Cadillac is renowned for many outstanding achievements in its illustrious history, but one peak has remained unconquered until now. Even more, the fabled American brand has kept its distance from the greatest motoring happening in America, leaving the other GM division – the one on the opposite end of the corporate hierarchy – to wear the laurels wreath. NASCAR and Caddies have crossed paths so rarely that it's not even worth mentioning. But what if they did it again?
Chevrolet is the undisputed top predator of NASCAR, with 42 titles in 72 seasons. Still, the Camaro retirement is turning the page for General Motors and its presence on the oval superspeedways. With Oldsmobile and Pontiac long since defunct, Cadillac is the only brand left in the corporate portfolio – and a successful racing name for decades.
Despite its triumphs in other motoring jousts, the luxury brand hasn’t honored the dirt tracks of the brickyards with its crest – at least, not in a worthwhile manner. The 50s records show sporadic appearances of Caddies in NASCAR events, but other than that, it wasn’t meant to be.
But here we are, in 2024, when cars drive themselves. I’m still waiting for the moment they start fixing themselves and pay themselves out, leaving me with the troublesome choice of liveries for said cars. I know I’m off to the happy hunting grounds of imagination, but tell you what? I ran across an equally imaginative car visualist with bolder dreams than mine.
Photo: Instagram/@generalmotorsjeff
Jeff Hunter (I told you I was roaming the happy hunting grounds) wears the warcry generalmotorsjeff on social media, and he’s on to something about the Cadillac-NASCAR pairing. It’s a digital illusion, but what if the newly launched 2025 CT5-V Blackwing were to grace the high banks with its mean looks?
Look at the ten proposals in the gallery – which one looks like it could take the checkered flag after a 500-mile hot pursuit? The pixel lord has only gently brushed the grilles, headlights, and front aprons but generously cast bright liveries over the slow-slung V8-powered racers with a luxury coat of arms.
Some say the bowtie is the correct emblem on a NASCAR-oriented product from General Motors, but the Camaro’s future is in the wraps of uncertainty. The Monte Carlo nostalgia is strong – the nameplate has amassed nearly 400 wins in the Cup series, but the iconic Chevy muscle car was the last one standing. Not nearly as successful as the historic mid-size personal luxury model, the Camaro’s first win came in the same year as the Monte Carlo, in 1971.
After that season, the fierce Mustang rival took a five-decade sabbatical. It returned on the first step of the podium in 2018. On the other hand, Cadillac hasn’t hit the bullseye in the fabled competition – mainly because it didn’t line up at the start line. Would the retirement of the Camaro be the stage-setting opportunity for the brawny CT5-V Blackwing to plant the flag on the ovals?
After nearly two decades in news television, Răzvan turned to a different medium. He’s been a field journalist, a TV producer, and a seafarer but found that he feels right at home among petrolheads. Full profile
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