Winston Cup Return?

[Mopar Man]

Anybody have any info on the Dodge dealers meeting with NASCAR?

[moparmaniac]

Just got this e-mail..thought I'd send it on!


"My brother works for a dealership
and one of the big wheels just got back from a meeting where he heard
the talk. The reason I took this as a better than average rumor was
that the guy that heard it was not a fan of racing and would not have a
clue as to what was meant by some of the things he was telling us. I do
know that Chrysler talked with Rudd a year or so ago and they could not
promise him cars that would be competitive in time for Daytona, and it
was eventually put on the back burner. This guy told us that the "tide
guy" was one of the people that chrysler likes and was wanting to
promote. Who knows................I took it as the best "hint" I've
heard in a while, and I've heard them all!"


Maybe this will help you out.


[This message has been edited by moparmaniac (edited July 06, 1999).]

[This message has been edited by moparmaniac (edited July 06, 1999).]

[Mopar Man]

Thanks...

It's interesting what is floating around. I have heard a Chrysler return mentioned with Winston Cup teams from Petty Enterprises (the nostalgic scenario) to Joe Gibbs Racing to Penske and now to Rudd Racing. I don't care who it is along as there is a return and a 2 door Charger R/T to go with it!

[dowling]

Saw the newest issue of Stock Car Racing magazine last night ( Aug. 99 issue ) and there was a story in the magazine about Mopars glory days. The writer talked about Mopars best years and then went on to talk about their reduced efforts until Petty finally changed to GM. However at the end of the article, after saying how quiet the tracks have been without the sound of a Mopar engine he says wait! whats that sound in the distance! Is he trying to let us know that something is in the works or is the writer just teasing us Mopar fans or are there people out there that know more than they will officially admit to. The large volume of Mopar rumours either have some truth behind them that we just cant get the facts to or we Mopar fans are the brunt of a lot of people teasing us with these rumours. Lets hope we can get some proof to confirm some of these rumours!

[Christopher]

I mentioned on the other posted subject on Winston Cup what Rudd had said in a interview regarding new cup cars about two years ago. "Who knows,maybe Chrysler will have a car this year" He was definatly talked to by Chrysler about campaingning a Dodge.He is losing his Tide sponsorship this year unfortunatly.I don't know about Gibbs switching to Mopar though.He has a good deal with Pontiac,although Mopar has cancelled the sponsorship of Gwynn/Dunn in NHRA top Fuel,and Gibbs runs a car in that cl*** too.Maybe the Mopar deal will go to Gibbs with sponsorship of his drag racing operation included too.We'll have to wait and see......

[A FRIEND]

I just found this site. I have read with interest your speculation about when and who will get the nod for Chrysler's return to Winston Cup. First, I think they will return to Busch first. The competition is a bit easier and it may be easier to get a win quicker. It will probably be 2003 or 2004 before they can get to WC with a competitve prog***. Next, I am surprised that one WC driver has not been mentioned. He is an honest, long time MOPAR fan, has built and raced Chrysler p***uct for several years (built with his own money, not someone else's), has a couple of hemi superbirds in his garage and to my knowledge, his own personal cars are Chrysler p***ucts. And, just this year, acquired his own Dodge Supertruck team. I am talking about the driver of the #4 Kodak car. We better add him to the list because he has more than a casual interest.

[This message has been edited by A FRIEND (edited July 06, 1999).]

[This message has been edited by A FRIEND (edited July 06, 1999).]

[moparmaniac]

Just read the news this morning!!!! DC WILL return to NASCAR. All of the Zone offices have received word!!! Read all about it here at http://www.car-truck.com/chryed/buzz/b070799.htm

Go Mopar!

[Mopar Man]

I don't think I would refer to car-truck.com as "news" - they post rumors just like you are reading here and at All*Par.

[Christopher]

Car and Truck news is pretty reliable.I have a friend that works for Chrysler and he and I talk shop frequently.All he has told me has appeared on Car and Truck news,only I hear it about two to three weeks before they do.

[9dodge]

Well, the rumors are over and it is official.
They will return in 2001 with the charger daytona. Petty, Gibbs, and penske all given 20million "sugar money".

[Mopar Man]

Where did you get this information?

[340dan]

WOW,thats great news GIBBS is awesome.I still think it would be better off to run GN for a while. The truck & GN engines are the same, arn't they. Also in GN the only real competition is chebby, phord doesn't seem to interested.It would be killer to watch NASCAR with mopars contending for wins,almost like the SUPERBOWL every sunday.

[Mopar Man]

FYI: The Busch cars use 9:1 compression engines. The WC engines have much higher compression.

[Christopher]

The Gibbs deal make sense as his drag racing operation is also sponsored by Pontiac,and with Mopar pulling away from Gwynn/Dunn this year,Gibbs is going to take sponsorship for all his teams,so I'll bet his drag race operation will be Mopar $$$$ too.

[caveman]

Hey 9dodge,,where did you get this information?

[9dodge]

As some of you may know I race a Dodge truck.
I've made some friends in the race business.
My info came from a very good race sourse.
A racing business you might say.

[dowling]

The Aug issue of Car Craft is now reporting that Louis Patane was quoted from an article in the Las Vegas Review Journal that Chrysler is now officially considering a return to Winston Cup. This is a major departure from Chryslers old official position that it did not and would not consider a return to Winston Cup. He said it may come in 5 months or 5 years or maybe never but that it was being looked into and he felt that Mopar could go Winston Cup but they had to decide if it was worth it to Chrysler. We all know that we think it is a good idea lets hope they convince Mr Patane that it is their best idea.

[caveman]

Hey 9 dodge,,are you from nj?
Im getting more and more convinced that there will be a return soon,for reasons that I posted on my thread.I hope this isn't just wishfull thinking on our parts.
CAVEMAN

[9dodge]

I'm live in Sunny southern California.

Take care all

[caveman]

I know of a group who race a # 9 dodge truck,at flemington in nj,also they have raced a#06and #09 craftsman truck,I just was wondering if it was you,I guess not.

[Hoov]

Inside NASCAR program on TNN Sunday had a good segement on MOPAR's possible return to Winston cup racing. I cannot remember the person's name who is in charge of MOPAR's racing program, but he said that their return to Winston Cup was on their radar screen. And added that "money" was not the problem. They want to make sure they would have a stable platform to work from. I guess that means personel and the right resources. They did say that they are happy right where they are in the truck series and their other endevours. Just thought maybe someone else might have seen this program.

[Mopar Man]

Dodge did pretty well at the truck race yesterday...a win and four of the top ten positions.

Maybe it's time to try Winston Cup.

[dowling]

The TNN web site was reporting that Mopar high performance division had spent the last year developing a Winston Cup engine based on the block being used in the Mopar World of Outlaws sprint car, using the new canted valve heads. Mopar then submitted the engine to NASCAR for approval. Apparently NASCAR has rejected the engine as being too much for NASCAR ( sounds right ... too good for the Fords or GM's ) and NASCAR has advised Mopar they will have to base an engine on the blocks used by the trucks in the Craftsman truck series. I don't know what this may do to Mopars intended return to Winston Cup. It will probably stop it for the year 2000 but maybe by 2001 depending on how much extra work is needed on the truck block. Lets hope this doesn't make Mopar rethink joining the Cup again.