DETROIT, MI -- An unassuming 1993 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 that will visit nine American cities May 13-23 as a part of the 1999 Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour will give auto racing enthusiasts a sneak peek at the future of motorsports and stock car racing in particular. It has been tapped to unveil a GM engine that will bring the "stock" back to stock car racing.

Mark McPhail, the lead engineer for GM Motorsports on the project, said the American Speed Association (ASA) has designated the LS1 as the mandatory engine for all vehicles in its short track racing series in the year Y2K.

"What's great about this engine is that it will be produced on the factory assembly line and contains only a handful of non-production engine components," McPhail explained. "In contrast, the current ASA engine is a hand- built 274 cubic-inch V-6 engine with a variety of aftermarket parts. ASA expects racing competition in this series to take a giant leap forward with substantially reduced costs."

Evolving fuel economy and emissions standards have ironically produced an engine management system that is ideally suited for racing, he said. The emissions-mandated diagnostics also enable easy track side engine troubleshooting.

With a new camshaft and valve springs and slight modification, the LS1 V-8 matches and in some cases surpasses performance of V-6 engines currently used by ASA vehicles. McPhail said that in dynamometer testing the engine produced more than 450 horsepower at 6,500 RPM.

As far as durability is concerned, the engine has successfully completed 40 hours of testing, which is the equivalent of 20 continuous events at the Milwaukee Mile. The Milwaukee Mile is known as the toughest of the ASA tracks because its length requires that engines operate at peak performance for extended periods of time.

"It's only fitting that the engine also completes driveability tests as a part of the Power Tour," McPhail said. "During the tour we'll perform final tests on the durability of the camshaft, valve springs and torsional damper. The tour enables us to take a close look at a wide range of driving environments."

One important way this engine will impact automobile racing is that it makes race engines more affordable, according to Don Taylor, of GM Motorsports. "Current race engines employ a wide range of special components that must be added by engine builders, resulting in price tags of more than $30,000," he explained. "The LS1 engine for ASA racing, is expected to cost just $10,000. When you multiply those savings times the number of engines required for a single season, race teams using this power plant realistically may expect a total racing budget at least one third less than their current ones."