Everybody WinsOnce, "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" was a given, but the political climate and cultural changes make that a questionable philosophy in some segments of society today. Still, NASCAR has become the most popular form of motorsports in North America, and to that end, Dodge's dealers were right to commit to the Winston Cup program. With the new R/T lineup (which is the largest number of performance-oriented offerings since the twilight of the supercar, 1971), the two are a perfect fit.
When talking to Ray Evernham, one gets the impression he really enjoys the challenges this opportunity brought him. With Jeff Gordon, he achieved an amazing level of dominance. Now as a team owner, he'll go to the next level with a combination he can proudly call all his own. No doubt the other NASCAR teams involved feel the same.
For DaimlerChrysler, it's a return to the heritage of performance that made Chrysler great. With the spectacular Viper programs both here and abroad, the successful NASCAR SuperTrucks, the new Hemi in Pro Stock drag racing, and much more, the Winston Cup commitment brought them full circle. It helps make Dodge Motorsports and Mopar Performance the dominant forces in automobile racing, and there are added benefits perhaps not seen from the living room couch on Sunday afternoon.
"What our own people and the race teams have already done gives me confidence that we will meet our goal and have a very competitive and beneficial racing program in 2001," remarks Lou Patane, Dodge Vice President for Motorsports Operations and Mopar Performance Parts. Patane was speaking about the Winston Cup effort, but the statement certainly applies across a vast array of sanctions and series.
"The program has drawn on all the talent and experience we have in racing and building vehicles for consumers," he continued. "It's also giving our young people an experience that will change them forever and make them even more valuable as they focus on making better production cars and trucks."
In the next 30 days, the Dodges will hit the high banks in Daytona. It's great to be back...
Could It Happen Again?"...And Richard Petty wins the 1964 Daytona 500!"Perhaps the finest hour of the old Chrysler Corporation's involvement in NASCAR came on February 23, 1964. A virtually new engine design came to the sport's storied high banks on the shores of the Atlantic and literally dominated the year's biggest event. Petty won, followed by Jim Pardue and Paul Goldsmith, all in 426 Hemi-powered Plymouths. Jim Paschal's Plymouth and Junior Johnson's Dodge were also in the top ten at the end of an event where Chryslers had taken the top seven qualifying spots, setting several lap-speed records prior to the start of the race.
The Ray Evernham-led NASCAR teams and Dodge Motorsports engineers set a timetable of 500 days to get ready for the 2001 Daytona 500. However, according to Anthony Young's Muscle Car Color History "Hemi" book, the 1964 race engine program was on an even tighter schedule.
When they decided in the 1962-1963 offseason to bring the Hemi back for the 1964 NASCAR season, engineers staff at Chrysler's Highland Park facility were under the gun and lacked the computer technology available today. To save time, the plan used the present RB Max Wedge block, and hemispherical race parts were adapted to it, making changes to the already standardized block design. After those changes, the initial dyno work began on the first engine, which pulled 425 horses right out of the box.