Dodge will remain committed to the NASCAR Nextel Cup series regardless of whether Chrysler is sold, the director of Dodge motorsports said Sunday. “Yeah, there are some things going on, things we’re looking at, but it’s not going to affect our racing program,” Mike Accavitti said during the Car of Tomorrow’s debut at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Accavitti and Tom LaSorda, the chairman of DaimlerChrysler, visited with the owners of three of Dodge’s top teams — Evernham Motorsports, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and Penske Racing — before Sunday’s race.

“We talked to everybody today,” Accavitti said. “The message is pretty consistent. We don’t intend on going anywhere.” That doesn’t mean Chrysler won’t. KeyBank Capital Markets analyst Brett Hoselton recently reported that Canadian-based Magna International Inc. and an unnamed equity group have offered $4.6 billion to $4.7 billion for Chrysler.

“This is being handled by people at a much higher level than I am,” Accavitti said. “As far as they’re concerned, they’d like to bring a quicker resolution to it than a slower resolution. Every indication I have is it’ll be sooner rather than later.” There have been reports that the sale could happen within the next week or so. “Under any scenario, as far as we’re concerned, we see us remaining involved in NASCAR,” said Accavitti, noting Dodge’s contracts with its NASCAR teams range from one to five more years. It’s a great way to reach those fans and tell them about the performance brand of Dodge.”

source: ESPN.com