Desafío Corona
Encyclopedia
Stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
series in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. NASCAR founded the series in 2004 in conjunction with OCESA, a Mexican entertainment company. The business partnership between NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
and OCESA resulted in the creation of a new entity, now officially known as NASCAR Mexico
NASCAR Mexico
NASCAR Mexico is a joint-venture between NASCAR and OCESA, a Mexican entertainment company, aiming to develop, manage and operate local motorsports events and oversee television distribution, sponsorship and licensing....
. The former Desafio Corona series is now known as NASCAR Mexico Corona Series
Desafio Corona Origins
The series was originally known as MasterCard Truck SeriesMasterCard Truck Series
The MasterCard Truck Series was a Mexican pickup truck racing predecessor of Desafío Corona.-Drivers:NASCAR Corona Series drivers participated in the Mastercard Truck Series as Jorge Goeters, Patrick Goeters, Marcelo Nuñez, César Tiberio Jiménez, Sebastián Ocaranza, Sebastián Ocaranza II, Julio...
, which was a Crafstman Truck Series look-alike series, founded in 2002.
After the intervention of OCESA, and with the help of SELCA, The Truck Series began to be operated by OCESA Automovilismo, while SELCA was responsible for running the show, being the sanctioning body of the series. After the end of the 2003 season, it was presented at the season finale, the Teleton 100, the new 2004 stock car, a Pontiac Grand Prix
Pontiac Grand Prix
Picking up where the Pontiac Ventura model left off, the Grand Prix first appeared in the Pontiac line for 1962. It was essentially a standard Pontiac Catalina coupe with minimal outside chrome trim and a sportier interior...
, which marked the end of the trucks chapter, and the start of a new era: Stock Car racing in Mexico.
After that, working together with NASCAR, they started to work on safety aspects of cars, adoption of new rules, and rebuilding existing race tracks, or even building new ones.
Their first season started with a schedule of 14 races, with Mara Reyes
Mara Reyes
Mara Reyes is a Mexican female racecar driver. She drove the 49 Ford for Jay Robinson Racing in 1 race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the NASCAR Busch Series in 2005. She finished 35th. She ran her last season in the Desafio Corona stock car series in her native Mexico in 2005.-Trucks:She ran...
(Telmex #1 Pontiac) taking pole position for the season opener in Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a race track in Mexico City, Mexico, named for the famous racing drivers Ricardo and Pedro Rodríguez. The circuit got its name shortly after it opened when Ricardo Rodríguez died in practice for the non-Championship 1962 Mexican Grand Prix...
, a race where 26 cars started the race, a big number for Mexican motorsports. This race was won by Jorge Goeters(Canels #18 Pontiac), after 90 laps to the 1 miles (1.6 km) oval.
The series then went to Guadalajara and Querétaro, races won by Carlos Contreras
Carlos Contreras
Carlos Contreras is the first Mexican-born driver in any NASCAR national series. He has competed in the Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Series .-Busch Series:...
, but bad luck came in the 4th race in Monterrey, where in lap 37 of the race, driver Marcelo Nuñez lost control of his car, and was struck at full speed by Rafael Vallina. Nuñez spent a week in Intensive Therapy, only to die of complications by the crash, where he broke his pelvic bone, and had a perforated lung.
At the end of the season, Carlos Pardo of Team Telcel
Telcel
Telcel is Mexico's largest mobile phone carrier, owned by América Móvil. Founded in 1989 and based in Mexico City, Telcel is the leading provider of wireless communications services in Mexico. As of December 31, 2006, Telcel's cellular network covered more than 63% of the geographical area of...
emerged as champion, ahead of his brother Ruben Pardo
Ruben Pardo
Ruben Pardo , is a Mexican racecar driver. He currently drives the Family Dollar Dodge for Fitz Motorsports in the NASCAR Busch East Series, and part-time in the Nationwide Series. He is the brother of fellow NASCAR driver Carlos Pardo, who died in 2009.Pardo began racing in motorcycles, eventually...
(Telmex
Telmex
Telmex is a telecommunications company headquartered in Mexico City that provides telecommunication products and services in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil and other countries in Latin America. In addition to traditional fixed-line telephone service, Telmex also offers Internet access, data,...
#2 Pontiac), with Rogelio López
Rogelio López
Rogelio López is a Mexican racing driver from Aguascalientes.López won the 2006 Desafío Corona championship, and went to the United States to drive the #03 Telmex/Lucas Oil Dodge in the NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch East Series for the 2007 season.He got his first win in the Busch East...
(2006 Champ) of Telcel 3rd.
Cars of the Desafio Corona Series
The Series competitors race stock cars similar to those used in Late Model classes at short tracks in the U.S., with fiberglass composite bodies and spec engines.Although there are various cars, they are all under the same rules, which are often modified in the course of the season.
Specifications
- Engine:
- Chevrolet HO 350Chevrolet Small-Block engineThe Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of automobile V8 engines built by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors using the same basic small engine block...
VortecGM Vortec engineVortec is a trademarked name for a line of piston engines for General Motors trucks. The name first appeared in 1988 on a 4.3 L V6 that used "vortex technology" to create a vortex inside the combustion chamber, creating a better air/fuel mix. Now its used on a wide range of different engines...
5.7 Liter - Dodge MagnumDodge MagnumThe Dodge Magnum name has been used on a number of different automobiles. The most recent is a large rear-wheel drive station wagon introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year and produced through to 2008. This new Magnum is Dodge's first car to use the new Chrysler LX platform, shared with the...
360 Crate Motor - Ford 351Ford Windsor engineThe Windsor is a 90-degree small-block V8 engine from Ford Motor Company. It was introduced in 1962, replacing the previous Ford Y-block engine. Though not all of the engines in this family were produced at the Windsor, Ontario engine plant , the name stuck...
RoushRoush RacingRoush Fenway Racing is a racing team competing in NASCAR racing. As one of NASCAR's largest premier racing teams, Roush runs teams in the Sprint and Nationwide Series, and formerly in the Camping World Truck Series and ARCA RE/MAX Series.Roush first entered NASCAR competition in 1988, but had... - 400 horsepowerHorsepowerHorsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
@ 5850 RPMRevolutions per minuteRevolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis... - 16 valves
- 4 Barrell HolleyHolley Performance ProductsHolley Performance Products is an automotive performance company based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Holley, when based in Michigan, was one of the major producers of carburetors, being supplied as standard equipment on many Detroit-built automobiles....
Carburator - Torque: 387 ft.lbf @ 4000 rpm
- Max Speed: 280 km/h
- 4 Speed Transmission
- Chevrolet HO 350
- Brakes: 4 Wheel Discs
- Fuel: SUNOCOSunocoSunoco Inc. is an American petroleum and petrochemical manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, formerly known as Sun Company Inc. and Sun Oil Co. ....
110 OctaneOctaneOctane is a hydrocarbon and an alkane with the chemical formula C8H18, and the condensed structural formula CH36CH3. Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the amount and location of branching in the carbon chain... - Fuel Capacity: 15 GallonGallonThe gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...
- Tires:
- Front Slick tireSlick tireA slick tyre is a type of tyre that has no tread pattern, used mostly in auto racing. The first production "slick tyre" was developed by a company called M&H Tires in the early 1950s for use in drag racing...
s: 8x15x27.0 - Rear Slick tires: 10x15x27.0
- Front Slick tire
- Chassis Make:
- ENCO (Mexican Made)
- Spec Truck (American Made)
- FiberglassFiberglassGlass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
Bodies:- Chevrolet Monte CarloChevrolet Monte CarloThe Chevrolet Monte Carlo was an American-made two-door coupe introduced for model year 1970, and manufactured over six generations through model year 2007. It was marketed as a personal-luxury coupe through most of its history, with the last model version being classified as a full-sized coupe...
- Pontiac Grand PrixPontiac Grand PrixPicking up where the Pontiac Ventura model left off, the Grand Prix first appeared in the Pontiac line for 1962. It was essentially a standard Pontiac Catalina coupe with minimal outside chrome trim and a sportier interior...
- Dodge StratusDodge StratusThe Dodge Stratus was a mid-size 4-door sedan introduced in 1995. It was based on the Chrysler JA platform Cab forward . The Stratus, Breeze, and Cirrus were all on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1996 and 1997. It received critical acclaim at launch, but ratings fell over time...
(Dodge ChargerDodge ChargerThe Dodge Charger is an American automobile manufactured by the Dodge division of Chrysler. There have been several different Dodge vehicles, built on three different platforms and sizes, all bearing the Charger nameplate...
for 2007) - Ford Fusion, Ford MustangFord MustangThe Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
- Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Supporting Races
In 2005, most of previous and current champions of all of the racing series in Mexico moved into the series (With the notable absence of Open WheelOpen wheel car
Open-wheel car, formula car, or often single-seater car in British English, describes cars with the wheels outside the car's main body and, in most cases, one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or fenders...
champions, like Homero Richards
Homero Richards
Homero Richards is a Mexican race car driver from Mexico City.Richards won back-to-back championships in the Panam GP Series , in 2004 and 2005....
) leaving other closed wheel series with young and unexperienced drivers, so the Desafio Corona decided to include those series in a supporting role;
First they included the Dodge Challenge, which included Neon T4
Dodge Neon
The Plymouth/Dodge Neon, sold in Europe, Mexico, Canada, and elsewhere outside the United States as the Chrysler Neon, is a compact front wheel drive car introduced in January 1994 for the 1995 model year by Chrysler Corporation's Dodge and Plymouth brands...
and Dodge Ram
Dodge Ram
The Dodge Ram is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by the Chrysler Group LLC. As of late 2010, it has been sold under the Ram Trucks brand. Previously, Ram was part of the Dodge lineup of light trucks...
Pick Ups
Pickup truck
A pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area .-Definition:...
, and for 2006, they concentrated on giving a push to the T4 Series, and in some races, they included the Clio Cup México
Renault Clio Cup
The Renault Clio Cup is a One-make racing series created and managed by Renault Sport. As the name suggests, Renault Clio cars are used, and are grouped in 15 national championships and an International Cup.-Championships:...
series.
For 2007, the NASCAR Mexico T4 Series
NASCAR Mexico T4 Series
The NASCAR Mexico T4 Series is a semi-professional four-cylinder racing series in Mexico. It is promoted and sanctioned by NASCAR Mexico, the Mexico City-based NASCAR office....
its going to become the main support series.
Past Champions
- 2006: Rogelio LópezRogelio LópezRogelio López is a Mexican racing driver from Aguascalientes.López won the 2006 Desafío Corona championship, and went to the United States to drive the #03 Telmex/Lucas Oil Dodge in the NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch East Series for the 2007 season.He got his first win in the Busch East...
- 2005: Jorge Goeters
- 2004: Carlos Pardo
Truck Series
- 2003: Cesar Tiberio Jimenez
- 2002: Jorge Goeters
Trivia
- The Truck Series celebrated one of its races in the parking of the famous Estadio AztecaEstadio AztecaEstadio Azteca is a stadium in Santa Ursula, Mexico City, Mexico. It is the official home stadium of the Mexico national football team and the Mexican team Club América.The stadium was the venue for football soccer in the 1968 Summer Olympics....
In Mexico City, creating an oval of about 400 meters long.
- Jorge Goeters, Truck Series and Stock Cars Champion, was the first Mexican to win a Pole Position in a NASCAR race, by winning pole for his first race the Telcel Motorola 200, held in Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, in Mexico City.
- The list of people involved in the Desafio Corona include all of the champions (If they have not retired) of the main categories in Mexican Motorsports from 2000 onwards, from the Mustang, Formula Renault, Mexican Formula 3, Mexican Super Touring, Clio Cup Mexico, and T4 Series (When they were a main category), including drivers Rafael Martinez, Jorge Goeters, Carlos Pardo, Ruben PardoRuben PardoRuben Pardo , is a Mexican racecar driver. He currently drives the Family Dollar Dodge for Fitz Motorsports in the NASCAR Busch East Series, and part-time in the Nationwide Series. He is the brother of fellow NASCAR driver Carlos Pardo, who died in 2009.Pardo began racing in motorcycles, eventually...
, Freddy Tame, Ruben Garcia Novoa, Ricardo Perez de Lara, German QuirogaGermán QuirogaGerman Quiroga is a Mexican race car driver. He is the only three-time champion of NASCAR Corona Series.-Nascar Corona Series:He debuted with Jorge Seman's race team 2004...
, Homero RichardsHomero RichardsHomero Richards is a Mexican race car driver from Mexico City.Richards won back-to-back championships in the Panam GP Series , in 2004 and 2005....
, Jose Gonzalez Ojeda, Nahum OlinNahum OlinNahum Olin, Sr. is a Mexican race car driver and team owner from Mexico City. He was champion of the 2001 Mexican Super Touring Championship. He has won championships as team owner in the 2003 and 2004 Clio Cup Mexico Series. He currently is a team owner in the Desafio Corona Series.-References:...
and Patricio Jourdain, cousin of Champ Car and NASCAR driver Michel JourdainMichel JourdainMichel Jourdain may refer to:* Michel Jourdain, Sr., CART driver* Michel Jourdain, Jr., CART & NASCAR driver...
.
- The first stock cars were built on the same chassis from the Truck Series trucks, only with improved safety.
- Motorcraft/Sherwin Williams/ALD/ Tame racing Official Website
- irwin vences Official Website