My Favorite Small Block

Tom Stephens
Group Vice President GM Powertrain
Those production-based racing small-blocks


We won our 28th manufacturer's championship last year. Tied our own record with 22 wins in a season. And surpassed the guys from Dearborn to become the winningest manufacturer of all-time with 556 NASCAR victories--with a production-based Chevy small-block.

Our American Le Mans Series Corvette C5s and C6s have won four championships. Last year, they won all 10 races they competed in--including a third GTS class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Another production-based Chevy small-block, beating the world's best engines. Somewhere up there, Ed Cole has a big ol' grin on his face.

Roger Penske
Racing, Indy's winningest team owner
Our 1968 Sunoco Camaro engines

When I think of the Chevrolet small-block V-8, the first car that comes to mind is our 1968 Sunoco Special Camaro that won the Trans-Am Championship. Donohue's season was remarkable, and the Camaro was one of the first dominant race cars prepared by Penske Racing. I can say that the 1968 season helped lay the foundation for what we've accomplished as an organization over the years, and that bulletproof small-block V-8 was a big reason.

Craig Jackson
President, Barrett-Jackson Auctions
The next one I sell

I personally have great affection for the Chevy small-block, having wrenched on hundreds of them with family and friends. I never once blew one up, though I had my share of mishaps with other engines. As a kid, Chevy 2.02 and "camelhump" heads, as well as other high-performance parts, were plentiful in salvage yards. Now those parts are rare because collectors have snapped them up. I wish I'd stocked up on those parts back then, as they surely have been on the thousands of small-block Chevy-powered vehicles sold at Barrett-Jackson auctions. I believe the Chevy small-block motor was the single most important catalyst for the explosion of the American car culture in my lifetime.