CUP: Penske Plans Manufacturer Shift In 2013

Sprint Cup

CUP: Penske Plans Manufacturer Shift In 2013

Penske Racing is switching from Dodge to Ford next season...

Lee Spencer | http://www.foxsports.com/ | Posted March 01, 2012 Charlotte, NC

Despite a long list of motorsports accomplishments, team owner Roger Penske is still seeking a NASCAR Sprint Cup title. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Penske Racing will reunite with Ford in NASCAR for 2013.

As Autoweek first reported, an announcement was set for Thursday.

Roger Penske, who currently fields cars for Brad Keselowski and AJ Allmendinger in the Sprint Cup Series, most recently worked with Ford from 1995 to 2002. Penske Racing switched to Dodges in 2003 and has been with the brand ever since.

In the 29 seasons that team owner Roger Penske has competed in NASCAR, his teams have amassed 68 victories in 1,327 starts. While Penske won its first NASCAR title in the Nationwide Series with Keselowski in 2010, a Sprint Cup title has eluded the organization during its tenure in stock cars. Penske Racing’s best showing in Cup was with Rusty Wallace when he finished second in 1993.

The engine component of Penske Racing’s switch to Ford has yet to be determined. Roush Yates Engines currently supplies all the Fords in Sprint Cup. However, Penske Racing currently builds its own engines in house.

As for the future of Dodge, Robby Gordon would be the lone team at this point. But Dodge has also reached out to other teams including Richard Petty Motorsports, according to owner Andy Murstein.

"We received calls from several manufacturers today asking if they could meet with us,” Murstein said. “It seems that while sponsorship is down, car manufactures support is strong. That is probably due to the fact that the car companies are all doing significantly better these days than a few years ago. Thus Petty has been approached by several manufacturers recently. What's interesting is that there while there are the usual suspects there is one new manufacturer that is trying to break into the sport.

“Many of the manufactures have told us that the Petty name is a no-brainer for them. While admittedly Petty isn't in the winning class of Hendrick and Roush Fenway, at least not yet, they are in first class in terms of pride and fan loyalty. The missteps that other teams have made such as their drivers embarrassing them will not be the case with Petty's drivers, and certainly will never be the case with the King himself.”

RPM’s contract with Ford is up at the end of the season. Petty ran Dodges from 1972 to 1978. Petty Enterprises aligned with Dodge again when the manufacturer returned to NASCAR competition in 2001 through most of the 2009 season, then under the RPM banner.

“We are focused on using Ford this year as we have high hopes for our performance,” Murstein said. “We have two great drivers now both on and off the track. Not only are they both extremely well spoken, personable, and loved by the sponsors, but they have the talent and the equipment needed to get it done. As everyone saw they both had great qualifying and practice times at Daytona and were both in the top five at points in the race. Partly because of that, and partly because there is only one King, who is a shining example of excellence and integrity both on and off the track, we have been approached by several manufacturers. Some of them are already in the sport and interestingly one of which is not in the sport but would like to enter it through a partnership with the King.”

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing president Steve Lauletta said the company had not yet been approached by Dodge.

"I haven't been involved in any of those conversations," Lauletta said. "But we're very happy with Chevrolet."