2005 Racing Issue - UAW-Chrysler.com

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MIDGETS SPRINTS AND TRUCKS DODGE RACING GIVES FANS PLENTY TO CHEER ABOUT By Jim Morrison ] Dodge’s commitment to reaching Victory Lane extends from the high banking and high profile of Daytona to the slippery dirt tracks and lightning-quick drag strips off Middle America’s beaten path. Competing in diverse racing series, Dodge made a mark in 2004 with its MACHO MACHINES and TALENT BEHIND THE WHEEL, including little-known but promising drivers who may join the next generation of Nextel Cup Series superstars. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Florida Dodge Dealers 250 race action at Daytona International Speedway 20 www.uawdcx.com
LEFT: CORBIS; THIS PAGE: COURTESY OF DAIMLERCHRYSLER And in 2005, sprint-car standout Erin Crocker joins the team. Racing’s hottest woman driver last season, Crocker is competing in the NASCAR Busch Series and ARCA races for Evernham Motorsports and in the USAC Silver Crown Series for Kasey Kahne Motorsports. Succeeding should not be difficult for Crocker, who turns 24 this year, even if it means driving three different types of vehicles. The first woman to win a World of Outlaws race, Crocker won her first event — a quarter midget race — at age 7, and has been raising dust ever since. Last year, her victory in a 410 winged sprint car in Tulare, Calif., added the “410 Wild Card” to her impressive collection of awards. It also got the attention of Ray Evernham and Nextel Cup Raybestos Rookie of the Year Kasey Kahne, who drives Evernham’s No. 9 Dodge Charger co-sponsored by the UAW-Daimler- Chrysler National Training Center. For Crocker, a Massachusetts native who has an engineering degree from Renssalear Polytechnic Institute, driving for Ray Evernham is a perfect fit. “I get to drive for a leader who puts teamwork, engineering and technology first,” she says. “This is a chance for me to learn from the best in the business.” ALL ABOUT SPEED Those cars can lead to bigger things. By the end of last season, Dodges dominated the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and much of the credit goes to drivers who moved over from Nextel Cup. Bobby Hamilton, for one, won his first Craftsman Series championship in 2004, giving Dodge its first drivers’ title in a NASCAR national series in nearly 30 years. Hamilton’s victory came in just his second year as a full-time truck driver. The win also gave Dodge its first-time hold on both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles in a single year. For his part, Kahne won two of two starts in the 2004 Truck Series. When Ted Musgrave left the highprofile Winston Cup series in 2001 to race the No. 1 Mopar Dodge Ram truck in the Craftsman Truck Series, he saw it as a rare opportunity. Since “ I get to drive for a leader who puts teamwork, engineering and technology first. ” — Erin Crocker USAC Sprint Car getting into the truck with the barbed wire paint job, Musgrave had more victories — 13 — in the 2001 through 2004 seasons than any other driver. For the 2005 season, Musgrave is driving the No. 2 Team ASE Doge Ram for Ultra Motorsports. Dodge scored its first Craftsman victory in 1995, just two years after the series began, and didn’t look back. Last year’s manufacturers’ title was its third in four years — Dodges have won 52 percent of the races during that period. In the NASCAR Busch Series, Crocker is joined this season by Evernham Motorsports’ teammates Kahne and Jeremy Mayfield, driver of the No. 19 Nextel Cup Dodge co-sponsored by the UAW-Daimler- Chrysler National Training Center. After finishing 11th in the drivers’ standings in 2004, Kahne shares time behind the wheel of the No. 38 Dodge with USAC Silver Crown star Tyler Walker. Mayfield is co-pilot of the No. 64 Dodge owned by fellow Nextel Cup veteran Rusty Wallace, sharing duties with Cup driver Jamie McMurray. SERIES SCORCHERS In the World of Outlaws series, Mopar drivers challenged for championships, but came up just short in 2004. Steve Francis finished second in the Late Model Series season in the No. 15 Mopar Dodge. “The Kentucky Colonel” also won the first World of Outlaws Late Model Series event at Volusia Speedway in Barberville, Fla., and the highestpaying series event of the season at the Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D. For Danny “the Dude” Lasoski, last year was the debut of the new Mopar 410 Aluminum Sprint Car engine block. He led all 25 laps at the Dirt Track in Las Vegas the first time out. Lasoski’s No. 20 team, owned by Nextel Cup driver Tony Stewart, earned the runner-up position in the 2004 Series Championship. TOMORROW SPECIAL RACING 2005 21
Page 2 and 3: Side by Side On the Fast Track WHEN
Page 4 and 5: Start Engines YOUR BURN RUBBER,BABY
Page 6 and 7: UAW-DC 400 Pulling Off the Perfect
Page 8 and 9: Our Fans Toy Time It was love at fi
Page 10 and 11: Our Fans Look Out for Women Drivers
Page 14 and 15: COMEBACK KID: JEREMY MAYFIELD JEREM
Page 16 and 17: “I’M DOING THE SAME THING I’V
Page 18 and 19: A DRIVER’S RACE WEEKEND THURSDAY
Page 22 and 23: The challenge to win is one sentime
Page 24 and 25: STORY BY Molly Rose Teuke PHOTOGRAP
Page 26 and 27: THE SCIENCE AND SKILL OF DRAFTING G
Page 28: 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Highl

2005 Racing Issue - UAW-Chrysler.com

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