Volkswagon not coming to NASCAR: Volkswagen quashed speculation on Thursday that it could expand its motorsport activities to include NASCAR and Formula One. "Nothing for us. There is certainly the one or the other person out there in the world that would wish for that, but we don't have that on the programme," said Ulrich Hackenberg, head of technical development at the Volkswagen brand, when asked about NASCAR. "I should know what I am talking about, since it would come out of my budget." He also ruled out any interest in joining Formula One. There has been speculation for months over whether VW would enter NASCAR with a factory team to bolster its appeal in the U.S. market, where it lags Japanese and Korean carmakers by a large margin.(Yahoo)(3-11-2011)

Volkswagen to NASCAR? UPDATE: The latest entry into America's most popular motorsports series could very well be the first ever from Germany. According to Matthias Muller, the newly appointed CEO of Porsche, Volkswagen Group -- his employer's parent company -- is considering entering NASCAR. Should it follow through, Volkswagen would be just the second foreign automaker to participate [full-time] in NASCAR. Toyota was first, entering the competition in 2007 [actually Jaguar and others have run a few races, with Jaguar winning a race. Volkswagen actually ran one race in 1953]. The German automaker will reportedly begin discussions with NASCAR officials once the current season ends in late November.(Motortrend)(10-1-2010)
UPDATE: A NASCAR official confirmed the sanctioning body has a meeting scheduled with Volkswagen in January. While Volkswagen competition representative Hans-Joachim Stuck emphatically denied any interest in American stock cars at Homestead one year ago, in a recent interview with Financial Times Deutschland the former racer discussed possibly taking the brand to Formula One and NASCAR. Reports earlier this month confirmed VW wouldn't pursue F1 after all. When VW unveiled its new assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., in September, Dr. Martin Winterkorn, chairman of the board of management at Volkwagen AG, announced to 700-plus dealers from the U.S. and Canada that he aspired to take his brand “to the top of the auto industry by 2018.” Certainly, NASCAR's “marketing (platform)" could be the perfect vehicle to accomplish that task. VW holds the distinction of being the largest automaker in Europe. In the U.S., however, recent tallies from October show VW of America only holding a 2.1 market share of cars sold, according to the Wall Street Journal.(FoxSports)(11-20-2010)

Volkswagen to NASCAR? Penske? denied: The latest entry into America's most popular motorsports series could very well be the first ever from Germany. According to Matthias Muller, the newly appointed CEO of Porsche, Volkswagen Group -- his employer's parent company -- is considering entering NASCAR. Should it follow through, Volkswagen would be just the second foreign automaker to participate [full-time] in NASCAR. Toyota was first, entering the competition in 2007 [actually Jaguar and others have run a few races, with Jaguar winning a race. Volkswagen actually ran one race in 1953]. The German automaker will reportedly begin discussions with NASCAR officials once the current season ends in late November. One of the owners that Volkswagen is considering team up with is Roger Penske.(Motortrend)
BUT Penske Racing will not be switching from Dodges to Volkswagens in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series next year, nor will the German automaker be fielding cars in America’s premier stock-car series in 2011. Beyond that, though, VW could make a play to race stock cars. The operant word there being “could,” as the automaker has not petitioned NASCAR to go racing next year. Sources at Penske Racing told SPEED.com that it is the team’s “full intent” to continue fielding Dodges next year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series. Furthermore, sources at NASCAR said that while Volkswagen officials intermittently have expressed a casual “interest in NASCAR,” the German automaker has not taken any of the steps necessary to be granted approval to race in NASCAR. In order to be approved to compete, VW or any other automaker would have to formally submit its race car and engine package to NASCAR. That has not happened, NASCAR officials told SPEED.com Thursday. And even if VW wanted to race in NASCAR, the earliest a car could be approved would be for the 2012 season.(SPEED)(10-1-2010)