The strongest Dodge team since the manufacture's return 10 years ago, Penske, is leaving the Dodge brand for a more beneficial switch to Ford. With that switch it leaves Dodge in a state of disarray with the pending announcement of the 2013 Dodge Charger Sprint Cup car next weekend at Las Vegas.
One of the teams that was speculated could make the switch to Dodge for more funding was Michael Waltrip Racing. They can officially be ruled out. A source said the switch won't happen because "We are definitely a Toyota."
With MWR being ruled out, that takes one of the bigger teams with a chance for a switch out of the picture. Popular opinion would say Hendrick Motorsports, Roush-Fenway Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Hass Racing and Richard Childress Racing also have no reason to switch.
A spokesman for Dodge said the process is underway for Dodge and RAM to determine their 2013 lineups.
That leaves teams such as Richard Petty Motorsports and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing as two of the bigger teams left who might look at switching brands.
The official statement from RPM didn't rule out a switch, but it didn't say it would happen either.
“We have a partnership with Roush FenwayRacing and we are happy to be a part of the Ford Racing program. As wealways do, we will evaluate all of our options and make decisions based on whatis ultimately best for our race team.”
Friday, March 2, 2012
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I look for RPM to return to Dodge. Petty would fall even farther down the Roush food chain next year with Penske coming in if they stayed in Fords.
ReplyDeleteGene,
ReplyDeleteThat certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility. RPM is the only team that responded to my inquiry that wasn't a resounding NO!
What about Tommy Baldwin? this would be the perfect chance for that team to move up the ladder. just look at where they are with very limited funding Dodge would be foolish to eliminate them from their phone calls!
ReplyDeletePetty needs to switch to Dodge. He has a long history with Dodge and also lots of wins in a Dodge and his personal cars and trucks are Dodge not Fords. EGR and Tommy Baldwin should considered as well. Maybe Keselowski will start his cup series Dodge team someday. Lets not forget Robby Gordon. Dodge needs to be in Nascar and they were also yhe most winning manufacturer at one time. Take it from this Dodge man for life. Go Mopar!!!
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