[William]

It would surprise a few well-known racers.

Smokey Yunick, Paul Van Valkenburgh and Mark Donahue each wrote books which in part covered their experiences in dealing with Chevrolet in those days. Chevrolet generally provided tech and engineering support; hard parts were another issue. During the '67 season a trailering accident did extensive damage to one of Penskes' Camaros. Donahue had to scrounge junkyards to obtain sheetmetal to repair it. When Engineering finally solved the rocker ball problem Piggins initially refused to send the parts by air claiming they couldn't afford it. When the son of a GM President needed some Corvette parts to repair his car before a race his "connections" got a GM dealer to open his doors on a Sunday and he paid for the parts. He also shopped in junkyards. By the end of the '69 Trans-Am season Penske and Chevy were not on speaking terms. All Penske did was win consecutive championships for them.

All three had the same experience: dealing with Chevrolet was a constant struggle.

Read the books. It was not what you might think.