NASCAR Feels Big Three's Pain

This is from a story in today's Globe & Mail, by Chris Jenkins
In the piece, Dodge confirmed its committment to the sport.

Here is the story.....

CONCORD, N.C. — When asked about Ford Motor Co.'s announcement that it lost a record $12.7-billion (U.S.) last year, the director of Dodge's racing program cringes as if he just swallowed a swig of motor oil.

These aren't the best of times for the U.S. auto industry, and the effects are starting to trickle down to NASCAR. Folks in the race team shops sprinkled throughout suburban Charlotte are worried about tightening their belts — and not just the ones on their engines.

Mike Accavitti, director of Dodge Motorsports and SRT Product Planning, said teams must start finding ways to become more efficient.

“I've always contended that if it's a money-burning contest, you've got the wrong partner,” Mr. Accavitti said. “I don't want to say we're cheap, but we never really had a lot of money to just throw at things.”

In an attempt to stop long-standing rumours that Dodge was considering pulling out of NASCAR entirely, Mr. Accavitti made a firm public commitment to the sport during NASCAR's preseason media tour Thursday.

“Dodge is here to stay,” he said.

But not here to go on a wild spending spree.

Continued at the link above....