Tim Wellborn-wing car aficionado...
Tim Wellborn-wing car aficionado extraordinaire-provided historic Dodges for the Talledega announcement.
The October 15, 1999, Press Conference at Talladega Superspeedway included Dodge dignitaries (from left) NASCAR veteran Buddy Baker, Ray Evernham, Richard Brickhouse; Jim Julow; Lou Patane; Ted Gray, Senior Manager for Dodge Dealer Advertising Association; Carl Galeana; Bill Tracy, Senior Manager Motorsport Operations and Mopar Performance Parts (hidden); and Bob Wildberger, Mopar Performance, Senior Manager NASCAR Motorsports Operations.
It sounds a long way off, but the clock is ticking.
February 2001 and the Daytona 500 are just over a year away, and while that time continuum seems ample for most efforts, the work that Ray Evernham has before him is daunting even to this modern-day Winston Cup talent.
Obviously, the powers that be at Dodge saw the potential of Ray Evernham, and on a list of potential team owners/managers, the 20-year-veteran of NASCAR competition headed the short list-that's if a list was ever made.
But behind Evernham's goal of fielding a two-car effort at Daytona in 2001 are Your Friendly Dodge Dealers. The dollars behind the effort come from 39 individual dealer advertising associations. Jim Julow, Vice President-Dodge Division, said in his address to the media at Talladega, "The dealer association presidents had an important job to do. They had to go back to 39 individual dealer advertising association boards and get their buy-in. It wasn't immediate and in some cases, it wasn't easy, but I am proud to say that in less than two months we had all 39 associations supporting Dodge's return to the sport. That unanimous agreement is what led us here today and with our partners, the dealers, we think we can really leverage this initiative when we are finally on the track to race."
Ask anyone in Winston Cup racing about the daunting efforts and money will always come to the forefront. We must assume that the dollars necessary to assemble a winning team are there. But there is one thing that money can't buy-time.
Evernham would drive that point home throughout the October 15 press conference. While most of the media in attendance were more interested in who would drive, specifically what kind of driver he was looking for-an experienced veteran or young talent-Ray Evernham made his intentions clear, but quickly refocused. He said, "You'd love to have a 21- or 22-year-old driver with experience. That would be the ultimate. Right now my focus is going to be on building a competitive car and building a competitive race team. If we can prove that we are doing that, that will create a high degree of interest from drivers."
Evernham continued, "We are going to focus on a competitive car and team. Like the Field of Dreams, if you build it, they will come. If we do that, a driver who wants to win [will come]. The best drivers will race you as hard for $1 as they will for a million dollars. The guys that want to win and be competitive and get with a group of people who are committed and passionate about winning will be interested in this program with Dodge."
Evernham also spoke of the time line. He noted an Intrepid show car will be displayed at the January North America International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, in January 2000, with hopes to begin testing an actual car soon after. In order for that to happen, Dodge hopes to work very closely with NASCAR to make the process of approving a car as smooth as possible.
Currently, development is taking place temporarily at Evernham's Busch Grand National shop. Other forms of racing development are taking place in satellite offices. A permanent shop is hoped to be found in the Mooresville/Concord, North Carolina area.
Because we have speculated in Mopar Muscle about the engine that will power the WC Intrepids, we asked Mopar Performance's Lou Patane if David Rampy's Competition Eliminator small-block-with a sprint car block and NHRA Pro Stock heads-was potentially the package that will be the basis for the Winston Cup Dodge engine. Patane noted that there are several engine programs in place that are working on this effort, however, no one builder has been singled out and no engine has been formally presented for approval to NASCAR.
 The opening of Alabama International...  The opening of Alabama International Motor Speedway-better known as Talladega-was to be a grand affair. That was until the Professional Drivers Association voted two days prior to the Talladega debut that they would withdraw. Bill France, Sr. demanded that anyone not racing on Sunday immediately leave the track. As a result, 32 Grand National racecars left, leaving 13 Grand National cars and 23 GT race cars. Of those 13 GN cars was Richard Brickhouse in the number 99. It would be Dodge's first victory at Talladega and Brickhouse's only GN victory.Brickhouse was at Talladega for the 30th anniversary of that victory as well as the announcement of Dodge's return to NASCAR's premier series-Winston Cup. |  "NASCAR Winston Cup fans are...  "NASCAR Winston Cup fans are our kind of customer. They are the most brand-loyal people on the planet....[They number] over 100 million people.... That alone is a convincing enough argument for Dodge to go NASCAR racing..."
"We took a bunch of our Dodge Dealer Association board members down to the Cracker Barrel 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway last month... People came up to us, spontaneously, and said 'When are you going to get back in this sport, we've missed you. I own a Dodge. When are you going to give me something to cheer for?'"
-Jim Julow
Vice President, Dodge Division |  What makes this important...  What makes this important is that we are in a big motorsports program, we're not just sitting in the stands anymore. The association with Winston Cup allows us to forge even closer ties with our customers-who are the most brand-loyal of any in the country. It's hard not to be excited about the entire Winston Cup atmosphere. The fans are energizing. That is what helped us clinch our decision-not to mention what our Winston Cup car will look like."
-Carl Galeana
Owner Van Dyke Dodge in Warren, MIPast Dodge Dealer Association Executive Committee Chairman |