Dodge Reenters NASCAR's Winston Cup Series

Dodge made it official on yesterday. The automaker will join NASCAR's Winston Cup series at the 2001 Daytona 500 after a 15-year absence from the sport. Dodge Division VP Jim Julow told a media-laced audience at the North American International Auto Show that "it's time for somebody else to win." The popularity of NASCAR, a growing customer base and a lineup of high performance cars makes the decision to enter Winston Cup the right decision at the right time, he says. Ray Evernham, former crew chief for three-time series champion Jeff Gordon, will run one of the teams. Drivers for the teams weren't announced. NASCAR Winston Cup specifications call for the Dodge Intrepid R/T race car to be slightly narrower from 74.7 inches to 72.5 inches, but longer than the production Intrepid from 203.7 inches to 208 inches. It will also have a significantly lower roofline moving from 55.9 inches to 51 inches. The rear-wheel-drive car will be powered by a 5.7L 358-cubic-inch V-8 with a 12:1 compression ratio that generates more than 700 hp.

Edited by Norman Martin