Dodge out of the Chase

[duane_koda]

Well, the Brickyard was an embarrassment for anyone who owns a Dodge. We had no chance up until maybe the end with Kasey but those slippery Goodyears fixed that..he just flat got loose. We obviously left the track early. All I have to say is that is Dodge wants to be competitive they need to get it together now or they are going to lose their most talented drivers to the brand-x teams. If they don't have the power to support their star drivers they should just go home. Being a die hard Mopar enthusiast I don't watch the races on Sunday to see our best drivers get top-20's. It's frustrating from a fan's perspective, I can only imagine how bad Kasey wanted to beat the heck out of his car. I think if Dodge is going to commit to excellence they should consolidate their engine programs as one unit. Penske builds a heck of an engine and so does Evernham but they've had a half dozen engine failures including Petty's rides. Ganassi also builds a very stout engine. Throw all of those guys in the same shop and let them go to town. But the #1 objective is to get the Charger fixed. I know that Dodge did submit a new piece to Nascar probably the Challenger but I haven't heard if it was approved or what. They need to get back to the "ONE TEAM". All of the other manufacturers are and they for the most part spank us. I needed to vent! Maybe I should just started following WOO cars..Mopars really eat them up in that series.

[sanborn]

I don't think the problem is the Dodge engine---it's the Dodge teams.

Compare the performance to some Ford or GM teams.

Roush drivers are doing well---but look at Yates teams---all well out of the chase. Yates engines are generally considered the best in the Ford camp, if fact Yates provides engines to Roush. Roush chassis are considered the best and they provide chassis to Yates. Roush teams can make them work, Yates teams cannot. The other Ford teams are just sort of "filling the field".

Hendrick teams(and lately Childress) just plain dominate the performance in the GM camp. Occasionally Gibbs teams are up front but that is due to Tony Stewart's personal performance.

Remove the Hendrick and Roush teams from the competition, Evernham/Penske teams would then look pretty good.

It comes down to organization, people and money. Sure, the drivers do make some difference---so do the engines---so do the chassis. But Roush and Hendrick teams seem to be a couple of steps ahead of the other teams. And a couple of steps is all it takes.

I am more concerned about the Craftsman truck teams. Dodge has removed essentially all it's support from the trucks---except Hamilton. And even Hamilton's support has been drastically reduced. Hamilton has reverted to a "rent a ride" situation and the results really shows. Of couse, his illness doesn't help. Toyota has come in the series with massive amounts of money, expertise and talent---and the results do show as well.

[hotrod7043]

YA PUT EDWARDS AND KENSETH AND mARTIN IN A DODGE OR GIVE ROUSH A DODGE AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

[duane_koda]

Oh no I have never and will never doubt the power and durability of Dodge's engine(s). But.....someone working in the evernham camp needs to pull their head out of their rear. I just wanted to point out there was another evernham engine failure in the #43 on Sunday. That is rediculous!! They have had numerous engine failures this year all evernham's products.. I mean come on, Penske builds seriously stout engines and Ganassi likewise of course no one is perfect but ems has screwed it up quite a bit this year. Iim just bitter, I keep pulling for the Petty camp and they WILL get a win this year with Bobby but evernham is at points keeping them down..not always but you get the idea.

[sanborn]

I understand the frustrations. But these engines are so far out on "the edge" of performance and reliability---failures do happen. And sometimes, it is hard to get the failures avoided before the race starts.

And it seems the more failures that happen the harder the engine guys try---and they get even further out on that limb!

[duane_koda]

Yeah you make a good point sanborn. I'm sure they will get it right, it will probably take a little while.

[it's all dodge]

I think Kasey had one break at Martinsville, and then they left a plug wire off, or something at Richmond. I was home on r and r, almost went to that race, they wanted too much for tickits, but since it was a bad day for Kasey, makes it not so bad I missed it