In this year of change in NASCAR, there's another one taking place this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
While the Nextel Cup drivers are back in the familiar cars they have been driving for years after the first two races in the Car of Tomorrow, several of the Chevrolet entries will be powered by a new engine.
The Chevrolet R07 engine, which has been in development for nine years, makes its racing debut in Sunday's Samsung 500.
"This engine now called R07 actually started out as R99 because we ran it the first time in 1999," said Mark Cronquist, chief engine builder for Joe Gibbs Racing. "There was an R03. There was an R05 that never got off of the chalkboard, basically. We had it all designed, but never made it.
"Then there's this one, R07. So really, this R07 has been worked on by GM teams since 1998. I've got notes in my office from the very first time we talked about this engine. It was January 1998."
It was a frustrating process, but Cronquist said it's been worth the wait.
"The awesome thing is that, if you look at R99 and R07, they don't even look alike, so I'm glad NASCAR never approved it," he said. "It had some updates, but every time NASCAR didn't approve it, we went back and worked harder on it and changed more things on it."
As many as six teams are expected to run the new powerplant this weekend, including JGR's Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley, Hendrick Motorsports' Casey Mears and Kyle Busch and Scott Wimmer, driving a fourth Richard Childress Racing entry.
General Motors had hoped to have the engine ready for racing earlier this season, but a few technical difficulties slowed the progress of the long-term project.
Cronquist is excited to finally be getting the new engine into competition.
"With the motor we've been running, the block part of it was actually designed in 1955," Cronquist said. "We've made a few modifications to it, but it would still bolt into a 1955 Chevy Bel Air. The new block has got a lot more technology in it. It's a more updated block than what we've ever had before."
Asked if the new engine produces more horsepower or more torque or is more fuel efficient, Cronquist said, "It's just better all over.
"We're finally more even with what Dodge and Toyota have. It kind of got us back in the same playing field, back in what's considered NASCAR's box. We were outside of the box, actually below the box.
