One of IndyCar’s biggest names could branch out to the Sprint Cup Series as Michael Andretti told SI.com that he is hoping to start a NASCAR team. ‘We were looking at NASCAR real close last year, too, but it fell apart,’ Andretti said. ‘We were looking at it just as hard last year as this year and the year before.’ If Andretti is able to find the right sponsorship, he could team up with Dodge and base his team out of the old Evernham Motorsports shop at the Statesville Regional Airport in Statesville, N.C. A Dodge source told SI.com that Andretti could probably team up with the engine manufacturer for $5 million to $6 million. That’s because Dodge is losing its primary team in Sprint Cup at the end of this season as Penske Racing switches to Ford. Because of that, it is looking for a flagship team and Andretti could be a good fit, especially if it were to team up with Richard Petty Motorsports ‘ currently a Ford team paired with Roush Fenway Racing, but has a long history with Dodge. ‘I ‘m always looking at all options,’ Andretti said. ‘I ‘d be stupid not to listen to Dodge or any other manufacturers. It doesn ‘t matter that we are a Chevy IndyCar team. It might be nice if it was all under one roof but, in our contract, we ‘re a Chevy IndyCar team.’(Sports Illustrated)(6-27-2012)
UPDATE: Sources have confirmed to PitPass.net that Michael Andretti has purchased the engine program from Penske Racing and will field at least one full time Dodge in the Cup series in 2013 and beyond. No word on who the driver is, but with Matt Kenseth leaving Roush at the end of the season, the 2003 Cup series champ did confirm to the Journal Sentinel on Wednesday that he will drive for ‘a new cup team’ in 2013 and beyond. One option on the table is for Andretti to base his team out of the old Evernham Motorsports shop at the Statesville Regional Airport in Statesville, N.C. Also hearing from this unnamed source that this new deal with Dodge is also with Richard Petty Motorsports ‘ currently a Ford team paired with Roush Fenway Racing, but has a long history with Dodge. (this is why we didn ‘t get the announcement of Petty to Dodge in Michigan a few weeks ago, they were trying to get Kenseth). Hearing that an offical announcement could come as early as next weekend.(PitPass.net)(6-282012)
UPDATE 2: In response to inquiries about the company’s NASCAR motorsports program, Beth Paretta, Director of Marketing and Operations – SRT Brand and Motorsports, Chrysler Group LLC, offers the following statement: ‘While we continue to evaluate plans in NASCAR for 2013 and beyond, we have no commitments with any partners at this time. We continue to be pleased with the amount of interest from the media and fans in our motorsports program and will continue to follow our process as established in a timely manner. When decisions are finalized, we will announce them at that time. Currently what is most important is that we have not lost any focus on 2012 and our partnership with Penske Racing. Our commitment to win races and compete for championships with Penske Racing in both the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series this season remains firm. We will not lose focus on that partnership as we make decisions about our future in NASCAR.’(Darnell Communications for Dodge)(6-29-2012)
