Chalk it up to the poor economy, dropping sales, the collapse of the full-size truck segment or any combination therein, but Dodge has officially pulled out of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Dodge fielded only one team in 2008 – that being Bobby Hamilton Racing – but the Michigan automaker will exit the sport before the start of the 2009 season.
Because Dodge only backed one team for 2008, it doesn’t come as a huge surprised that Dodge won’t be fielding a team for 2009. However, it is a reflection of the tough times for the Big Three, and it does show Chrysler ’s relative weakness compared to its cross-town rivals.
The next concern for the Dodge and NASCAR faithful is that Dodge will also be pulling out of the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series. However, Dodge Motorsports senior manager Mike Delahanty told Bleacher Report that Dodge has no plans to exit the regular NASCAR series.
Despite Delahanty’s optimism, Dodge could be completely out of NASCAR within a few years. Its racing program hasn’t been all that successful as of late and Chrysler is probably more concerned with turning around its North American operations rather than winning races. And, after all, you can’t win on Sunday and sell on Monday if you’re not focused on building vehicles that people actually want.
