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2012 Camaro ZL1

The Chevrolet Camaro is at war with the Ford Mustang. The battles are waged at racetracks, drag strips, and especially red lights across the country. Don’t believe it? Check out Chevy’s latest attack on Ford—the Camaro ZL1, a direct assault on Ford’s most powerful Mustang, the 550-horsepower Shelby GT500.

Looking at the two adversaries’ histories, it’s amazing just how much the Mustang and Camaro have in common. Like the Shelby moniker Ford uses on its top-of-the-line Mustang, the Camaro ZL1 name dates back to the 1960s. In 1969, Chevy gave an exclusive group of 69 custom Camaros a very special V-8 dubbed ZL1. Built for racing, the original ZL1 engine was an all-aluminum 427 cubic-inch monster boasting 430 horsepower. To avoid being hassled by insurance companies that were fighting against other high-powered machines, many believe GM underrated that original ZL1 by about 100 horses.

Today, both the Shelby and the ZL1 boast supercharged V-8 engines under their hoods. The ZL1 is powered by a 6.2-liter V-8 that originated in the Cadillac CTS Coupe . In the Cadillac, the engine tops out at 556 horsepower. In the ZL1, Chevy is promising at least 550 horsepower and 550 pound-feet of torque. (Since the Shelby GT500 has almost exactly the same stats, it’s not hard to imagine Chevy striving to harness all the power it can get under the hood in order to one-up Ford.)

To distinguish the ZL1 from lesser Camaros, the company has given the ZL1 an aluminum hood with vents to help release the copious amount of heat created by the hyped-up engine. The car also gets a new front bumper with a larger mouth, plus vents to help cool the ZL1’s massive front brakes. Lightweight 20-inch forged wheels are wrapped in the widest tires of any Camaro. Chevy has also completed a thorough retuning of the suspension, including adjustable magnetic shocks shared with the Corvette, presumably to give the driver a better chance of controlling the beastly V-8.

Inside, the interior is as classic as ever. There’s a new steering wheel and a boost gauge to monitor the supercharger. If you expect to find an automatic transmission, you’re out of luck—the ZL1 will only come with a six-speed manual when it goes on sale in early 2012. Chevy hasn’t announced official pricing, but expect it to slide in just under $50,000, or about as much as a Shelby GT500. The war rages on.

Boston's Top 10 All-Star Game Moments #1: Pedro ... - Over the Monster

Pedro Martinez ' 1999 season will forever rank as one of the best of all time. In an era where new offensive heights were being reached with some regularity, the Sox' ace recorded a league-best 2.07 ERA and struck out 13 batters per nine innings. When the end of the season came around, he received every first place vote for the Cy Young Award, and came in second in the MVP race despite receiving more first place votes than eventual winner Ivan Rodriguez .

He was putting up dead-ball era numbers against steroid era competition, playing in tiny Fenway Park. And he was never better than when he was facing the best.

The National League lineup in the 1999 All-Star Game was, to put it simply, loaded. Anchored by a 3-4 punch of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa , who had one season before chased and surpassed Roger Maris' home run record, the top-6 was a murderer's row of men who are either future Hall of Famers, or are doomed to be kept off due to steroid allegations.

Them and Matt Williams.

It was this group of six men that Pedro Martinez was asked to get out, and not one of them really stood a chance.

First up was Barry Larkin, who actually put up a fight, fouling off a number of 2-2 fastballs to stay alive. Then Pedro dropped the changeup on him, and he was helpless, swinging and missing for the first strikeout.

Larry Walker was up next. He would strike out only 52 times during the 1999 regular season, but Pedro had no problem, catching him looking on the fourth pitch.

In came Sammy Sosa, but one of the greatest home run hitters of the day could not catch up to Pedro's fastball. The inning ended with Pedro's third strikeout in front of a packed Fenway crowd.

Pedro was far from done, however. The one man who beat Sosa out the year before stood in to start the second: Mark McGwire. His record proved little protection against Pedro, however, and he went down the same way as all the rest.

The streak was finally broken up by Matt Williams, of all people. One of the more strikeout-prone members of the lineup, Williams did manage to put the ball in play, reaching first when Pedro's defense failed to back him up the first time he asked them for any help. But Pedro would not be denied his 1-2-3 inning, as he struck out Jeff Bagwell with speed enough for Ivan Rodriguez to gun Williams down at second.

The National League had sent its best at Pedro, and he had sent them back broken and bruised. There was no such thing as a match for Pedro around the turn of the century, and he proved it that night in July.

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