Imagine

[JBenko]

Imagine

Imagine if Dodge would have taken just a token amount of money from Advertising and funded 2 Vipers for Rolex.

Imagine if Dodge would have taken just a token amount of money out of the piss poor, LOSING, not even in the ballpark of being competative, hill billy racing NASCAR fiasco and funded 2 Vipers for Rolex.

Imagine if Dodge would have saved the money from the Non Brand Identifiable, not able to run for 24 hours (yet), ego boosting, Dallara chassi'ed, waste of money, never gonna get off the ground Prototype effort and funded 2 Vipers for Rolex.

Imagine if Dodge would have made even a half hearted attempt to help one of the Privateer teams fund 2 Vipers for Rolex.

Imagine the Viper drivers waving towards pit row as the class winning, race winning #2 Corvette sits there for the last 23 minutes of the race with a blown tranny. By my calculation 2 pro drivers and any given Viper Days driver could have combined to have WON not only the GTS class but also the whole **** race.

Imagine the marketing coup of having won outright the Rolex 24 2 years in a row !!!

Imagine the unbearable ads that are right now spewing out from GM to every car mag and newspaper

Imagine being so short sighted as to have given up funding the only POSITIVE thing around DC these days.

The cost to have run 2 cars at Daytona would have been insignificant compared to the cost of just a few National TV ads. Imagine the loss the Dodge image just incurred by being penny wise and pound foolish.

What a shame.

 

[Rich Wesorick]

Well written Jim. I couldn't agree more. But then again, if D/C was backing race teams the way the bow-tie folks or the Germans do, we might have won another Speedvision GT Championship and might not have folded up ViperSpeed...

 

[Mike Brunton]

I too wish DCX had the foresignt to run a couple of Vipers are Daytona, however I don't think it would have been as simple as "a little money".

The cars are usually set up for a whole season of racing. They buy the parts, rent testing venues, and hire drivers and teams for a season, not on a per-race basis.

I'm sure Oreca would have wanted a full season commitment and not just one race. And I don't think DCX could have put together their own team and their own cars and won Daytona - they would need the experience and smoothness of Oreca's operation to pull it off.

I really wish we were racing this year, but I just think it was more than "a little bit of money" in question. They SHOULD kill the Nascar program and fund ALMS though!

 

[David Jenkins]

Why do you think they should kill the Winston Cup program? It's close to being the biggest sports market right now. I would have never thought a motorsport could achieve that status. I agree that they should invest more in "sports car" racing. They have proved that they can dominate in that sport. They should at least keep some of that momentum going with smaller sponsorships to independant teams. It's time to move to a bigger market for them.(DC) The whole idea is to sell the cars at the dealers that win the races on Sunday. Any Viper owner will tell you that they probably would have bought their car regardless of how many they saw on tv winning races. It's the other millions of viewers watching with their 2.5 kids and the dog in their master planned, 2 suv's in the driveway,home that they want. Look and see how the marketing involves the "Friendly Neighborhood Dodge Dealers." I watched NASCAR when it wasn't cool.(25 years) I'm happy to see it grow. I personally prefer drag racing. I'm hoping for the day that NHRA has the amount of corporate sponsors pounding on their doors the way the Cup guys do.dj

 

[BWoodbury]

Why should they kill the NASCAR program?

Because they have to follow a Pontiac Aztec around Daytona!

 

[Chuck 97 GTS]

NASCAR = Non Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks

Sorry, couldn't resist!

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[GTS Dean]

NASCAR = PROTAXICAB

 

[Mike Brunton]

David,

I say they should kill the NASCAR program and use the money for ALMS, out of selfishness. I'm not kidding. I don't like NASCAR, and I'd MUCH rather see them putting that money into ALMS where REAL racing takes place, rather than NASCAR where it's about "rubbin'" (witness Earnhardt at Daytona). NASCAR just doesn't do anything for me. Except for the one or two races a year where they do road-course - but then most of the drivers seem to be totally lost in that environment.

Anyone hear when Earnhardt Jr. said "well, I never raced in the rain before...". What a classic.

 

[David Jenkins]

Mr. Brunton, I just think it's a good market for Dodge to get into. Never before in Dodge history has there been more hipe about Dodge Racing. Up until the past couple months, I had never seen a Dodge commercial, other then the Mopar Performance ad, that promotes racing. Again, they are trying to win races to sell cars. I too would love to see the "old days" when the Vipers were dominating every race. I agree that there should be more money for the road race guys. I work on Vipers and race prepair Vipers for a living. No one would love to see some "sponsor money" more than me. We could really do some damage with a mere $200,000. I also think they were wrong for dropping the NHRA Top Fuel sponsorship of Mike Dunn. Look for the Yankees car to win the championship this year.(former Mopar car) As for as the cup guys, most of them are smarter then you think. It does take SOME skill to make 3200 pounds go 190 mph, and turn, with only 350 inches. Just because a driver "ain't never raced in the rain before" doesn't make him any less a driver as I think the Dale Ironheads proved. Just look at the CART race from Cleveland a couple of years ago. Rain=carnage. Most of the cars we crashed in the first couple of laps and most of the CART guys are great drivers. Although I don't plan my schedule to watch the cup races, I will be watching Sunday because it is the biggest race. It just comes down to a bigger viewing audience in NASCAR than ALMS. It's all about the money.dj

 

[JBenko]

David,

Quick question for you - which is better: a "little" exposure for a winning program or a LOT of exposure for a losing one ?

My guess is that for just the cost of the stupid 3 part foldout on the return of Dodge to NASCAR that is in every car magazine this month DC could have funded an entire ALMS season...

 

[David Jenkins]

JBenko, ask me again in a year when we know if Evernham, Ford, and Elliot can gel. Don't get me wrong, I don't care too much for NASCAR since it has gotten out of control and I think taking the funds from the other race groups *****! I would love to see Dodge run ALMS. It would be good for everyone involved with Vipers. I think even my business would benefit. Vipers winning every weekend WILL NOT sell more Vipers, an Intrepid R/T winning a cup race will sell Intrepids. My point being, I think it stinks, but I understand why things change.dj

 

[David Jenkins]

Sterling Marlin in the #40 Coors Dodge Intrepid R/T wins the Gatorade 125. next................dj

 

[JBenko]

>> give me Gordon or Dale Jr. in an equally prepped car and I'll put them up against anyone

FYI - Dale and Dale Jr. drove in the Rolex 24 and were without a doubt charity cases compared to the rest of the Corvette team. Rumor has it that the reason they were the slowest was because it was the first time they ever raced in a car with a brake pedal.

P.S. Congrats to Dodge on the Daytona 500 pole. I'd still rather shovel snow than watch...

 

[David Jenkins]

Don't forget that all the engines are basically the same! They should put GM emblems on the Dodge valve covers. dj

 

[Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder]

The loss of ORECA's funding in favor of NASCAR simply *****, in my opinion! I would love to see Viper privateers kick some Vette as. but without factory support what a steep hill!

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I fear more loss of support for Viper from the new management!

 

[Marv S]

Is it Marketing to cover the US and European market with 2 different programs? Isn't ORECA getting funded for the Prototype car? A "European race car". Seems that factored directly into cutting the ORECA Viper program. NASCAR is a huge US market. We had a great time at the ALMS Vegas race 2 years ago -- all 200 of us. Didn't quite pack the stands out. Could also be that after seeing the the writing on the wall that allows a liberal policy toward the vettes and others, while piling restrictions on power, weight, brakes, etc. onto the Viper a decision was made to change directions taking a "been there - done that" position rather than whine about things.

I much prefer the ALMS racing and miss ORECA and DODGE giving those fun packages. The good old days

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Fred(DrivingSchool)Kinder:
The loss of ORECA's funding in favor of NASCAR simply *****, in my opinion! I would love to see Viper privateers kick some Vette as. but without factory support what a steep hill!

You must be registered for see images

I fear more loss of support for Viper from the new management!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

[VIPERnXr4ti]

isnt Oreca running the LMP this year at Lemans and returning with the new redisigned Viper in a few years?....i believe i read that on their own site somewhere