It's official: Penske to switch to Dodge for 2003

CONCORD, N.C. -- Penske Racing has officially announced that its NASCAR Winston Cup Series teams will drive Dodge Intrepids in 2003.

According to team owner Roger Penske, the contract is a three-year agreement. Penske will part ways with Ford, their manufactuer for the past nine seasons.

Dodge returned to NASCAR competition last year in an effort spearheaded by Ray Evernham Motorsports and were joined by Petty Enterprises, Bill Davis Racing, Evernham Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing.

Rusty Wallace  Driver Page  2002 Stats  Crew Chief: Bill Wilburn

With Penske drivers Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman joining in, that will bring the overall number of Dodge drivers to 11, which includes the non-factory backed team of BAM Racing.

With Newman currently fourth in points and Wallace fifth, the question of why Penske would switch from Ford to Dodge was asked.

"Obviously, it's a business-to-business decision," Penske said. "We've been a dealer under the Chrysler brands for a number of years, and we felt that business-to-business decision could be furthered.

"Also, we looked at the commitment of the 'one team' concept of Dodge. Knowing Ray (Evernham), knowing Chip (Ganassi) and the Petty organization and the other folks, there was definitely a commitment to go forward.

"When we looked at our opportunities, we evaluated aerodynamics and we evaluated the engine technology available to us. This is certainly the right place for us to be in the future."

Ryan Newman  Driver Page  2002 Stats  Crew Chief: Matt Borland

This is the third manufacturer switch for Wallace. He won Rookie of the Year honors in 1984 and his sole Winston Cup Series championship in 1989 driving a Pontiac. In 1991, he hooked up with Penske, where he has scored 37 of his 54 victories.

Wallace and Newman have not tested a Dodge yet.

"I was able to tour the technology center a few months ago at Dodge and I was overwhelmed by what I saw," Wallace said. "It is an incredible effort they put forth and I saw some great opportunities up there.

"When Roger first came up with this idea, they laid it out and we talked about it and it sounded like a great thing to do. This decision came together quickly, and I'm looking forward to working with the other Dodge teams.

"Hopefully, we can put the cars up front starting with the 2003 Daytona 500 and win that thing."

For Ford, this is the second team to leave its camp this year. PPI Motorsports and owner Cal Wells already announced that driver Ricky Craven will switch from Ford to Pontiac next year.

"We began negotiating a five-year extension of our agreement the middle part of last year and that had intensified over the past few months," said Dan Davis, director of Ford technology. "So, we're satisfied we did all we could to keep both teams in Fords.

"I don't think there is any question that, from a financial and technical standpoint, our offer was competitive and rewarded the Penske organization for the outstanding job they've done for us since 1994.

"I hate to see them go, but we realize this is a business and people have to make decisions that they feel are best for them."