Putting the Stock Back in Stock Car Racing: Developing the GM LS1 V8 for Short-Track Competition

This paper details the joint effort of GM Racing and the American Speed Association (ASA) to introduce a production V8 engine into the ASA stock car racing series. With only minor changes, the selected engine was able to replace the purpose-built V6 racing engines that had been used previously in the series.

The objectives of this program were to reduce the cost of racing for competitors and to demonstrate that advancements in design, materials, electronics and manufacturing have made a low-cost production engine a viable alternative to an expensive, purpose-built racing engine.