For almost a decade, rumors have been swirling about Dodge returning to NASCAR competition. The automaker left the sport after the 2012 season when it won the championship with Penske Racing and driver Brad Keselowski. Soon after, Penske Racing left Dodge for Ford, after the Auburn Hills-based automaker wouldn’t give the organization a multi-year deal.
Speculation started again after Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) entered NHRA competition this season with Dodge//SRT factory support. Tony Stewart who is a co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), was sighted as the best chance for the automaker to return, as SHR’s contract with Ford is up in 2024.
Last November, NASCAR President Steve Phelps held a “State of the Sport” address to inform the public about the direction NASCAR is heading towards going into the 2022 season. Taking questions, Phelps was asked about recent rumors about Dodge and other manufacturers entering the sport. “Our three existing OEMs are happy about that,” Phelps said. “Our race teams are happy about that. We’re happy about that. It’s been widely rumored that Dodge is one of those or the closest. I won’t confirm or deny that. It is important. We’ve made no bones about the fact that we want to have a new OEM in our sport. I think we got delayed with the pandemic.”
“With that said, we are an attractive place I believe for OEMs to come into the sport. Now is an important opportunity for them to do that because of the Next-Gen car. I also believe the fact that the sport is growing and has a relevance that it hasn’t had in decades is causing some real interest from other OEMs,” he concluded.
But according to the most recent report from Sports Business Journal (SBJ), Dodge’s plans to return to NASCAR have stalled.
The article stated that last year, Dodge held talks with at least one team, the Ford-backed team of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing (RFK Racing). Brad Keselowski who became a co-owner in the team in the offseason, is also a driver of one of the team’s cars. It is not surprising that RFK Racing would be in talks with Dodge, considering the struggles the team has had over the past decade and the fact that Keselowski has had a strong relationship with Dodge and Mopar outside of the Cup Series.
Growing up in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Keselowski grew up within a stone’s throw of the Chrysler Headquarters in Auburn Hills. His father Bob, ran Mopar race cars throughout most of his stock car career. Brad also went on to form his own Truck Series team before Dodge left the sport, which also had factory support from the automaker.
The article also stated that Dodge told the SBJ last week, that it was not working on expanding into any new series. “Dodge is focused on our NHRA Camping World Drag Racing series efforts and the NHRA ‘Countdown to the Championship’ with Tony Stewart Racing and not expanding our efforts into other forms of racing at this time,” the automaker said in a statement.
SBJ also stated that NASCAR, RFK Racing, and Ford all declined to comment on the situation.
It has been no secret that NASCAR plans to introduce electrification into its future plans. A report from KickinTheTires.nethas stated that the Cup Series could alter its new Next-Gen car into gas/electric hybrids for the 2024 season. NASCAR did state earlier this year that it would run an all-electric exhibition series next year, which would have worked in Dodge’s favor with the introduction of the all-new all-electric Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Banshee. But recent rumors state that the all-electric series could be delayed.
Source: Sports Business Journal
