Pontiac Returns To AARO Through XV Agreement

(OOC: This plays quite fast and loose with the company's late history)

Pontiac, the manufacturer that last saw AARO competition in the second Amp Energy Racing Series season of 2009, will return unofficially next season in an unconventional turn of events that began years ago.

In late 2008, Pontiac released the much-anticipated redux of its Trans Am model, essentially a Chevy Camaro (the fifth generation of which had been released at the same time) with reworked cosmetics and a Pontiac engine. As the company had ended manufacturer support in racing for some time, and with some teams still eager to run the rather outdated 2003-styled Grand Prix model, a return to racing was thrown around. Soon enough, plans were developed for a stock-car concept of the vehicle, an engine was developed, and the body for one test prototype was built in 2009.

However, in 2010, sales of the street model, high as they were, were not enough to keep the now-struggling manufacturer afloat. When Pontiac began to shutter its doors in 2011, and with the stock-car body sitting useless in a test room, the management decided it didn't want the work to go to waste.

Enter XV Racing Builders, the successful North Carolina-based company known for their support of the local racing scene with many car-body options. Approached by Pontiac a month later, and after setting up the engine shop, they agreed to a five-year lease to produce Trans Am stock car bodies and engines over time as demand deemed necessary, with XV gaining 40% royalties if the car were to make it into a series that got significant screen time. When Pontiac closed for good late in the year, XV took full responsibilities.

The announcement came just today through General Motors, in partnership with XV, that the car would race in AERS competition this year. With an engine that has been refined a tad from its former incarnation by GM engineers to meet the standards of today's competition, the Trans Am has already been confirmed for use by one team - Greg Sauer Racing - and with Cadillac's future with the series in doubt, fans could be seeing a few more double grilles out on the track soon enough.

Pontiac gathered 54 wins, most notably the 2001 and 2006 Livonia 250s, and two titles with Sam Davids (in 2002 and 2006), in AERS competition from its inception until 2010 - when AARO's three-year rule for using unsupported vehicles ran out (support had been dropped for the Grand Prix after 2006).