Chevy Teams Dominate Season
Chevrolet teams have dominated the opening segment of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, winning 15 of the 19 races heading into the final break of the year.

With seven races to go before the Chase For The Nextel Cup, NASCAR's 10-race, title-determining segment of the season, 10 of the 12 drivers in the field at this point are driving Chevrolets. The manufacturer has been as dominant in the car of tomorrow as in the so-called traditional car, winning seven of eight COT races and eight of 11 in the current car.

That's a winning percentage of 79 percent, something that has pleased General Motors executives. Yet they are cautious in their approach to the final 17 events.

"It's important for us and for our teams just to stay focused on finishing up this year," said Pat Suhy, GM Racing NASCAR group manager. "At the same time, we've got a really big development program going on with the Impala SS for next year's mile-and-a-half tracks. So balancing the need to stay ahead of the curve with that and still maintaining focus for this year is key to us.

"We're focusing as much effort as we can to ensure that we continue our dominance with the Impala SS leading into the Chase as well as through the Chase."

Chevy has also debuted a new engine, the R07, which has been performing well. Suhy said that the manufacturer is focused on making sure that if there are any issues with the engine, they are addressed quickly.

Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon leads the standings, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing¹s Denny Hamlin. Other Chevrolet drivers in the top 12 are Jeff Burton (fourth), Tony Stewart (sixth), Jimmie Johnson (seventh), Kevin Harvick (eighth), Kyle Busch (ninth), Clint Bowyer (10th), Martin Truex Jr. (11th) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (12th). ()