Published: 12/2/2022
2022: A Championship Year for Team Chevy
Author: DAN HODGDON
Photos: THE BLOCK, CHEVROLET and AUTO IMAGERY, INC.
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Throughout its long history, Chevrolet has set the standard for winning. In 2022, that tradition continued as members of Team Chevy hoisted trophies on a nearly weekly basis, and across a variety of disciplines, multiple Bowtie teams and drivers were crowned yearlong champions.
Throughout its long history, Chevrolet has set the standard for winning. In 2022, that tradition continued as members of Team Chevy hoisted trophies on a nearly weekly basis, and across a variety of disciplines, multiple Bowtie teams and drivers were crowned yearlong champions.
Chase Elliott (9) and Ross Chastain (1) advanced to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Four.
"We set goals of winning championships at the beginning of every season, and the NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer's Championship is one that's a high priority." - Jim Campbell
NASCAR
In a competitive year full of change in the NASCAR Cup Series, nine Chevrolet drivers representing four organizations drove a Camaro ZL1 to Victory Lane. Those results helped Chevrolet win its series-leading 41st Manufacturer's Championship in the first year of the revolutionary Next Gen race car, designed to more closely resemble its roadgoing counterpart.
"We set goals of winning championships at the beginning of every season, and the NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer's Championship is one that's a high priority," said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president of Performance and Motorsports. "This championship is a result of a one-team effort from Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Trackhouse Racing, Petty GMS, Kaulig Racing, JTG Daugherty and Spire Motorsports. We'd also like to thank the Chevrolet engineers, drivers, crew chiefs and owners who are part of this championship."
Team Chevy won more than half the points-paying races in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022. Among them was Daniel Suarez's first victory at Sonoma Raceway.
Altogether, Chevrolet took the checkered flag in a season-high 19 races, led by Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott with five wins. His Hendrick teammates also added victories for the Bowtie with Kyle Larson scoring three, William Bryon two, and Alex Bowman one.
Richard Childress Racing added to the Team Chevy total on the strength of Tyler Reddick's three first-place finishes and Austin Dillon's must-win triumph in the regular-season finale at Daytona to make the NASCAR Playoffs. Upstart Trackhouse Racing took three wins for Chevrolet, with Ross Chastain scoring two victories and Daniel Suarez reaching Victory Lane once. In addition, Erik Jones took the prestigious Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on Labor Day weekend for Petty GMS.
For Chastain, Suraez and Reddick, the wins were also the first of their Cup Series careers.
Kyle Larson was one of nine Chevrolet drivers to make the playoffs.
Elliott won the regular-season title, and all nine of the aforementioned Chevrolet drivers made the NASCAR Playoffs. Chastain and Elliott advanced to the Championship Four, where they competed for the drivers' title at Phoenix Raceway. Chastain finished as runner-up in the final standings in his No. 1 Camaro, with Elliott coming home fourth in his No. 9 machine. Additionally, Larson's No. 5 Hendrick team finished fourth in the fight for the owners' title.
For Chastain – who advanced to the championship round with a brilliant wall-riding move at Martinsville Speedway on the final lap the week before – the year was a dream season.
"This is a continuation of a lot of people believing in me," he said. "To build everything together to come drive this car, there are so many team owners and so many crew members that have put in the work. It's pretty wild to fight for a Cup Series championship and to have a car fast enough to chase them down to the end. It's also a testament to everyone at Chevy and GM to make me a better racecar driver. And my family … they have stuck with me and pushed me from the farm to NASCAR."
Erik Jones scored a victory in the famed No. 43 for Petty GMS at Darlington Raceway.
Ultimately, Chevrolet closed out the season having extended its all-time win total to 833 in NASCAR's premier series to lead all manufacturers.
The Bowtie also found success in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where Camaro SS teams helped Chevrolet to its 24th Manufacturer's Championship – known as the Bill France Performance Cup. On the same day that Chevrolet won its sixth-consecutive Manufacturer's title and extended its lead in the category, the brand also earned its 500th all-time Xfinity victory thanks to Josh Berry at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Kaulig Racing's AJ Allmendinger drove his Camaro SS to the regular-season title in the Xfinity ranks, while JR Motorsports led the way for Team Chevy in the series overall, with three of its four cars (driven by Berry, Noah Gragson and Justin Allgaier) reaching the Championship Four.
The legendary John Force was among the drivers who helped Chevrolet to its sixth straight NHRA Manufacturers Cup.
NHRA
In NHRA drag racing, Chevrolet took home its record-extending 27th Manufacturers Cup and sixth in a row on the strength of points scored in Funny Car, Pro Stock, Super Stock and Stock Eliminator, as well as the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown. The total points scored by Camaro SS and COPO Camaro drivers in both the Pro and Sportsman categories was more than triple the total of the closest manufacturer.
"I'm so proud of the hard work by the Chevrolet teams that delivered valuable points toward the Manufacturers Championship again this year," Campbell said. "Thanks to the owners, drivers and crews in the professional classes and Sportsman classes for another year of high-performance results every time they showed up at the track."
Team Chevy claimed two championships in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, with Brittany Force scoring her second career title in her John Force Racing (JFR) Top Fuel dragster, while Erica Enders took her fifth Pro Stock crown behind the wheel of her Elite Motorsports Camaro SS.
Brittany Force scored her second career Top Fuel championship piloting a Chevrolet dragster. Photo: Auto Imagery, Inc.
"It took every single person to make it work and now we have a second championship." - Brittany Force
Force drove to a career-high five wins and was the No. 1 qualifier 10 times during the season to score her second title. She previously won the championship in 2017.
"This Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac team set national records, track records, No. 1 qualifiers and we won a handful of races this season," said Force, who joined Enders as one of just four women with multiple championships in the NHRA Pro classes. "I'm very proud of all of them and it took every single person to make it work and now we have a second championship."
Force was buoyed by a clutch victory at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to make up ground in the penultimate race of the Countdown to the Championship and take the points lead heading into the final event at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
However, for Enders, the year was nothing short of dominant.
Erica Enders drove her Camaro SS to her fifth Pro Stock championship.
"As a kid with big dreams, this makes me want to pinch myself." - Erica Enders
Enders won 10 races and advanced to the final round in 13 of the 19 events contested for the class. Overall, she turned in a staggering 55-9 won-loss record and added six No. 1 qualifiers. She previously was the Pro Stock champion in 2014, '15, '19 and '20, but this year was her most successful of all.
"As a kid with big dreams, this makes me want to pinch myself," said Enders, who has won each of her titles in a Chevrolet. "We have worked really hard to get here and we've sacrificed a lot. It's nice to see all of those sacrifices paid off. I'm a blessed girl.
"I go back to the seven years that I drove Pro Stock without a win and just how challenging those years were. Driving for teams that we knew when we pulled on property that we weren't going to qualify unless somebody broke or hit the wall or something. It was all of those valleys that make these peaks so enjoyable because when you're going through that stuff, the view of the top where you want to be seems so distant so it's just a testament to never give up and to do your best and surround yourself with the right people and that's what I have at Elite Motorsports."
Robert Hight and his Camaro SS team scored eight wins in 2022.
Each of the Pro classes for NHRA was highly competitive throughout the year, with many points battles coming down to the final day.
Force entered the Pomona event as one of five drivers mathematically eligible for the championship, and her JFR teammate Austin Prock came on strong as the season wound down, capping the year with a victory. He scored both of his 2022 wins in the season's final six races to vault to third in the year-end standings.
In the Funny Car category, JFR's Robert Hight entered Pomona with the points lead, but after an epic duel came up just three points shy of his fourth Funny Car title. Still, Hight had what could be considered one of his best years with a career-high eight wins in his Camaro SS. Team patriarch and 16-time champion John Force earned one win on the season in his Camaro, bringing his all-time win record to 155, and finished fifth in the standings.
In addition to Enders' career year, Chevrolet once again dominated the Pro Stock ladder as a whole throughout the season. The Camaro SS won every event in 2022 and nine of the top-10 final points runners wore the bowtie. Camrie Caruso was also named rookie of the year for her efforts in the class in her Chevrolet.
David Barton drove a COPO Camaro to his third Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown title. Photo: Auto Imagery, Inc.
The Sportsman categories of NHRA were led by David Barton, who won his second Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown championship after driving his COPO Camaro to three wins in the eight-race series highlighting supercharged factory muscle from the Big Three. COPO drivers finished the season with five wins in the series.
Also in the Sportsman ranks, Chevrolet drivers took the Stock Eliminator victory in eight national events.
A V-6 Chevy engine propelled Will Power to his second NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship.
"Not everyone gets to do this. I'm lucky and I appreciate it a lot." - Will Power
INDYCAR
Chevy celebrated a milestone year in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with its seventh Manufacturer title in the modern era, a second driver championship for Will Power and the brand's 100th win since returning as an engine supplier for the 2012 season.
Power was a model of consistency throughout the year and scored one win (Chevrolet's 100th triumph at Detroit's Belle Isle) in his Team Penske No. 12 powered by a 2.2L twin-turbo, direct-injected V-6 Chevy engine. He also posted his 68th career pole for the most in series history, and accumulated 12 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes across the 17-race season.
"From the beginning, it was just playing the long game, not necessarily going for the big wins and all that," said Power, who also won the title with a Chevy power plant in 2014. "As I've gotten older, I have a lot more gratitude for my life and what I get to do. Not everyone gets to do this and I'm lucky and I appreciate it a lot."
Chevrolet driver Josef Newgarden (2) led the series with five INDYCAR wins this year.
The V-6 Chevrolet engine helped Team Chevy drivers to 11 wins during the year, with Penske's Josef Newgarden taking a series-high five victories, while Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin claimed the first three wins of his INDYCAR career. Pato O'Ward also added two triumphs for Arrow McLaren SP.
"Preparation, teamwork and great execution were key this season to every pole, every win and now Chevrolet's seventh Manufacturer Championship," said Jim Campbell. "Thank you to Team Penske, Ed Carpenter Racing, Arrow McLaren SP, AJ Foyt Racing, Juncos Hollinger Racing, Paretta Autosport, our Chevrolet Competition and Propulsion engineers, and our technical [collaborators] for their combined efforts that resulted in delivering Chevrolet's NTT INDYCAR Series Manufacturer Championship."
Chevrolet has won 106 of 182 races to go along with its seven Manufacturer titles since the 2012 season.
Corvette Racing competed full-time across two series in 2022.
IMSA and WEC
Corvette Racing took on multiple new challenges in 2022, finding success in each. Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia piloted the famed yellow No. 3 Corvette C8.R in the newly created GTD PRO category of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, while Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy drove the No. 64 car in the GTE Pro class of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).The WEC effort was the first time Corvette Racing entered the full calendar in the series, which was contesting the final season for GTE Pro.
Taylor and Garcia, along with endurance co-driver Nicky Catsburg, scored a victory in the historic Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring (Corvette's 12th since 2002 at the event) en route to a third-place result in the final standings.
Milner and Tandy also won the 6 Hours of Monza at Autodromo Nazionale Monza in WEC after the team called a nearly perfect strategy to put the No. 64 C8.R in front. Chevrolet finished the year third in the Manufacturers' Championship standings in the class.
The Corvette C8.R won races in both IMSA and WEC.
"We learned a great deal this year about running dual programs in both IMSA and the FIA WEC – all of which will benefit the Corvette brand going forward." - Laura Wontrop Klauser
Next season, Taylor and Garcia will return to IMSA, while Ben Keating and Catsburg will compete in the GTE Am WEC class.
Milner meanwhile will join Taylor and Garcia for endurance races and also be the primary testing and development driver for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R set to be available for customers starting in 2024. The third WEC driver will be announced at a later date.
"We learned a great deal this year about running dual programs in both IMSA and the FIA WEC – all of which will benefit the Corvette brand going forward," said Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM Sports Car Racing Program Manager. "In IMSA, we will return to GTD PRO against a very competitive group of manufacturers while laying the groundwork for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Similarly, Corvette Racing's FIA WEC program allows us the opportunity to continue growing the global presence of Corvette in a world championship."
Benji LaCrosse is one of many short-tracers who rely on Chevrolet Performance each week.
As they do each year, grassroots racers powered by Chevrolet Performance crate engines* also took an untold number of wins and track and series championships on oval tracks and drag strips throughout the country.
Across a variety of series and disciples, this season once again added to the rich Bowtie legacy on the racetrack.
Be sure to keep watching The BLOCK for much more on Chevrolet Performance and all Forms of racing.
*Because of their effect on a vehicle's emissions performance, these engines are intended exclusively for use in competition vehicles. These engines are designed and intended for use in vehicles operated exclusively for competition: in racing or organized competition on courses separate from public streets or highways. Installation or use of these engines on a vehicle operated on public streets or highways is likely to violate U.S., Canadian, and state and provincial laws and regulations related to motor vehicle emissions.
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