Despite today’s announcement that Penske Racing will switch manufacturers from Dodge to Ford in 2013, it seems highly unlikely that the automaker will withdraw from the sport. Millions of dollars and thousands of man hours have been invested in the production of a new, more stock-appearing Dodge Charger NASCAR body for 2013, and it is not expected that Dodge will jettison that effort and end its longstanding involvement in NASCAR.
However, the automaker is currently left with no front-running team with which to ally next season. Aside from Penske, Dodge is currently associated with just one other team; the semi-privateer effort fielded by Robby Gordon. Gordon’s team reportedly receives very little factory support from Dodge, as evidenced by Gordon’s inability to obtain a powerplant from Penske Racing after qualifying for last weekend’s Daytona 500.
With all due respect to Gordon, who
continues to make the most of severely limited resources, his team is not the
answer to Dodge’s problem. So who, then,
might carry the Dodge banner in the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series?
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| Dodge's Ralph Gilles has some work to do. |
Dodge SRT President and CEO Ralph Gilles has not
commented publically since news of Penske’s decision became public earlier
today, but sources say Richard
Petty Motorsports could be high on the automaker’s wish list. FOXSports.com’s Lee Spencer quoted RPM
co-owner Andrew Murstein today, saying, “We received calls from several
manufacturers today asking if they could meet with us. While sponsorship is
down… manufacturer support is strong.”
Murstein confirmed that RPM’s
contract with Ford runs only through the 2012 campaign, leaving them open for a
possible manufacturer switch. Richard Petty also had a long and fruitful association
with Dodge in the past, winning multiple races and a majority of his seven
NASCAR championships in Dodge and Plymouth entries.
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing currently
ranks as a second-tier team in the Chevrolet camp, ranking behind Hendrick Motorsports
and Richard Childress Racing in terms of both wins and titles. EGR could
presumably become a more consistent winner with the full attention and support
of Dodge, but sources close to the team say there has been no conversation with
Dodge about a possible manufacturer switch.
Teams like Front Row Motorsports and
Tommy Baldwin Racing continue to climb NASCAR’s competitive ladder, and could
theoretically draw interest from Dodge, as well. But most observers agree that
the automaker will need to recruit at least one team that is capable of winning
in year one, to maintain its high-profile image in the sport.
Wouldn't it make more sense for Dodge to pursue a team that has it's own established engine program. RPM does not and Petty already tried the engine program before with Dodge and failed. EGR could make sense but again, Chip bailed on his engine program and the manufacturer when they couldn't figure the engine thing out also.
ReplyDeleteHard to see Dodge being able to "woo" a team under the circumstances of how they have operated the last handful of years. I do wish them luck though since it would be sad to see them go.
Front Row probably makes the most sense provided someone steps up to build engines.