Old Pal Monte Carlo Will Return To Nascar

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Chevrolet officials very likely will revive the winningest nameplate in NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car racing history - Monte Carlo.

The Charlotte Observer has learned that tests recently were conducted at Michigan International Speedway with a car that could be given the Monte Carlo logo in 1995.

A source who asked not to be named said design development of the car is being handled differently than before.

"In the past, the auto manufacturers first designed their cars for the street, then adapted them to racing," he said. "This one is designed for racing and will be adapted to the street.

"The engineers are working to make a slicker, more aerodynamic car by changing the nose and rear deck. They're trying new suspensions, too."

Dave Hedrick, spokesman for the Motorsports Technology Group which oversees racing programs for General Motors, acknowledged the likelihood of the Monte Carlo's return.

"It has been discussed," Hedrick said from Detroit. "And Chevrolet division general manager Jim Perkins has said it's going to happen. He indicated the Monte Carlo will be Chevrolet's choice for NASCAR racing."

The source speculated that the reintroduction might come as early as mid-1994.

But Hedrick said this is unlikely, "because changing over during the season is such a thrash for the teams." Added Hedrick, "If I was a gambling man, I'd bet on the Daytona 500 of '95."

Hedrick said the Richard Childress Racing team, which fields Chevys for five-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, tested last week at the 2-mile Michigan track, where the Miller 400 is scheduled Sunday. Neil Bonnett, Earnhardt's best friend who has been sidelined from race competition since 1990, drove the car. Hedrick was noncommittal about whether that test was part of the program leading to the Monte Carlo comeback.

Chevrolet's Winston Cup teams last fielded Monte Carlos on April 23, 1989 in the Pannill 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Darrell Waltrip won the race in a Monte Carlo to give the model a storybook farewell.

Monte Carlo drivers won 95 of 183 Winston Cup races after the car appeared on the circuit in 1983, making Monte Carlos the circuit's winningest machines. Included were 38 victories in 51 races on tracks less than a mile, a winning percentage of 74.5 percent.

From 1984 through '87, the Winston Cup championships went to drivers in Monte Carlos, and the model took the series' Manufacturers' Championship every year of its existence.

The Chevrolet Lumina, successor to the Monte Carlo, has been a winner, too, but not so overwhelmingly. Lumina drivers posted a 13-11 edge over archrival Ford in 1990, went 11-10 in '91 and then dropped to 8-16 in '92 as Ford snapped Chevrolet's nine-season string.