D-C NASCAR Press Release (long)

From: Bob Tom (tigers@bserv.com)
Date: Thu Oct 14 1999 - 12:43:02 EDT


New York -- In a highly anticipated and historic move, Dodge today
announced it will join NASCAR's Winston Cup series and make its inaugural
appearance at the 2001 Daytona 500 - some 500 days away. Dodge, a top
competitor in NASCAR from the 1950s through the 70s, plans to bring a
competitive presence to the racetrack and field championship-caliber teams
in its first season.

Dodge will partner with its almost 3,000 dealers to produce a race program
in what is a different and unique approach to NASCAR's most popular series.
The partnership between dealers and the brand will field at least two teams
and five cars using the award-winning Dodge Intrepid. Ray Evernham, former
crew chief for three-time series champion Jeff Gordon, will run one of the
teams. Additional team structures were not announced. Drivers for the teams
will be announced sometime next year.

"It's time," said Jim Julow, Vice President - Dodge Division, of the dealer
and brand's decision to go racing. "The popularity of the NASCAR Winston
Cup series, our growing customer base and lineup of high performance cars,
trucks, minivans and SUVs make the decision to enter Winston Cup the right
decision at the right time. It's time to give our Dodge owners, Dodge
dealers and our employees the opportunity to cheer for their brand."

"Involvement with NASCAR Winston Cup is a natural extension for the Dodge
brand's motorsports activities." said Carl Galeana, owner of Van Dyke Dodge
in Warren, Mich., and past Dodge Dealer Association Executive Committee
Chairman. "Almost to a person, all of our dealers around the country saw
this as an opportunity to give their customers another chance to say 'I am
proud to drive a Dodge' and a great way to publicize the brand."

Dodge plans to leverage its Winston Cup involvement with national dealer
promotions, local and national advertising and racetrack events in local
markets.

"We have begun the 'Dodge 500,' our 500-day countdown to the 2001 Daytona
500," said Lou Patane, Vice President - Motorsports Operations and Mopar
Performance Parts. "In the next 500 days, we'll continue to gather the most
dedicated and talented people in racing as we build and test cars and work
toward racing for the first time in Daytona."

According to Patane, the decision to join efforts with Evernham is only the
first move in assembling a winning team. "We intend to be competitive
consistently from the beginning. There is no point in starting if you don't
plan to finish."

For Evernham, the opportunity to own and build a team from the ground up is
exciting.

"My competitive juices are pumping," said Evernham. "Working with the Dodge
people to bring their brand to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series competitively
is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Like the people at Dodge, I am
committed to winning. I look forward to working with the engineering and
design groups at Dodge as well as having the support of the dealers."

"Dodge has a tremendous legacy in NASCAR Winston Cup - great cars, great
drivers, great racing," said Mike Helton, NASCAR Senior Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer. "We look forward to working with Dodge to develop
a program on par with the rest of the garage area."

Dodge has a proud heritage in NASCAR racing dating from the sport's 1949
beginning. Dodge took the checkered flag 160 times and earned two
Manufacturer's titles. Famous drivers such as Lee Petty, Richard Petty,
Buddy Baker and David Pearson helped give Dodge its winning track record.

Tentative plans call for the unveiling a version of the NASCAR Winston Cup
Dodge Intrepid at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in
January 2000. Drivers for the teams will be named sometime next year. Dodge
plans to test throughout 2000.

Dodge is a division of DaimlerChrysler. Through its network of almost 3,000
dealers, Dodge sold a record 1.4 million cars, trucks and minivans in 1998.

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Now, if they would only have an announcement for the the release of the
'97 MP Dakota PCM (auto. and manual)!!!!

Bob, S. Ont.
'97 FR CC Sport, 5.2L, 3.55 SG, auto., 15.234 @ 87.26



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