I can’t say how well the suspension is performance tuned or absorbs undulations in pavement.
At the polar opposite end of the spectrum, was the Silverado Hybrid. The gas engine sits at idle until 30 MPH, and I had to ask the attendant if it was even running. The interior is very car-like, something I’m not so comfortable with, yet has plenty of room and comfort (at least, the demo model’s trim level was comfortable). Considering the truck’s high center of gravity, the understeer wasn’t as apparent as it was in the Camaro, and because of the slow speed of the course, I’m not so sure that I even exceeded the 30 MPH engagement speed of the gasoline motor. In my opinion, the course was easier in the truck than the car, because the truck didn’t accelerate as fast, requiring less braking. Also, it seemed as though it took less steering input to make the same corner which I struggled with in the Camaro, though I’m thinking this was a result of the slower attack speed, allowing a slower steering speed. Again, I didn’t get to hit any speeds or take it on the road, so I can’t give a great review.
In conclusion, I feel that the course held the Camaro back from its capability and I was slightly disappointed, while the truck met all of my expectations, given the conditions. While I think I could give a better review if I was given a chance to drive them on the street, I was content with the 3 minutes I got with the vehicles. On a final note, the cup holders in both vehicles work very well- my half-full Powerade drink never moved in either vehicle.
After the Ride and Drive, the group went up to the Chevy display outside gate 6, where Terry Dolan then detailed more marketing details, and the group listened as a narrator described the many features of the Chevy Volt. The Volt is a vehicle primarily powered by an electrical motor whose battery holds a 40 mile capacity, and once the battery becomes discharged, a gasoline engine engages to recharge the battery while propelling the vehicle for another 200 mile driving range.

Thursday Images:

http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/445.jpg (#16 truck)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/446.jpg (#16, #6 truck)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/447.jpg (#87, #88 truck)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/448.jpg (#48 truck)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/449.jpg (#24 truck)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/451.jpg
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/452.jpg (#24 truck)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/454.jpg (#87, #88 truck)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/455.jpg (#6, #16, #39 truck)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/456.jpg (#24, #5 truck)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/457.jpg (#30, #6 truck)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/458.jpg (#31 truck)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/459.jpg (#88 truck)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/460.jpg (#17 truck)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/463.jpg
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/fence_side_compact.wmv (24.82 M

(Holding Video Camera Outside of the Fence)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/Truck_Nwide_Garages_compact.wmv (98.00 M

(A tour of the Nationwide and Truck Garages)
http://racingforthewin.com/steve/11-5-09/Malsam_Braun_Interviews.wmv (48.00 M