NASCAR Dodge Cars Undergoes Changes

With fourteen races already in the books in the 2007exerting effort on improving their performance of
Nextel Cup Series, Chevrolet cars are still dominatingthe Car of Tomorrow which is also known as the
the field with thirteen wins. The only other car toCOT. "At the same time, we're trying to figure out
finish at this year's Nextel Cup is Matt Kenseth'sthe COT, so that's really what kind of got us behind
Number 17 Ford at the Auto Club 500, the secondthe 8 ball. We feel like we're really picking up some
race of the season. From that race through thesteam now in our performance, average finish
Ponoco 500 held at the Pocono Raceway, theperformance is showing it," he said.
Chevrolet Impalas have won every race.One of the most promising young drivers this season
The Dodge Avenger NASCAR car though is making adriving a Dodge is Kasey Kahne. The 2004 NASCAR
challenge to the domination of Chevrolet withNextel Cup Rookie of the Year has not finished in the
back-to-back second place for Ryan Newman who istop ten since the first race of the season. Normally, it
driving the Number 12 Dodge Avenger.would cause for concern for Dodge. Accavitti though
At the Pocono 500, the Dodge cars fielded for thisis confident that Kahne has what it takes to perform
year's Nextel Cup Series has been fitted with newwell for the remainder of the season. "Kasey is the
noses in the hope that the change will give Dodge itsreal deal. We have the utmost faith in Kasey and the
first win of the season. Unfortunately though, criticsEvernham Motorsports Organization. They're a class
pointed out that the new nose installed may haveact team, and they're going to do what they need to
cost Dodge a win at the race.do to get Kasey back in victory lane," says Accavitti.
Mike Accavitti, the Director of the Dodge Brand andWhile Kasey Kahne is struggling, Ryan Newman,
SRT Marketing and Communication, has this to sayanother Dodge driver, is performing well. He seems
about the new nose having put them behind theto be coasting in the most recent races of the
competition: "We tested the nose together severalseason as if he is driving a Dodge cold air intake
times last year. We all came to a conclusion. We allsystem-equipped Dodge Charger. Accavitti addressed
reached an agreement that it was the right thing tothe success of Newman compared to the lackluster
do. Every team had an input and every team agreedperformance of other Dodge cars saying: "This is one
to that. When we put the nose on the car, itof the biggest issues we've had. We can go incredibly
affected the suspension setup more on thosefast as a group for one lap. We saw this actually last
downforce tracks than we had anticipated. It's takenyear. Last year the hypothesis was that it's a clean
a little while to get our arms around what the issuesair issue."
were and get some action plans in place."With the Dodge cars receiving modifications and
Accavitti also pointed out that aside from focusing onimproving their performance, it would be easy to
the performance of their current cars, they are alsobelieve that a Dodge victory will be coming soon.