Former champion White ushering in Impala return

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Chevrolet is welcoming the future by embracing its past.

Chevrolet's Car of Tomorrow model, the Impala SS, marks its official return to NASCAR next week at Bristol Motor Speedway.

On Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Chevrolet celebrates its heritage when former NASCAR champion Rex White makes a parade lap in a 1962 Impala replica prior to the start of the Kobalt Tools 500.

The Car of Tomorrow makes its debut next week at Bristol Motor Speedway, and Nextel Cup drivers had to plenty to say about it this week at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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"The return of the Impala SS to stock-car racing marks a historic event in motorsports history," said Ed Peper, Chevrolet general manager. "What better way to start a new chapter for Chevy in racing than revisiting its memorable successes? And few early Chevy drivers had as much success on the track as Rex White."

White, who posted six of his career 28 victories in winning the Grand National championship in 1960, will drive a replica identical to the car he drove to Victory Lane in the 1962 Dixie 400 at then Atlanta International Raceway.

"We appreciate Rex coming down to join us and kind of give a little preamble to what we got debuting next weekend at Bristol," said Jeff Chew, NASCAR marketing manager for Chevy Racing.

White finished in the top 10 in the point standings six of the nine years he competed in NASCAR's top series. He was runner-up in 1961 to Ned Jarrett, who also drove an Impala to a title. In 233 career starts, White amassed 110 top-fives and 163 top-10s.

"I'm excited for Chevrolet," White said. "With [Chevrolet's] sponsorship, I was able to win a lot of races in those cars.

"It's a bad place to start at Bristol; they're going to have a scrap bundle sale afterwards. But I'm glad to see them coming back with a new car."

White never celebrated a victory without Chevrolet, and from 1959 to 1962 won more races than anyone while competing against such legends as Lee Petty, Fireball Roberts and Junior Johnson.

"My best years of racing were spent driving Chevys and I couldn't pass up the chance to drive one like I used to around the track again," said White, who counts his Atlanta win as one of his most memorable. (Continued)