Dodge Leaving NASCAR?

Eric J Floppyfish wrote:

Jayski wrote:

Dodge leaving NASCAR? Dodge is expected to announce its withdrawal from NASCAR competition following the 2012 season, multiple sources with knowledge of Dodge's plans told ESPN.com. Dodge is expected to hold a Tuesday press conference [August 7th at 2/et] to make the announcement. Attempts to contact multiple Dodge spokespeople for comment were unsuccessful or resulted in no comment. Dodge was faced with a rebuilding phase beginning in 2013, after Penske Racing -- the lone NASCAR organization to field Dodges since 2009 -- chose to leave the manufacturer in favor of Ford Motor Company beginning next season. This isn't the first time Dodge has chosen to leave NASCAR. The manufacturer pulled out of the sport in 1977 and didn't return until 2001. Since that time, Dodge has accumulated 55 Sprint Cup victories. (ESPN)(8-7-2012)

^ That.

Just think of it, how many teams switched over to Dodge when they came back in 2001? Quite a few. Now look where Dodge is...

I thought Furniture Row was taking Dodge?

Furniture Row is hardly a flagship team.

vbooy57 wrote:

Furniture Row is hardly a flagship team.

Yes I know but weren't they trying to get Dodge on board like a day ago?

Honestly i kinda saw this comeing when Penske said they were switching to Ford

Nick399 wrote:

vbooy57 wrote:

Furniture Row is hardly a flagship team.

Yes I know but weren't they trying to get Dodge on board like a day ago?

What I said is the reason they couldn't get Dodge on board.

Eric nailed my reaction.

Here, tell Dodge what you think about the news: https://www.facebook.com/dodge?ref=stream

...and here's a page I made in light of this whole thing: https://www.facebook.com/WhenIWasYourAgeNascarHadDodgeInIt

Nick I heard the same thing that Furniture Row Was going to Dodge in'13 and have a 2 car team with Regan Smith and Kurt Busch??????

From what I heard Dodge is putting it's cash in the Viper ALMS program instead. Which isn't a bad business decision, because GT racing has what Stock Car racing used to be: relevance to road cars. The Porsche 911s you see racing in ALMS are built on the same assembly line as the ones you can buy at a dealership to drive on the road. Relevance to Road Cars is what made NASCAR big. But they've lost that element. And the manufactures are consequently losing interest.

Alpineopossum wrote:

From what I heard Dodge is putting it's cash in the Viper ALMS program instead. Which isn't a bad business decision, because GT racing has what Stock Car racing used to be: relevance to road cars. The Porsche 911s you see racing in ALMS are built on the same assembly line as the ones you can buy at a dealership to drive on the road. Relevance to Road Cars is what made NASCAR big. But they've lost that element. And the manufactures are consequently losing interest.

VIPERS!

Alpineopossum wrote:

From what I heard Dodge is putting it's cash in the Viper ALMS program instead. Which isn't a bad business decision, because GT racing has what Stock Car racing used to be: relevance to road cars. The Porsche 911s you see racing in ALMS are built on the same assembly line as the ones you can buy at a dealership to drive on the road. Relevance to Road Cars is what made NASCAR big. But they've lost that element. And the manufactures are consequently losing interest.

In that case, then I might want to pay some attention to ALMS next year.

Alpineopossum wrote:

Relevance to Road Cars is what made NASCAR big. But they've lost that element. And the manufactures are consequently losing interest.

Being that they developed a 2013 car, one that was arguably the most identifiable of all four, I doubt that was the reason they left.

Chives5150 wrote:

Alpineopossum wrote:

From what I heard Dodge is putting it's cash in the Viper ALMS program instead. Which isn't a bad business decision, because GT racing has what Stock Car racing used to be: relevance to road cars. The Porsche 911s you see racing in ALMS are built on the same assembly line as the ones you can buy at a dealership to drive on the road. Relevance to Road Cars is what made NASCAR big. But they've lost that element. And the manufactures are consequently losing interest.

In that case, then I might want to pay some attention to ALMS next year.

I went to the ALMS race at Mid Ohio, and it was pretty amazing. I think that the series could be big. Ferraris, Porsches, BMWs, Corvettes, Jaguars, Vipers, etc. racing each other have enormous appeal.