Penske plans to keep running Intrepids: Penske Racing South General Manager Don Miller said on Friday that the team plans on racing 2004 Dodge Intrepids at all 1.5.- and 2.0-mile tracks for the foreseeable future. Penske drivers #2-Kurt Busch and #12-Ryan Newman both brought Intrepids for Sunday’s Auto Club 500, as did Petty Enterprises for #43-Bobby Labonte. All the other Dodge teams brought the aerodynamically troublesome Dodge Charger, which was introduced last year. Asked how long Penske would campaign the two-year-old Dodges, Miller was blunt. “As long as Dodge will let us,” he said.(Speed Channel)(2-24-2006)

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Kurt Busch's pole-winning car reads Dodge across the front, not Intrepid. Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

What's in a name? For Dodge at Fontana, plenty
Manufacturer prefers Chargers, but its top drivers are in Intrepids
By David Newton, NASCAR.COM
February 25, 2006
11:00 PM EST (04:00 GMT)

FONTANA, Calif. -- There's a dirty little word in the Nextel Cup garage among Dodge teams.

It's not a word that will draw a fine from NASCAR

You can use it without fear of getting your mouth washed out.


Kasey Kahne had the best Charger in qualifying. Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

Dodge Qualifiers
Pos. Driver Model Speed
1. Ku. Busch Intrepid 187.086
11. R. Newman Intrepid 184.318
13. K. Kahne Charger 184.219
14. S. Riggs Charger 184.209
20. C. Mears Charger 183.524
21. J. Mayfield Charger 183.397
24. D. Blaney Charger 183.155
27. B. Labonte Intrepid 183.020
29. R. Sorenson Charger 182.820
33. M. Waltrip Charger 182.454
39. K. Petty Charger 181.461
41. D. Stremme Charger 181.005
42. B. Sherman Charger 178.169

It's ... Intrepid.

You won't see the name across the nose of Kurt Busch's car that won the pole for Sunday's race at California Speedway. The bold print says Dodge where all of the other Dodge cars say Charger.

"I'm going to level with you,' said Don Miller, the president of Penske Racing South. "They don't want us to say Intrepid, so we avoid it.'

That's because Dodge quit making the Intrepid in 2004 and introduced the Charger for '05. But because the nose of the Charger continues to cause aerodynamic problems at intermediate tracks such as California, particularly in traffic, some Dodge teams have gone back to the Intrepid.

Or the '04 Dodge, as they've been ordered to say.

"They obviously have put a lot of money behind the Charger,' Miller said of Dodge. "They don't want the public to think the Charger isn't everything they say it is.'

Busch didn't help matters by winning the pole in the Intrepid -- one of three that made the race -- with a speed of 187.086 mph on the 2-mile, D-shaped track.

Penske Racing teammate Ryan Newman claimed the 11th spot in an Intrepid and Bobby Labonte was 27th.

Miller said Penske Racing will use the '04 Dodge for the next five races, or until somebody finds a solution for the nose problems. Labonte plans to return to the Charger for Petty Enterprises when the series resumes at Las Vegas in two weeks.

"I want to see us having the best shot at winning the title,' Miller said. "If you talk to the guys out here in the garage that have Dodges, they're going to tell you the truth. There is nothing wrong with the Charger at any racetrack other than a mile-and-a-half and 2-mile high-speed oval.

"There's just unpredictability in the way it handles, and it's an aerodynamic thing. We don't totally understand it, but we know the other car is more stable. What does that transfer into? A better shot of winning.'

Dodge owners plan to gather at Kentucky Speedway to share data they've gathered on the Charger and Intrepid after the March 12 race at Vegas.

Evernham Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing plan to use the Charger until then. If the Intrepid proves superior, Evernham's Kasey Kahne hopes his team takes that into consideration.

"Hey, I want to be in the best Dodge car that's out there,' he said. "If we're getting beat by an '04 car, then we'd better be in them. If we're beating guys in the '04 Dodge with our Dodge Charger, hopefully they change them.'

Newman agreed, even though he knows it's a sensitive issue.

"We take the fastest race car to the track,' he said. "That's our job as teammates, both Kurt and I, and people at Penske Racing. Dodge is what we're driving.

"We understand the importance of brand identification, but manufacturer identification can override that.'

Kyle Petty, Labonte's teammate, isn't so sure.


Ryan Newman qualified 11th in his Charger ... rather, Dodge. Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

"The reason manufacturers are in the business is to sell cars,' said Petty, whose organization has built only one Intrepid so far. "For us to race the Intrepid really does nothing for Dodge.

"At least when you see the Charger commercials on TV you think, 'My God, that's a hot car!' You see the Intrepids on the track it's like, 'Where do I get one of those? OK, the used car lot.' It doesn't work that way.'

Dodge isn't the only organization sensitive to the Intrepid-Charger soap opera. NASCAR turned down a request by Dodge owners to put Charger on the nose of the Intrepid.

"I don't know who made the decision, but it came from somebody up high,' Miller said.

The problem with the Charger is downforce on the rear spoiler, which was taller when Dodge announced plans to re-introduce the car. The Charger won only three races last season, and only one of those was at an intermediate track.

Jeremy Mayfield won at Michigan where fuel mileage, not aerodynamics, was the deciding factor.

"When the rules changed and the wing got whacked off and we got on tires that were a little harder, then our car got out of balance,' said John Fernandez, the director of Dodge Motorsports. "We struggled all last year to make chassis changes, because it's tough to redevelop a car while you're trying to race it.

"We were just never successful.'

Dodge spent most of the offseason testing the car in wind tunnels and in traffic. They made subtle massages to the front end to redirect the air flow, but none totally corrected the problem.

Busch, who came from the Ford team of Jack Roush, said there are more handling differences between the Intrepid and Charger than there are the Intrepid and Ford.

He chose to drive the Intrepid this weekend because it offered more adjustments "to play with' than the Charger.

Fernandez hopes enough progress is made by Kentucky that all Dodge owners use the Charger. If not, he hopes NASCAR will make allowances on the spoiler that will give the Charger more downforce.

If not, Miller said his organization will go to Dodge and say they can run the Charger and struggle or run the Intrepid and race for a championship.

"It's legal to run the '04 Dodge right now, but it's not part of the marketing plan,' Miller said. "We're being very careful that we don't ignite any blazes. It's a real, real, real touchy subject.'

 

I really don't think its right. Its not the current body style that they are running so they shouldn't be allowed to run it. Run what Dodge has provided. If its not as good then work on it. That being said, if they can get away with it more power to them.

 

I don't see Dodge making a Change to the front end of the Charger so it'll be up to nascar to make a change or see the Dodge teams continue to run Intrepids which I cannot blame the teams for doing to be competitive. When nascar says no more Intrepid bodies and there are no changes allowed for the Charger that will be the beginning of the end for Dodge's involvment in the sport as teams switch brands to remain competitive for their sponsers or Dodge just pulls backing from the sport altogether. Oh well toyota will be there to fill the gaps if this happens.

 

How can they work on it? NASCAR won't allowed Dodge to change it...

By the way, they aren't "getting away" with anything. NASCAR rules state you can run any car within a 3 year period. Meaning, you can run a 2004, 2005 or 2006... So they are running the last Intrepid... 2004...

 

When I say work on it I just mean work with what they've got and do the best they can. As far as getting away with it. I know they can use it for 3 years after. I just don't like it. My opinion doesn't mean dick as far as it goes. Its just my .02

 

Personally, I think the Intrepid was a better choice. NASCAR is all about aerodynamics, and they flat out built a car that's not right for racing. Least not in the way it currently sits.

I personally thought the Charger a bad choice for Dodge in the NASCAR circuit.

 

One thing that gets me is they keep on calling the past car an Intrepid, when it clearly is a Stratus. If they were going to keep on calling it the Intrepid; when the Intrepid was discontinued, why didnt they just continue to use the old body style?

 

kasey kahne didnt seem to have a problem keeping a charger up front. on the other hand, the "04 Dodges" stunk up the race track. obviously a poor decision to run those at california

 

Yeah, it was a VERY poor decision to run the Intrepid there...


I don't quite know what you are saying. The Intrepid died in 2004 and that was the last year it was in NASCAR...