Cash-Strapped Chrysler Tips Penske a Million Bucks
As reported by Forbes and many others, Chyrsler CEO Bob Nardelli attended yesterday's 50th anniversary running of the Daytona 500. In a magna-nimous moment, Boot 'em Bob told the teams with Dodge decals on their cars (ostensibly, Dodge Chargers) that if any of them won the race, he'd give the team an extra $1m. After last year's pitiful performance by the Mopar racers, it looked like Cerberus' money was safe. And so it was, until the last lap, when Penske Racing's Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch came from behind and blasted past leader Tony Stewart in his Toyota, grabbing first and second places for Dodge. In fact, Dodges were in six of the top eight places. While the finishes were impressive, you have to wonder how Chrysler can afford to keep pouring money into racing. With all the factories they're closing, all the jobs they're cutting and all the suppliers they owe, you'd think they'd need every spare buck they could find. Still, an execs gotta get out of the office every now and then…
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Nascar would be more exciting if they allowed for technical innovation. They try and make it a competitive human sport were its the drivers "competing" against each other and attempt to put the cars in the background and not spotlight them. Remove the archaic and restrictive rules from the cars. It's like the people in power are stuck in the 1950's and never want it to end. Look at the limits they place on the motor's, etc. Where's the fun in that?
I suspect that most of us here would prefer the old amalgamation type races where if you don't sell them, you can't race them. Closest to that today is ALS, I guess. At least ALS is interesting to watch. Personally, I would like to see them flip the whole thing around and give everyone the same engine, and then see who could make the fastest car. Make the race a distance that will reward fewer fuel stops and now you have something interesting AND worthwhile.