Dodge plans to phase in new engine: Dodge officials expect to have a new engine on the track sometime this summer. The new engine should improve water flow and the ability to make power reliably, said Howard Comstock, Dodge's Sprint Cup program manager. Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Penske Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing build their own engines. Petty Enterprises uses Gillett Evernham motors. "We did the initial development in-house at Chrysler and made parts available to the teams," Comstock said. "Now they have got parts, and they can get their engines put together and run them for the first time on their dyno. We will get some additional feedback and make some engineering changes as we go along and make sure that everything is solid before the engine actually sees competition." With Chevrolet and Toyota having introduced new engines last year, Comstock said Dodge has looked at those engines and learned. Ford most likely is coming out with a new engine in 2009.(SceneDaily.com)(1-16-2008)
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Seven years into its re-entry to NASCAR's top series, Dodge has provided ample proof that momentum can be a fleeting thing.
Sterling Marlin of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates held the Dodge banner high in 2002, the automaker's second season back. The veteran driver from Tennessee won two races for the second straight year and held a 91-point lead in the Cup standings after the Southern 500 at Darlington in September.
But Marlin wrecked the next week at Richmond and subsequently had to sit out the final seven races, short-circuiting his title hopes.
The next year, Penske Racing joined the Dodge fold and Ryan Newman won a circuit-best eight races. While five wrecks and two mechanical issues parked Newman too often for him to win the 2003 title, it seemed it would be only a matter of time before he and the No. 12 team secured a championship.
But that hasn't happened.
Kahne finds trouble
In 2006, the baton passed to Ray Evernham's organization and driver Kasey Kahne, who won six races but stalled in the Chase for the Cup and wound up eighth.
No worries, it seemed, with the young driver's star only beginning to rise. Then came a 2007 season in which he faltered so badly - no wins and only one top-five finish - that it seemed almost impossible to fathom how such a slide had occurred.
With that as a backdrop, the optimism professed by Dodge brand director Mike Accavitti for 2008 could be viewed as effusive.
"It is in our DNA that we don't give up," Accavitti said. "When we get knocked down, we get stronger. Our teams are that way, too. ... You can always throw in the towel, or you can do what we did and never give up.
"We kept trying, one race and one day at a time, and we were pleased with the progress we made toward the end of the year. There was some excitement going on there."
Pep talk notwithstanding, there actually is some foundation.
Kurt Busch surged into last year's Chase after Pat Tryson took over as crew chief, and only Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch scored more points in the second half of the sport's regular season than Kurt Busch and his No. 2 Dodge team.
The Ganassi group got a lift when Juan Pablo Montoya won at Infineon Raceway, the first victory for Ganassi since Jamie McMurray scored while subbing for the injured Marlin in 2002.
And, mercifully, 2007 finally ended for Kahne and Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Things went so far south there last year that you have to figure a new year can only be better.
Disagreements surface
One of Dodge's biggest problems in recent seasons has seemed to be its teams' inability to get out of each other's way.
When Dodge returned to the Cup Series in 2001, the mantra was a "one-team approach" with aggressive plans for extensive sharing among the various owners. What developed, however, was a series of internal disagreements over various changes the manufacturer sought to its cars that manifested itself at times in some teams running different models in the same race.
That all came to a head last season, Accavitti said, at a team owners' meeting with Dodge officials. With Chevrolet dominating its rivals in the Cup Series, it was time for a change.
"Last year was a very humbling year for all of us," Accavitti said.
"We all had to look at ourselves around that table, look into each other's eyes and admit that none of us was exactly knocking it out of the park.
"The conclusion we came to was that once we were all in the top 10 we could start talking about it being every man for himself. We all came to a gentlemen's agreement to bring the whole pack forward together. We needed to right the Dodge ship."
New engine package
The newfound spirit of cooperation will get a strong test during the 2008 season as the teams try to institute a new engine package that has NASCAR approval.
"The engine is an example of the effort we've been working on with all of our engine shops," Accavitti said. "We had a complete buy-in from each engine shop on the design before it was submitted. ... The teams will all be working together to make sure we learn as much as we can from each other as they decide for themselves how to phase it in."
Busch's surge last year, which included a pair of victories, puts him in position to next try to sustain a forward drive into 2008. However, it was Newman who seemed to take to the car of tomorrow as it was being introduced. He had, by far, the most points among Dodge drivers in the 16 races using the car in 2007 and that's the car everyone is racing all season in 2008.
Montoya's victory at Infineon was hardly a stunner, because the former Formula One driver is one of the world's most accomplished road racers.
But he also finished second in the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis, where he has won in an IndyCar, and finished every lap in two races run at Martinsville, finishing eighth there in the fall.
Promising driver Reed Sorenson, 21, returns as a teammate and they're joined by a driver who could benefit from the lessons Montoya learned as a Cup rookie, reigning IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti.
Patrick Carpentier, another driver with extensive open-wheel experience, joins Kahne and Elliott Sadler as GEM tries to shake off the malaise of what can only be seen as a lost season.
"We feel like we've positioned Gillett Evernham Motorsports to be a much better team in 2008," Sadler said. "I think it¡¦s time you started seeing some Dodges in Victory Lane."
Fans of Petty Enterprises would second that.
That team hasn't won since John Andretti's victory in 1999, but Bobby Labonte did finish 18th in the standings a year ago. And that was the team's best showing since Andretti¡¦s 17th place in '99.
Kyle Petty once again will drive the No. 45 except for a midsummer hiatus to work with TNT¡¦s broadcasting team.
Ken Schrader and John Andretti both tested in the No. 49 Dodge for BAM Racing at Daytona.
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Dodge Looking to be Championship Contender in 2008
Clear!Blue Communications For Dodge Motorsports, Press Release
CONCORD, N.C. (January 22, 2008) -- Dodge enters the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season optimistic a seven-year building project has been successful and ready to pay dividends. The objective – the Sprint Cup.
The 2008 Dodge Charger lineup will feature five teams with 12 drivers that are a mixture of seasoned veterans, champions from other racing series that are newcomers to NASCAR and experienced young talent. There’s plenty of talent to add to the 197 victories posted by Dodge in NASCAR’s premier series – 136 by the Dodge Charger.
Since 2001 when Dodge returned to NASCAR’s premier series, the goal has been to be the manufacturing leader by winning races and ultimately the championship. Those goals have not changed.
“We remain firmly committed to those objectives,” said Mike Accavitti, Director – Dodge Brand and SRT Global Marketing. “We’ve taken strides toward those goals. Our progress slowed somewhat in 2007, but we’re confident we have a very talented group of teams capable of producing wins, top-fives and top-10s. We expect Dodge to be well represented in the Chase in 2008 and be a serious contender for the championship.”
Accavitti’s comments, to more than 200 motorsports journalists, were made today during a Dodge Motorsports press conference. Dodge drivers, crew chiefs and team representatives took part in the press conference on the second day of the annual Lowe’s Media Tour.
Dodge, which has a storied heritage in auto racing with the Charger, has elected to continue the winning tradition that legends David Pearson, Bobby Isaac and Richard Petty established in the 1970s by designating the Charger as the nameplate Dodge teams will use in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this season and in the future.
“Dodge has a racing heritage that spans many different nameplates and models, and the Charger is the cornerstone of that heritage,” said Accavitti. “When NASCAR originally announced the phase-in plan for the “car of tomorrow”, it made sense for Dodge to race the Charger and Avenger. When the decision was made to race only one car in 2008, we talked with our partners, the more than 2,500 Dodge Dealers across the country, and they expressed overwhelming support for Dodge to continue its motorsports heritage with the Charger nameplate. NASCAR rules permit Dodge to use either nameplate in 2008.”
Three teams will field three cars each in 2008. Penske Racing has Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman returning. They are joined by Sam Hornish Jr., a former Indianapolis 500 and Indy Racing League champion.
Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates has Reed Sorenson and Juan Pablo Montoya, the 2007 Raybestos Rookie of the Year, back. The newcomer to Ganassi Racing is defending Indianapolis 500 and IRL champion Dario Franchitti.
Gillett Evernham Motorsports’ Kasey Kahne, the winningest driver in 2006 with six victories, is once again teamed with Elliott Sadler and newcomer Patrick Carpentier from the open-wheel ranks.
Petty Enterprises will field cars for Bobby Labonte, the 2000 NASCAR Cup champion, and Kyle Petty from a new facility in Mooresville, N.C., after 60 years at the Level Cross complex.
The final member of the Dodge family is BAM Racing which will start the season with veteran Kenny Schrader the driver.
“Racing is the core of Dodge’s DNA,” said Accavitti. “We like the mix we have this season. We have proven talent in NASCAR competition and we have newcomers that have proven themselves in other forms of racing. It shapes up to be an exciting year for Dodge Motorsports.”
NASCAR provides a platform to showcase the power and performance of the Dodge brand. Previously, the focus has been on generating impressions through race team sponsorship and activation. That changes in 2008.
“The Dodge Dealers’ sponsorship of the 9 and 19 since 2001 has served us well,” said Accavitti. “The emergence of new sponsorship opportunities for those teams has given Dodge the ability to redirect valuable resources. The resources will provide additional engineering support for team at the track as well as fund new marketing initiatives and track activation that will excite both our Dodge customers and NASCAR fans.
“We will have Dodge on display throughout the year through numerous programs such as event sponsorships, official vehicle status and promotions. The performance and aggressive styling of the Dodge Charger will be on display to millions of consumers throughout the year.”
The No. 43 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 will be auctioned on eBay with proceeds going to the Victory Junction Gang Camp. The auction runs Feb. 12-22. The car will be the 43rd SRT8 off the assembly line and will be the only car in the 2008 model year that will be painted B5 Blue.
The Dodge Charger has recorded 136 wins in NASCAR’s premier series with 124 coming during an 11-year span, 1966-1977. Three drivers – Pearson, Isaac and Petty (3) -- combined for five championships during that period driving a Charger.
For the latest information about Dodge Motorsports throughout the 2008 season, visit www.dodgemotorsportsmedia.com.
Dodge Brand
With a U.S. market share of 6.4 percent, Dodge is Chrysler LLC’s best-selling brand and the fifth largest nameplate in the U.S. automotive market. In 2007, Dodge sold more than 1.3 million vehicles in the global market. In the highly competitive truck market, Dodge has a 15 percent market share.
Recently, Dodge introduced the all-new 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan with 35 new or improved features including the newest innovation, the Swivel ‘n Go™ seating system. Dodge is entering key European volume segments with Nitro, Caliber and Avenger. The all-new 2009 Dodge Journey will debut in 2008 calendar year, and will be available outside North America in both left- and right-hand drive in mid-2008. Also in 2008, Dodge will introduce its modern muscle car the all-new Dodge Challenger.
This Press Release and any images that are used,
are used with permission. Do not duplicate or
redistribute in any form without permission or credit.
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This thread is for the articles about Dodge in the Nascar 2008 season.
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Toyota has big expectations for its second year of Cup racing, but the other manufacturer that joined the series this decade is still in transition.
Seven years ago, Dodge resurrected its Cup program, and Chip Ganassi Racing was strong out of the box. Sterling Marlin finished third in points in his first season and followed that by contending for a title before a neck injury ended his 2002 season. Since then, the best Dodge finish has been Ryan Newman's sixth-place runs in 2003 and '05.
Coming off a year in which Dodge won only three of 36 races, nobody can make a case that a title run is imminent.
Newman missed the Chase the past two seasons, so it's hard to consider the Penske team a threat. His teammate, Kurt Busch, won a title at Roush Racing and is the most serious contender, but he won just twice last year as the only Dodge driver to qualify for the Chase.
Most of the Dodge teams are in transition. Penske will have to adjust to the retirement of president Don Miller while adding a third team--with Indycar driver Sam Hornish.
At Ganassi, Reed Sorenson, who will turn 22 next month, is the team "veteran" with two full years of Cup experience. Juan Pablo Montoya was solid in his first season but might be another year away from challenging for the Chase. And Dario Franchitti, the defending IRL champion, faces a daunting learning curve.
Ray Evernham, the guy who spearheaded Dodge's re-entry into Cup racing, has scaled back his role since selling his team to the George Gillett family. He won't be at the track every week, and Gillett Evernham Motorsports is trying to rebound from an underwhelming 2007. As much as that organization-- headlined by Kasey Kahne--has struggled with the Car of Tomorrow, two or three wins would be a big improvement under new leadership.
The other Dodge team, Petty Enterprises, has moved into a temporary shop in the NASCAR hub with the hope of building on Bobby Labonte's 18th-place points finish. Just winning a race would be great for Labonte and new crew chief Jeff Meendering, who worked previously on Jeff Gordon's team.
The biggest change at Dodge might come from above. New Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli (former CEO of The Home Depot and head cheerleader for Tony Stewart) wants his Dodge teams to win--and win now. It's a refreshing new course with Nardelli in charge. There's a sense of urgency.
But Nardelli would be smart to expect improvement while understanding that his teams are in transition. They're setting themselves up to be stronger down the road.
Bob Pockrass is an associate editor for NASCAR Scene.
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There wasn't much pre-race buzz about the Dodge camp coming into Sunday's Daytona 500, but Charger drivers scored six top-10 finishes in "The Great American Race."
With Penske Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch leading the way with their 1-2 finish, drivers from Chip Ganassi Racing and Gillett Evernham Motorsports also came home in the top-10 on Sunday.
“This was a marketer’s dream tonight,” said Mike Accavitti, the director of Dodge Motorsports marketing. “It was not just one Dodge crossing the finish line and then the next one was in 15th place. It was Dodge-Dodge, somebody else-somebody else, Dodge-Dodge-Dodge.”
While all the talk leading up to the weekend was about Hendrick Motorsports and the Chevy camp plus the resurgent Toyota stable, Dodge was very much under the radar.
Until Sunday night.
“What it shows everybody is that Dodge is a force to be reckoned with,” Accavitti said. “We weren’t just pulling lariats. We were behind last year and we have refocused and we demonstrated today that we’re back and we’re back in a big way and we’re going to win some races this year.”
Sorenson was fast all week in his Target Dodge and backed it up on Sunday, running in the lead pack most of the afternoon before posting his fifth place finish.
“It was pretty fun there at the end,” Sorenson said. “We had a lot more grip there at the end. We got two- or three-wide and pushed each other really hard, and there happened to be about four Dodges lined up at the end. Everybody on the team has done a great job since we got here and I think that says a lot about what we can do this year.”
Gordon's run may have been the most surprising of the group. In his first start in his new relationship with GEM, Gordon was able to run competitively and come home eighth.
“They said we were going to run the high line, and I have to be honest with you, I was good enough with a 10th-place finish that time,” Gordon said. “I didn’t think we were going to go from 10th to first after the restart. We moved up a couple spots which is not bad and we were beating and banging pretty hard.”
Gordon does expect a penalty after his Dodge as found with an unapproved nose for inspection prior to Daytona 500 practice Feb. 9.
“[The 500] is definitely a good start,” Gordon said. “Now we just have to see how many points we’re going to get taken away from us. At least we got a good baseline before they start taking them.”
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There were 6 Dodges in the top 10 at the Daytona 500!! Yes, way to go Dodge!
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Dodge aims for up year
Dodge in the 2008 Nascar Season
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