Filed under: Motorsports, Marketing/Advertising, Dodge
Dodge will remain in NASCAR under Cerberus
Not that there was a lot of speculation about Dodge possibly dropping out, but Dodge's senior manager for motorsports, Mike Deahanty, says the brands presence in NASCAR will remain under Chrysler's new ownership by Cerberus Capital Management. Petty Enterprises and Evernham Motorsports have both renewed their contracts with Dodge.
Top Speed, however, says sponsorship for the Evernham team, which currently includes Dodge dealers and the United Auto Workers, could change, with Budweiser rumored to be interested in paying Kasey Kahne to wear its red livery.
So rest easy, NASCAR Dodge fans. You'll still be able to see Dodge Chargers (or at least machines with Charger written across the nose) roaring around in circles.
[Source: Top Speed]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
BLS 6:06PM (8/07/2007)
You will not see any Chargers after this year.
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fordman 6:12PM (8/07/2007)
Seeing Dodge chargers on the track is wrong and seeing "Chargers written on machines" is correct as you pointed out.
The days of stock car racing are long gone. A Ford Fusion just has a plastic picture of one on the nose and nothing else. What a joke.
The vehicle with the closest resemblance to the actual road going version is the Tundra but even that is not close.
Vinny 6:08PM (8/07/2007)
Whew! Glad to hear they're continuing with sticker production for racin'.
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whofan 6:20PM (8/07/2007)
Once opon a time you could buy the great cars in NASCAR at your local dealer. I don`t Know why any auto maker would even bother with sponsering NASCAR.
In the 1960`s NASCAR inspired the golden age of the automobile. For that I will be forever greatfull. Now Nascar just blows! Nascar doesn`t sell cars anymore.
I agree 100% with all previous post here. You guys are right on!
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Tom 6:23PM (8/07/2007)
Actually, the article is wrong. Not only will you not see Dodge Chargers in NASCAR after this year, you won't see decals of the word "CHARGER" in its top-level series either.
The Car of Tomorrow edition of the Dodge "stock" car is labeled "AVENGER" in an attempt to help sell Dodge's new Accord-fighting sedan.
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whofan 7:00PM (8/07/2007)
Nascar doesn`t sell cars anymore. Cars in Nascar can be named anything and it all means nothing.
BLS 7:15PM (8/07/2007)
That was my point. It wasn't a social commentary on the state of NASCAR.
Also, there are series that are much more like stock cars. Namely sports car series like Speed World Challenge or ALMS GT. They aren't show room stock but they are pretty close to their road going cousins.
The Other Bob 7:41PM (8/07/2007)
If they actually put stock sedans in Nascar, the Charger would really have little compeition. Once everyone has rear drive sedans again, a new race series would be cool with actualy near stock cars.
Chargers
G-8's
Interceptors (if it ever exists)
Impalas
Avalons...er, maybe not.
That would sell cars.
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Travis Rassat 8:07PM (8/07/2007)
I have a hard time believing Dodge will be in NASCAR much longer. Sure, they are now saying they are staying, but when they start looking at places to cut costs, NASCAR sponsorship will be an easy target. Like several people have already said, the cars in NASCAR have very little to do with the street cars so it's not like it's an opportunity to showcase their technology or anything. I think it would be a lot easier to justify the expense if there was some sort of R&D return.
In addition, NASCAR's TV ratings have dropped roughly 10% per year for the last 2 years and generally only about 3-5% of U.S. households watch the races, so there are probably more effective ways to advertise to a much larger audience for the kind of money they spend on NASCAR.
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wally 8:21PM (8/07/2007)
They signed Richard to Limited LIFETIME DEAL!!!!!!
mj 8:24PM (8/07/2007)
uh... HELLLLLO? They're called OVALS! Not circles. How about some fact-checking from the fancy pantsing blogger-journalist-comic, eh?
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dejal 8:59PM (8/07/2007)
Racing in circles would be something to see. The side loads would be something else. I wonder how long the tires would last? A couple of laps?
Max Merak 9:57PM (8/07/2007)
"Dodge will remain in NASCAR under Cerberus"
And I will continue not to care, since the cars in NASCAR have nothing in common with their "street" counterparts except names.
How about GT racing?
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lintsniffer 12:00AM (8/08/2007)
Have you heard of homologation?
jon 12:38AM (8/08/2007)
Many of you need to learn what NASCAR is all about
Yes the hood, roof and trunk lid must conform to a street produced car and nothing else does but to say it has nothing to do with the nameplates is dead wrong
Chevy winning most races this year is solely from the R&D of GM as to their engine design and changes that come from using NASCAR races to test those designs.
Example look at the fast burn heads used on cars like the Corvette, the design came from those race powertrains.
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RickDom 8:33AM (8/08/2007)
They haven't had to use any stock sheetmetal since they let Ford switch from the Thunderbird to the Taurus.
j_diesel 1:25AM (8/08/2007)
oh good. dodge stays in nascar. i'll be able to sleep tonight.
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ronB52 8:37AM (8/08/2007)
I'm amazed at the high percentage of this peanut gallery that knows SO much more than the multi-billion dollar marketing departments of NASCAR and the auto manufacturers GM, Ford, Chrysler, and Toyota (also the hundreds of sponsors such as Home Depot, Lowes, Target, Bud, etc., etc.). It looks as if most of you people have no clue regarding what a monster industry NASCAR is (and the tens of thousands of good jobs provided). You should do a little bit of research before making yourselves look so idiotic.
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EnviroBob 9:33AM (8/08/2007)
Unfortunately, beyond the grass-roots level, you're hard pressed to find a racing series that it is mostly stock. Even the Speed Challenge cars, which look stock for the most part, have fairly heavily modified engines, suspensions, racing brakes, composite hoods and decklids and other body panels that are lightened. Never having seen a splitter on the nose of Mazda 6 at the local dealership, I'd say Touring cars are pretty much what NASCAR was 30 years ago.
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BLS 12:27PM (8/08/2007)
Is that a bad thing? I personally love it. Those Speed World Challenge races are so close. They are short but long enough that the cars are pretty spent at the end. There are no pit stops so it all comes down to driving.