In NASCAR, Chevrolet has given us many fantastic racecars that you can practically go out and buy for yourself. The Chevrolet SS sports sedan, The Monte Carlo SS, and the Monte Carlo Aero Coupe are just a few.
In 2006, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Chevrolet teased the world with the Camaro Concept car. This car stood with bold lines and styling linking back to the late 60s. The best part? They did it in what was essentially production form. People went nuts. Three years later in 2009, the pony car went on sale as a 2010 model in North America. But 13 years later and with abysmal sales numbers, Chevrolet announced that they will discontinue the 6th generation of the American Icon at the end of 2024.
The Chevrolet Camaro Comes to NASCAR
In 2013, General Motors and Chevrolet Performance introduced the 5th Generation Chevrolet Camaro to the NASCAR Nationwide Series (now Xfinity). Chevrolet’s Camaro came to the sport as the brand’s Super Sport (or SS for short) variant. The Camaro was welcomed to the sport with a bang. Hall of Fame driver Tony Stewart won the season opener at Daytona and Chevrolet eventually won the Series title with Richard Childress Racing and Austin Dillon. That was backed up the following year with a young Chase Elliott winning the Series title in 2014. In late 2015, Chevrolet updated the Camaro by adding the Alpha platform underneath the restyled 2016 model. The new front fascia and taillight decals joined the (now) Xfinity Series the same year.
With the discontinuation of the Chevrolet SS Sports Sedan in 2017 after horrifyingly slow sales, General Motors introduced the updated 6th Generation Chevrolet Camaro to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2018. General Motors brought the Camaro Cup using their High-Performance ZL1 variant nameplate.
Once again, the mark was welcomed with a bang as Austin Dillon raced his #3 Chevrolet Camaro to win the 2018 Daytona 500. The Camaro came into the sport slowly, only netting 11 points-paying wins in the first 2 seasons of 72 races. In 2020, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 would score its first of 2 Championships in a row with Elliott followed by Kyle Larson in 2021.
The Chevrolet Camaro SS & ZL1 both have just under 2 full seasons remaining in NASCAR at the time of this publishing.
What Comes Next?
It’s a very simple question with some complex answers. What follows the Chevrolet Camaro in NASCAR? Over the last several years, Chevrolet has nearly discontinued all of its family sedans with exception of the Chevrolet Malibu. The problem with that coming up to either NASCAR Series? The fact Chevrolet has talked about discontinuing the now 7-year-old, 9th Generation Malibu for several years. Chevrolet has stated the Camaro nameplate will not be gone for long, however. The Chevrolet Camaro will more than likely return to production in 2024/2025. It will do this as an electric sports sedan to rival the Tesla Model S and likely the performance of the Model S Plaid.
Results history of the Camaro in NASCAR
The Camaro has seen a total of (as of 3/23/23) 7 Drivers Championships, 10 Manufacture Championships, and 193 Points paying race wins in 10 years in the sport.
Cup Series
Introduced in 2018. The Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has scored 62 Points paying wins.
2 Series Drivers Titles (2020 & 2021).
2 Manufacturers Championships (2021 & 2022).
Nationwide / Xfinity Series
Introduced in 2013, the Chevrolet Camaro SS has scored 131 Points paying wins.
5 Series Drivers Titles (2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019).
8 Manufacturers Championships (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022).
