2005 Racing Issue - UAW-Chrysler.com

By now, the Evernham story is
the stuff of NASCAR legend: After
a career racing modifieds, he moved
to North Carolina to pursue a
career building racecars. Eventually,
he formed a partnership as a
crew chief with a young racer
named Jeff Gordon, a pairing that
resulted in an astonishing 47
Winston Cup wins.
In 1999, Dodge sought to return
to Cup racing after two decades out,
and turned to Evernham to lead the
way. He has. With more than 230
employees and four buildings totaling
more than 175,000 square feet,
he enjoys the backing of nearly
60,000 Dodge Dealers and another
60,000 UAW members.
His leadership transcends the
sport, as Evernham is often asked
to speak to Fortune 500 executives
as well as notable organizations
such as NASA. But the sport
is where his heart is. Especially
during this inaugural season for
the Chargers, which for Evernham
are cars that embody the legacy
of Dodge power and precision engineering.
“You can go right up
to it and say, ‘This is a classic
Dodge car,’” he explains. “That’s
Kasey Kahne’s pit crew is
critical to his success.
DODGE DESIGN
UPDATES A LEGEND
ON AND OFF THE TRACK, NEW
DODGE CHARGERS ARE MUSCLING IN
The fastback Dodge Charger of the late 1960s
was a car like no other. It remains a pop
culture icon with a following convinced it
was the greatest muscle car of all time.
Now Chrysler is relaunching the legend in
a decidedly different package. The 2006
Charger will be a four-door family car with
attitude and the option of a powerful
Hemi V-8 engine.
But the new generation of Chargers won’t
all be on the street. This season the Charger has replaced the Intrepid as
Dodge Motorsport’s NASCAR Nextel Cup series entry, reviving a rich heritage.
The first Dodge NASCAR win came in a Charger during the 1966 season, with
the last in 1977. A Dodge Charger Daytona made history at Talladega in 1970,
when Buddy Baker became the first driver to be clocked at more than 200 mph
for a lap on a closed course.
Of course, the car that set all those records was rare off the track. On the
track, Dodge introduced the Charger 500 in 1969 with improved aerodynamics.
Then, midway through 1969, Mopar created perhaps the most outrageous
stock car ever. Using research conducted at the George C. Marshall Space
Flight Center, engineers added a giant wing hovering over the rear deck. They
christened it the Dodge Charger Daytona. With a 426 Hemi under the hood,
it became the dominant car of the 1969 and 1970 NASCAR seasons.
The Design Difference
But for Mark Hall, senior design manager for the 2006 Dodge Charger, that
distinctive history didn’t come into play — his team wanted to create a car
that could build its own legacy.
Over more than a year, designers tinkered with their original concept of a
muscle car–inspired sedan. “We altered the design of the front end so if it
caught up behind you, you’d want to get out of the way,” Hall says.
With the new Charger, the team wanted the flavor of a coupe with a four-door
package. “When you look at the vehicle,
it’s all about performance,” Hall
says, noting that it has plenty of room.
“A person can feel pretty responsible
buying a vehicle like this,” he
adds. “You can drive to work owning
a car that has the flavor of a muscle
car of yesteryear, but you can carry
your family on weekends.”
— Jim Morrison
To learn more about the 2006 Charger,
check out www.dodge.com.
what Charger is.” ■ TOMORROW SPECIAL RACING 2005 19