Dodge Avenger to race in selected Cup events in 2007
Quote selected text Published January 9th, 2007 in NASCAR News
Chrysler Group announced today that the Dodge Avenger will race at select events in Nextel Cup competition beginning in 2007, joining the Dodge Charger in the Dodge NASCAR racing lineup. The Dodge Avenger race car debuted along side the all-new 2008 Dodge Avenger at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The Dodge Avenger is a mid-size sedan that combines bold, aggressive Dodge styling with innovative interior features, high-levels of safety and reliability, exhilarating performance and excellent fuel efficiency of 30 miles per gallon (mpg) (32 mpg based on 2007 EPA fuel economy standards).
Dodge drivers #19-Elliott Sadler, of the Dodge Dealers/UAW Evernham Motorsports team, #2-Kurt Busch, of Penske Racing South, and, new to NASCAR, #42-Juan Pablo Montoya of the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team participated in the announcement.
“With NASCAR Nextel Cup racing two distinct cars for 2007, it makes perfect sense to have the Avenger join the Charger in the Dodge racing family,” said Mike Accavitti, Director - Dodge Motorsports and SRT Product Planning, Chrysler Group. “Dodge is all about delivering bold, capable performance, and that will become even more evident when the Avenger hits NASCAR’s race tracks this year.”
The Dodge Avenger race car is scheduled to make its competition debut at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25, 2007, as the Dodge entry in NASCAR’s “Car of Tomorrow” implementation. During the multi-year phase-in of NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow, the Dodge Charger will continue to race in NASCAR Nextel Cup competition.
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My problem is that this 2nd generation Avenger is not a sleek and aerodynamic like the first gen which was the primary car for the IROC series in 1995 and 1996. I still think Dodge is in the hole when it comes to aerodynamics… and rather than having 2 types of cars running for Chrysler in the Nextel Cup, how about NASCAR allowing the Mopar teams to run the HEMI engine in the Charger like the good old days of NASCAR.
That may be true but isn’t main point of the COT to make the brand less important and the cars run more equal? I understand that it usually dose not work that way, but don’t the COT’s run the same geometry skin from Gm to Mopar, Ford, and the foreign interests? I have not read the rules regarding the COT but that was my basic understanding of the COT. I say we have 3 or 4 races a year where the auto makers take out all the stops let them use the mentality if you make 400 cars to sell you can run a race version see what we end up with. Though Toyota has more funds to waste on that project.