Dodge Leaving Nascar: Say It Ain’t So

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Four races to go and driving a Chevy is as important at Atlanta as it has been everywhere else on the Chase circuit.

The strength of the Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing is their tenure with the GM brand; it is one of the reasons why those teams seem to among the ones to beat.

The question behind their success has been this: "Is it the car or does Chevrolet just have the best drivers and teams?"  It’s hard to argue that the three teams listed above, along with Dale Earnhardt Inc., haven’t been the best equipped over the past ten to fifteen years.

It is difficult to go too far back and gain any perspective on how brands do at particular tracks since everything has been changed by the “New Car."  The car makes and models are literally just shells of what they once were. It has been since the mid to late Eighties that definite car makes made a difference in their ability to affect the outcome of a race.

There was a time when car owners would change brands or models to gain an advantage over the competition. Going back to the 1960's, the Mercury Cyclones were the car of choice over the Ford Torino because its shape was more aerodynamic. 

The Monte Carlo Aero Coupe was the answer to the teams that found slipperier makes from Oldsmobile, Buick, or Pontiac in the 90's.

But, of course, the days of having all those makes of car are long gone. Granted, several that I mentioned fell under the GM branding, but having a long list of models made for more interesting chatter on Mondays. 

It has only been a few short years since Dodge returned to the Cup series. Now, with the talk of mergers on and off the race track, the future of Chrysler in racing is in doubt. 

No matter what, losing a brand is a negative. Dodge came back into the sport with high hopes and eventually re-introduced one of its most popular models, the Charger, because of it.

The new car has stripped away all branding. It would seem that such little difference in the cars would result in more models, even if in name only. However, that is not the case.

Asking for more brands may be a pipe dream on my part, but I also wished for a factory roof, hood, deck and glass. So why not wish for or more brands? I can dream, can’t I?

photo credit: Icon Sports Media