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NASCAR may not get wish in adding ‘muscle cars’ to Nationwide Series
Caught in the Catchfence™As NASCAR transitions to a new type of car for its second-tier Nationwide Series next year, NASCAR and others hoped Detroit would use racing versions of its iconic “muscle cars” to widen the series’ appeal.
The idea of having stock-car racing versions of the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger fighting for Victory Lane each weekend was thought to be just what the Nationwide Series needed to distinguish itself from NASCAR’s top-tier Sprint Cup Series.
Ford signed on last week, unveiling a version of its Mustang that will be attached to the new chassis NASCAR plans to start phasing into the Nationwide Series next year, with the car becoming mandatory in 2011. But Ford might turn out to be the exception.
General Motors’ Chevrolet will not run the Camaro in the Nationwide Series but will use the Impala instead, said Mark Kent, manager of GM Racing.
And Dodge — a unit of Chrysler that, like General Motors, recently emerged from bankruptcy proceedings — has not decided which car to enter despite widespread media speculation that it would use the Challenger, Dodge Motorsports spokesman Dan Reid said.
Article Tags: Chevrolet, Chevrolet Camaro, Chrysler, Dan Reid, Detroit, Dodge, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Motorsports, Ford Mustang, General Motors, GM Racing, Impala, Mark Kent, NASCAR, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
