BADBOYVETTES.COM - Viper Guy Dissed, Pissed, Missed...The Point

maybe if Joel knew how to drive his car he wouldn't be making excuses cause he sucks and all he is is daddys little rich kid who's never ever worked a day in his life maybe if he didn't crash his car every race he could have a chance at championship oh but wait he always finishes last for the sake of the series Joel just drop out and go to NASCAR or something!

--- BBV Slayer from Woodward dream Detroit on 08.15.09 at 5:49pm

Lol, spoiled rich kid. Jealousy doesn't win races.

--- Chris Draper from Tempe, AZ on 08.15.09 at 6:43pm

Hahaha BBV Slayer, you're as bad as Joel!

Obiviously you dont know Joel enough to talk about him. If hes such a bad racer, then why does he do so well in the Imsa lites races? I dont think hes a Tracy Krohn or a Richard Berry, but in fact a decent driver. He doesnt have a factory program nor the technology that Pratt and Miller has, but he still races. He's been using some of his own personal finances to race, and been doing pretty well. They were doing well enough at Sebring for BMW to bitch at Imsa and have more restrictors put on the Viper. Dont get me wrong, I love Corvette Racing like everybody else here. But the Viper has had to overcome more obsticles, and its still not a fully spec car. They're still running much more weight, and they dont have the tires. Put them on a level playing field with Corvette Racing, and we'll see very competative races. Will Corvette keep dominating, yes, no doubt about that. I doubt Oreca with a GT2 Viper can beat CR. But does that mean that they cant try for it? If we had all the teams that didnt have a chance to win leave the series, the series would be so small it wouldnt be series much longer. Its teams like Intersport, Autocon, Robertsons, Primetime, and even PTG that keep the series so varied, and so great.

Joel was very wrong about what he said about marketing. But that doesnt mean he sucks, nor that he should leave the series.

I forget, but what was everybodys view on when GM screwed over Lou for Corvette Racing? Nobodies perfect here...

--- JT from SoCal on 08.15.09 at 8:05pm

Nobody screwed over Lou. He does his own thing. He will be back at Petit Le Mans. GM and Corvette Racing's story has been told pretty clearly. Even the new Government Issued CEO agrees that the Corvette Racing program brings in a significant return on investment, and that is why they are still racing. If you notice at every ALMS race there is a giant Corvette Corral. All of those people and many others are loyal GM customers who probably have bought more then just their Corvette from GM. So if this Viper guy can't step up to the plate with the big boys without whining then he can go back and play with his IMSA Lites.

--- Chris Draper from unknown on 08.15.09 at 8:53pm

I agree with the Corvette marketing and how its created a lot of success for GM. The Corrals get bigger and bigger every year, I see easily 100+ at Laguna every year! Racing has defiently helped in marketing terms.

The story of GM screwing Lou over has to do with the FIA GT, and the fact that GM said that their C6 could be the Corvette for GT2, and then they took it back and said the new GT2 Corvette would be the only legal version. Kinda got stabbed in the back...and knowing Lou, he has made his opinions clear on the subject ;)

--- JT from SoCal on 08.15.09 at 9:07pm

that is a PWNED pic if i ever saw one!

--- lawlcopter from unknown on 08.15.09 at 9:23pm

ROI is what it's all about. GM knows that people who own Corvettes also drive OTHER cars - and if they can sell a Corvette and then sell the 'support' vehicles then the Corvette Racing marketing principle makes perfect sense. This is the BEST return on investment GM gets IMO - NASCRAP (I say that with love, I am a fan though my interest is waning) races template cars with only decals to distinguish between manufacturers, and they race Impala's for heaven's sake! Feinberg should realize and understand one simple business principle - that though New GM has been restructured, they still have to find a way to make $$$! Chrysler never has 'pushed' the Viper in mass media, so why would he expect any cash out of them?

--- DarkKnightC6 from Aiken, SC on 08.15.09 at 9:23pm

Mr. Feinberg is making the same mistake that many people make...he equates GM's declaration of bankruptcy as GM has no money to operate. GM sells lots of cars. GM makes lots of money. Declaring bankruptcy has allowed GM to untangle itself from the poor choices that were eating away available cash. So? By racing Corvettes, GM is making a wise return on investment for the future and the here and now. Mr. Feinberg knows all of this and seems to be merely venting frustration. It is unfortunate that Chrysler could not help him out, but Chrysler is much smaller and sells fewer cars. In fact, at one point last year I
read an article which reported that over half of the top 10 worst selling American vehicles were Chrysler's. I think snoop said it best..."Don't hate the playa, hate the game!"

--- screx0472 from unknown on 08.15.09 at 9:52pm

Would he be complaining if his team was winning? Maybe he should worry about himself.

--- Jason from Ohio on 08.15.09 at 11:31pm

Funny how he's the only one griping about the C6.R's return, in the field HE's racing in, coincidence, hmmm. . . I think he better start driving better if he wants any credibility, because after that statement he doesnt have much, if any. Like the old saying goes; "Just shut up and drive!"

--- Justin from Livermore, CA on 08.15.09 at 12:13pm

Draper: GM ABSOLUTELY screwed Lou over. It's thought that Steve Weseloski himself was the brainchild behind making Lou go away. Granted Giglotti still needs the funding to race and that currently isn't there, but GM has definitely gone out of its way to make things difficult for Lou.

The made sure Lou couldn't get Michelins which would have made him much more competitive as Corvette Racing wants to be the sole developer of Michelins for Corvettes, which is crap. They also made sure that Lou did not get a Le Mans entry (and I'm told his entry was all but definite before GM stepped in). If Lou went to Le Mans and did well, or even just ran quickly, the ACO would have an idea of what a GT2 Corvette at Le Mans is capable of and would more heavily regulate/restrict Corvette Racing's cars there.

And on top of that, Riley has been screwed over even worse. They had a potential client at their shop with check in hand ready to buy a Riley GT2 car (since GM gave them word they'd be the only constructor of GT2 Vettes) only to get a phone call at the Riley shops from P&M telling them they'd be building a car as well. The customer walked and went to P&M instead...

Real professional guys...

--- Mike from CA on 08.16.09 at 1:02am

This vision of Lou as the 'Virgin Mary of racing' is astounding. All sides played a role.

If any of us know anything about racing, we know this - There are NO VIRGINS in this tent.

May we move on? Or was it Feinberg looking to buy the Lou car?

--- Shishi Ryoshin from unknown on 08.16.09 at 1:12am

Can't we all just get along? I can't comment on the Lou thing. As far as Joel, a little drama is good for the sport. What I WILL say is thank you to GM for backing Corvette racing. I AM the customer they are targeting. Even though my Vette is older (C4) I am very loyal. I am under 35, own three cars and all are GMs (Chevy and Buick). When my Monte SS with 140,000 miles gives out soon I would love to buy another Vette. Sadly, I probably won't be able to afford it, but I will take a hard look at the Camaro, Cobalt SS, and G8 (if I can find one). Talk about ROI!

--- 92LT1 from Texas on 08.16.09 at 1:39am

Congrats to the Viper team...18th overall, 9th in GT2, and one spot behind the Challange class winning Porsche GT3 Cup...Where can I send my $$ for sponsorship?

--- Nitro-DAWG from Augusta,GA on 08.16.09 at 7:29pm

All I have to say is Corvette Racing is awesome. Have they screwed Lou and Riley over??? Without a doubt they have. Why wouldn't they want him to run well? Doesn’t that help marketing and make Corvettes look better??? Is this marketing for GM or Corvette Racing??? If the true goal was to make Corvette the product run well then Lou would have Michelins…..Give the guy the Michelins and help the cause. It probably wasn’t the best thing for Joel to Bitch on speed. If he could get the horsepower back and drop some weight on the car he would have a chance. Until then the Viper will have no chance. Pretty sad because ALMS was becoming my favorite series to follow but with the factory teams controlling so much my interest is fading. In the end the privateer teams will be pushed away because they can’t compete.

--- ViperSteve from Milwaukee, WI on 08.17.09 at 11:09am

BBV Slayer: Do you get the concept of teammates? You sure its Joel "crashing every race"?? Also you should check his IMSA Lights results before you say he "sucks". As for rich kids... Joel ain't the only trust-fund baby drivin' race cars dude!!!

Having said that... Joel looked EQUALLY STUPID b*tchin' & moanin' on SPEEDtv.com. His "GT2" Viper is a tweaked Viper Competition Coupe originally designed to compete in SPEED WC/ GT & the European FIA GT3 series.

Dodge had promised his team very small levels of Engineering/ Tech support for his ALMS program before $$$ issues (pre- bankruptcy) pulled the plug 100%. He knew Dodge was focused on NASCAR. GM embraced the Corvette program... Chrysler never seemed to know they had a road racing program!!! He looked bad posing questions he had to know the answers to (in his SPEED column)

So BBV & Nitro-DAWG... Control your JOY over Joel & Primetime's failures! They brought a knife to a gun fight. BBV as for your NASCAR advice... maybe YOU should head for NASCAR. You support a big $$$ team & seem threatened by a minnow complaining about a funded big fish. You belittle a small team running a non GM product. So much for variety in the field, eh? Like I said, you would enjoy NASCAR... same cars & Chevy dominance

--- AZZO45 from MoTown on 08.19.09 at 1:49am

Last comment:
BBV Slayer: Do you get the concept of teammates? You sure its Joel "crashing every race"?? Also you should check his IMSA Lights results before you say he "sucks". As for rich kids... Joel ain't the only trust-fund baby drivin' race cars dude!!!

Having said that... Joel looked EQUALLY STUPID b*tchin' & moanin' on SPEEDtv.com. His "GT2" Viper is a tweaked Viper Competition Coupe originally designed to compete in SPEED WC/ GT & the European FIA GT3 series.

Dodge had promised his team very small levels of Engineering/ Tech support for his ALMS program before $$$ issues (pre- bankruptcy) pulled the plug 100%. He knew Dodge was focused on NASCAR. GM embraced the Corvette program... Chrysler never seemed to know they had a road racing program!!! He looked bad posing questions he had to know the answers to (in his SPEED column)

So BBV & Nitro-DAWG... Control your JOY over Joel & Primetime's failures! They brought a knife to a gun fight. BBV as for your NASCAR advice... maybe YOU should head for NASCAR. You support a big $$$ team & seem threatened by a minnow complaining about a funded big fish. You belittle a small team running a non GM product. So much for variety in the field, eh? Like I said, you would enjoy NASCAR... same cars & Chevy dominance
--- AZZO45 from MoTown on 08.19.09 at 1:49am