A computer rendering of the Mustang that Ford plans to enter in NASCAR's Nationwide Series starting next year
Plans call for Mustang to take part in series next year, but don't expect Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger to join the race.
As NASCAR transitions to a new type of car for its second-tier Nationwide Series next year, NASCAR and others hoped that Detroit would use racing versions of its iconic "muscle cars" to widen the series' appeal.
The idea of having stock-car racing versions of the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger fighting for Victory Lane each weekend was thought to be just what the Nationwide Series needed to make itself more distinctive from NASCAR's top-tier Sprint Cup Series.
And Ford signed on last week, unveiling a version of its famed Mustang that will be attached to the new chassis that NASCAR plans to start phasing into the Nationwide Series next year, with the car becoming mandatory in 2011.
But Ford might turn out to be the exception.
General Motors' Chevrolet will not run the Camaro in the Nationwide Series but will use the Impala instead, said Mark Kent, manager of GM Racing.
And Dodge -- a unit of Chrysler that, like General Motors, recently emerged from bankruptcy proceedings -- has not decided which car to enter despite widespread media speculation that it would use the Challenger, Dodge Motorsports spokesman Dan Reid said.
In fact, Dodge hasn't determined whether it will support any type of Dodge in the Nationwide Series, a series in which the automakers have pulled back sharply in the face of sluggish auto sales and their financial woes.
"It's something that is being considered, but we cannot confirm our future participation in the series," Reid said. He declined to elaborate. (Toyota, which also competes, is expected to continue using its Camry model.)
So the notion of the Nationwide Series' being the new battleground for Detroit's muscle cars could wind up being just that -- a notion only.
NASCAR isn't giving up on the idea, however.
"We're hoping they see an opportunity here to market their muscle cars or 'pony cars,' " said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president for competition. "We're optimistic there will be more to follow" Ford, he added.
Just as the Sprint Cup Series last year switched to the so-called Car of Tomorrow, a chassis designed to increase safety and foster better competition, the Nationwide Series is shifting to a new chassis that also has safety improvements and more interchangeable parts intended to help race teams keep costs in check.
NASCAR expects the car will be used in five or six Nationwide races next year, roughly one per month in the second half of the season, before they're used full time in 2011, Pemberton said.
There's been grumbling for years that the Nationwide Series bears too much resemblance to the Sprint Cup Series, not just in terms of the cars but because several Cup drivers also compete on the Nationwide circuit.
"It's important to further differentiate the series right now," said Pemberton, adding that he was "thrilled" with the new Mustang. "They've done a tremendous job on the car," he said.
But Chevrolet balked at pitting its Camaro against the Mustang, largely because the new Nationwide car has strict design requirements and must fit within a variety of NASCAR templates, Kent said.
"NASCAR asked us to look at running the Camaro in the Nationwide Series," Kent said, but "as we looked at trying to fit the Camaro into the required templates, we just could not get to a design that we felt did not compromise the iconic lines" of the Camaro.
"For that reason we have elected to run the Impala," he said.
Asked whether Chevy feared losing publicity to the Mustang at Nationwide races, Kent said, "We also need to focus our marketing efforts on expanding the customer base outside of motor sports."
With automakers still in distress, how could Ford develop a new race car?
"It's been going on for several years; it's not something that's a fixed cost that got dumped into this year," Ford spokesman Kevin Kennedy said.
"Our job is to develop one car and to work with NASCAR. Then we start building parts and pieces which are bought by the race teams.
"The true job of the manufacturer in most racing series is to develop the car and the engine, then offer it up to our customers, the teams. It's definitely within our budget."
The Nationwide Series' next stop in Southern California is Oct. 10 with the Camping World 300 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, followed the next day by the Pepsi 500 Sprint Cup race.
source: latimes
