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Old 12-18-2000, 02:24 PM
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RedIntrepid9 RedIntrepid9 is offline
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Read this on www.jayski.com (where else?):

Chrysler News: Lou Patane, Vice President of Motorsports for DaimlerChrysler and the man responsible for carrying out the launch of Dodge's new NASCAR Winston Cup effort, has decided to retire, effective date unclear, it was learned over the weekend. Company representatives said the retirement was voluntary. "It's not a sports resignation, not a part of the merger or the change in motorsport," said Debby Robinson, vp at Chicago-based Golin/Harris, which handles aspects of Dodge's publicity.(SpeedVision)(12-18-2000)
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Old 12-18-2000, 07:45 PM
sanborn sanborn is offline
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Every Mopar Nascar fan owes Mr. Patane a debt of graditude. He guided Mopar from nothing to a credible Mopar racing effort. Not only a Nascar effort, but a racing effort in all forms of motorsports. I suspect he was responsible for convincing both the factory and the dealer network to commit the funds to the project, convince the race teams to switch to Mopar after a twenty year absence while at the same time attract the engineering and design talent to DC to make it all happen. I am sure the business pressure, constant travel and family pressures played a large part in his decision. He probably sees the light at the end of the tunnel (Daytona 2001) and decided it was time to make an announcement and go do something else.

Speaking as a guy who has been there, I congratulate him for a job well done.
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Old 12-18-2000, 10:18 PM
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I'm not going to climb on the bandwagon of those sad to see him leave. We never will know exactly what has gone on inside the motorsports efforts under his watch, but there have been some seriously unpopular decisions made during that time.

Despite Patane's drag racing background, the factory effort in that series has been totally confusing. Pro-stock is just beginning to come back around, but it should have happened long ago. Changing engine builders in mid-stream did nothing but agravate fans and cause confusion. The top-fuel sponsorship changes have also left many fans questioning what was going on in the corporate offices.

This year was the culmination of stupidity with the termination of support for the Keselowskis in CTS. If the company is not loyal to those who have supported them for years, how can they expect fan loyalty?

Most questionable has been the magnum-flush of funds down the prototype toilet. Those wasted millions will never convince Europeans that Chrysler is a performance marque. Think what the expenditure could have done to the success of any domestic racing series.


His retirement may well be the first sign of a massive cutback in Chrysler Group racing support. That silly corporate-speak press realease announcing the move means absolutely nothing. My bet is he was asked to retire, and/or make massive cuts to his budget.
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Old 12-19-2000, 03:49 PM
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RedIntrepid9 RedIntrepid9 is offline
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Biggrin

Actually, the retirement is not an immediate one. I found this at www.speedvision.com/pub/articles/racing/08inews/001218b.html
and www.speedvision.com/pub/articles/racing/08inews/001218a.html

Patane's retirement - a second look

Conversations with Patane today clarified his position within the company and some of his future plans as well. Patane stated that he does plan to retire, but not until well into next year, and the announcement
was simply intended to help create a smooth transition as it will take some time to find a replacement. He was quite surprised to find that it had created the opposite effect. He is still the VP in charge of all
American motorsports activities, and is retaining his staff and offices in Detroit. He will continue to oversee all aspects of DaimlerChrysler's racing activities including the NASCAR program and the ORECA/Dallara/Dodge Le Mans prototypes, as well as the corporation's numerous oval-track and drag racing programs.

"Nothing has changed, except that I'll have a new office in the Charlotte area," said Patane, "and will be working even more closely with Ray Evernham on our NASCAR program."

Patane plans to stay involved

Lou Patane, vp/motorsports for DaimlerChrysler, says his decision to retire sometime next year is a family and lifestyle one, not a corporate one.

Patane says he plans to move to the Charlotte area first of the year to pursue business opportunities, but he makes clear that he intends to maintain his involvement with DC racing, at least through the near
future.

"I've been doing this job about five years," Patane said Monday. "My wife and I decided we wanted to slow our life down a little bit and change our objectives at this time in our lives."
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