Dodge, Penske on upswing after tumultuous 2009
Dodge president and CEO Ralph Gilles records every NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup race in an effort to keep tabs on his company's most visible car salesmen.
If Gilles can avoid being told who won - longtime NASCAR owner Roger Penske often texts him results - he makes sure to carve out time in his packed schedule to drink in one of racing's more remarkable survivor stories.
A year after parent company Chrysler needed a roughly $15 billion bailout to stay in business and Richard Petty Motorsports' defection to Ford left Penske Racing as Dodge's last major foothold in NASCAR, things are looking up both in the showroom and on the track. Way up.
Kurt Busch is fourth in the Cup standings heading into Sunday's race in California and already has two wins this season, three if you throw in the All-Star race.
Teammate Brad Keselowski is dominating at the Nationwide level, where he has a healthy 274-point lead over Carl Edwards. Justin Allgaier is third in points and picked up the first Nationwide win of his career at Bristol in March.
Toss in the highly anticipated debut of the company's new Challenger-based Nationwide car next month at Daytona, and it's all Gilles can do to sit still long enough to take in the laps.
``I'm on the edge of my seat every weekend watching this stuff,'' Gilles said. ``It's great to see, and I think our brand is getting a lot of air time, which is fantastic.''
Suddenly, Dodge's woeful 2009 seems like a long time ago.
Save for Busch's solid fourth-place finish in the Chase last fall, 2009 was a disaster for the company that first reached Victory Lane in NASCAR 57 years ago.
Penske's other two cars, the No. 77 driven by Sam Hornish Jr. and the No. 12 split between Keselowski and David Stremme, combined for just seven top-10s, all of them by Hornish.
Things were hardly better on the business side of things. Sales lagged during the economic downturn and companywide financial restructuring slowed funding to RPM, which went through two rounds of layoffs and payroll adjustments. RPM managed to squeak Kasey Kahne into the Chase, but he faded to 10th and the performances seemed rote once the team announced it was moving to Ford.
Gilles, a former sports car and motorcycle racer, stressed the company was committed to staying - and winning - at the Cup level when he took over last fall.
Penske says he's never considered looking elsewhere despite the carmaker's financial struggles. Part of it was out of loyalty. Part of it was because he saw an advantage to becoming, in essence, a factory team.
``If I had a choice, I'd like to be the only one with the manufacturer because I know I'd get all the attention,'' Penske said. ``I'm the prettiest girl in town right now I guess.''
The lack of a competitor within the brand has simplified the line of communication. Penske has no concerns about Dodge holding back or favoring another team. The company is all in with Penske.
``I know people thought having one team would mean we were less committed, and it's actually the opposite,'' Gilles said. ``Now we do not have to divide our attention so much.''
One disadvantage, however, is that Busch often finds himself as the only Dodge driver in the top 10 during a given weekend. Sorry, but help usually isn't coming.
``You always feel like you're running an uphill battle,'' he said.
It's one Busch has been able to handle. He swept the All-Star race and the 600 at Charlotte last month and could be a dark horse behind favorites Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin when the Chase begins in September.
Things are a bit more crowded in Nationwide, where Keselowski and Allgaier have become the circuit's most potent one-two punch.
And it's at that level where Dodge hopes its resurgence on the track could translate into cars driving off the lot.
Nationwide's new cars, which will race for the first time at Daytona on July 2, are in essence a return to NASCAR's roots. They are designed to more closely resemble the factory cars they're based on and create the kind of brand recognition that's been missing for years, particularly in Cup, where often the only way to tell a Toyota from a Ford from a Dodge is to steal a glimpse at whatever sticker is plastered to the grille.
Dodge's Nationwide entry will be based off the Challenger, and Gilles hopes the new design will help the car gain fans. If Penske's Nationwide program can sustain its momentum when the series transitions into the new cars, that shouldn't be a problem.
While Gilles knows the drivers are the stars, the Nationwide initiative will allow the cars to ``share the limelight.''
For an industry slowly on the rebound - Gilles said sales for the Challenger during May were the best since the car was reintroduced 2 1/2 years ago - it's a welcome development.
Despite Penske's strong showing, however, Dodge has no plans to expand it's NASCAR involvement. Penske is so pleased with the arrangement he has no plans of looking elsewhere and anticipates working on a contract extension at some point.
``With the success we've had in both series, it would be an advantage for Dodge to stay with us and support us in the future,'' he said. ``That's my expectation.''
