With the rough economy and high cost of racing, it was only a matter a time before NASCAR started feeling the effects. Dodge has been a staple in the Craftsman Truck Series but it's peak came between the years of 2001 and 2004 winning 36 of 99 races. Dodge than scaled back to one team in 2008, that team being Bobby Hamilton Racing.
This week it was announced that the team would no longer receive support from Dodge effectively severing Dodge's long standing partnership with the series.
This leaves us to ponder the question: Are the other series next? With rumors circulating for years that Dodge will pull out of NASCAR, is it finally happening? Dodge Motorsports senior manager Mike Delahanty say that the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series are unaffected but with the economy, they may not be unaffected too much longer.
Dodge currently has only four wins on the year with three different drivers, one coming because of strategy at New Hampshire and the manufacturer sits in last place in the manufacturers standing in 2008.
Dodge in the Nationwide Series has fared even worse with no wins in the 2008 series and only 14 top tens among all of their drivers.
Dodge's performance issues and now the fact that they are pulling out of the Craftsman Truck Series leaves us wondering about their future in the sport.
2 comments Last one added 9 months ago — Leave a Comment
Mary Jo Buchanan 10 months ago
Tom, this may indeed be a sign of where Dodge is headed - perhaps right out of NASCAR. Good read.
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S M Napier 9 months ago
Great read, Tom. Looks like LJ was right about Dodge pulling totally out of NASCAR. They just haven't gotten it together like the other manufactures. Had read month's ago that one of the manufactures was pulling out of the truck series. They never revealed the manufacture but knew it was probably Ford or Doge that was done.
Too bad they just can't get it together, they had a bunch of talent in their stable and should have faired better.
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