Team Chevy wins the IndyCar season finale and brings home all four IndyCar Championship Titles! On Saturday, September 15, the checkered flag flew for the last time in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar season at the Fontana Auto Club Speedway. First-year team owner/driver Ed Carpenter brought home his first victory of the season, leading 62 laps of the 500-mile race and clinching the 11th race win for Team Chevy and Ilmor.
"Wow, what a race! It was a nail-biter throughout the entire 250 laps," said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager.
Equally as exciting was the final showdown for the 2012 Driver's Championship. Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport entered the last race with a 17 point deficit to Will Power of Team Penske. After Power received substantial damage in a single car on-track incident on lap 56, Hunter-Reay had to finish fifth or better to secure the crown. When the checkered flag flew, Hunter-Reay scored a fourth-place finish, and captured the Championship by three points over Power.
Team owner Michael Andretti stated: "Chevy has been a great partner. We evaluated which way to go at the beginning of the year or the end of last year. We just felt like they were really strong company, and they're really serious about winning. Ilmor, who we worked with for a long time does a great job. So we felt confident that we were going to make the right decision to go with Chevrolet. Obviously, I think in the end it shows that we did."
Hunter-Reay also clinched the Oval Championship commemorated with the A.J. Foyt Oval Championship trophy, and Will Power of Penske Racing captured the Road Course Championship for the third consecutive year.
In addition to the Driver's Championship, Chevrolet also won the Series' Manufacturers Championship with 11 wins in the 15-race season in its first year back in IndyCar competition.
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Randy Bernard, CEO, IndyCar presents the Manufacturer's Championship Trophy to Jim Campbell, US VP Performance Vehicle and Motorsport, GM |
"This IZOD IndyCar Series Manufacturers' championship for the Chevrolet IndyCar V6 engine is the culmination of a great team effort," said Mark Kent, Director of Chevrolet Racing. "From concept to race track, Chevrolet Racing engineers, Ilmor, Hitachi, Borg Warner, our Chevy teams and others put a race and championship-winning product in place in just over a year. To reap the rewards of this dedicated effort in our first season back in IndyCar is gratifying. We are very proud of this achievement and thank everyone involved for their contributions."
To see the results of the entire 2012 IZOD IndyCar season, visit www.indycar.com. The 2013 schedule is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

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Amazing Video: Hear the Star Spangled Banner played on the IndyCar Twin Turbo V-6!
Check out this incredible video shot during warm-ups for the final race at Fontana on September 15! |
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About Ilmor
Ilmor Engineering was founded in 1984 when engineers Mario Illien (IL) and Paul Morgan (MOR) reached out to Roger Penske with a plan to build a better engine for the IndyCar racing series. Since then, legendary drivers like Andretti, Unser, and Castroneves have all driven cars powered by Ilmor engines. Ilmor now has over 260 IndyCar race wins, 17 Indianapolis 500 victories, 44 Formula 1 wins, and two Formula 1 World Championships.
In 2003, Ilmor applied its expertise to the marine industry, and created a completely unique engine for high performance powerboats based on the 8.3L Dodge Viper V-10. Ilmor expanded its competitive tradition into powerboat racing, winning seven World Championships in Powerboat racing.
The positive response to Ilmor's products and customer service has resulted in Ilmor becoming a major supplier of powerboat engines and drives to boat makers all over the world, paving the way for product expansion. In 2010, Ilmor began producing a series of inboard GM-based V-8 engines, each with unique Ilmor developed parts for durability, efficiency and performance.
Ilmor still follows the same principles put in place by its founders: innovative solutions, precision engineering and manufacturing, high quality, reliable products, and unrivaled customer support.
To learn more about Ilmor, visit us at www.ilmor.com.
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