Penske switches to Ford

SPEED.com has confirmed that Penske Racing will announce a switch from Dodge to Ford for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and beyond. Penske will make the formal announcement at 11:30 a.m. ET today. The timing of the blockbuster announcement is nothing less than shocking: Dodge is set to unveil its 2013 Sprint Cup Charger at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next weekend, with Penske its only frontline team. Dodge representatives declined comment on the move. Penske Racing campaigned Fords in the Sprint Cup Series from 1994-2002, before switching to Dodges for 2003. As a team, Penske has won 71 Sprint Cup races in 1,503 starts dating back to 1971. Penskes first foray into NASCAR was with the now-defunct American Motors and its Matador coupe. The team also campaigned Pontiacs in the late 1980s and early '90s.

Shock move: Penske switching from Dodge to Ford in 2013
By Nate Ryan, USA TODAY

In a stunning manufacturer switch for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Penske Racing will switch to Ford in 2013 leaving Dodge with no fully committed teams to race its newly redesigned Charger next season.

As recently as six weeks ago at a preseason media event, team owner Roger Penske and Dodge CEO Ralph Gilles made a joint appearance and seemed fully committed to each other.

But Penske, which fields cars for Brad Keselowski and A.J. Allmendinger announced Thursday morning that it would return to Ford after taking a 10-year hiatus.

Penske ran Fords for nine seasons from 1994 to 2002 and posted 27 wins and 33 poles among three drivers. In addition, its teams finished in the top 10 in 228 of 469 starts.

"This is a historic day for our racing program, and we are thrilled to see another member of the extended Ford family coming back," Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas, said in a statement. "Working together with Penske Racing gives Ford another championship-level program, and we are excited to take our racing program to all-new levels."

Beginning at next year's Daytona 500, Penske will race the new Fusion that was unveiled Jan. 24 in Charlotte.

"It was important to get this agreement in place early so that we can plan ahead for the debut of the new 2013 NASCAR Fusion," Ford Racing director Jamie Allison said in a statement. "We will work with Roush Fenway on the final development of the new car during this season, but we want to be able to have our teams building their new cars for the 2013 season before the end of the year, as the transition to the new body is taking place.

"With the operations and technology resources Penske brings from all forms of racing, we know they will be a strong addition to our program, and we look forward to working with them and all our teams to create a stronger Ford NASCAR program with even greater depth."

Since 2003, Penske's NASCAR teams have been aligned with Dodge Motorsports and have produced 48 wins (26 in Cup and 22 in Nationwide), 72 pole positions (50 in Cup and 22 in the Nationwide Series) and the 2010 Nationwide title in 1,048 starts (832 in Cup and 216 in Nationwide).

"Penske Racing has had and continues to have a terrific relationship with Dodge, and we thank them for their partnership and their support over the past 10 years," Penske said in a statement. "Our organizations have experienced many great memories together and our teams are committed to produce wins and championships with Dodge this season. We look forward to rejoining the Ford Racing NASCAR program beginning in 2013. We appreciate the long-term commitment that Ford has made to Penske Racing and for their continued support of the sport."

There was no immediate word from Dodge, which faces a tall order in recruiting another powerhouse team to its fold. Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota), Roush Fenway Racing (Ford) and Hendrick Motorsports/Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet) are the flagship teams for the other three manufacturers in Cup, and Stewart-Haas Racing, which won last year's championship with Tony Stewart, is firmly committed to Chevrolet

Another one bites the dust, I'm beginning to think it's a conspiracy. I can't find a Chevy driver that excites me and I've been pulling for AJ Allmendinger since he was named to drive the Penske #22 Dodge. With my borderline hatred of the Blue Oval brand I have once again found myself without a driver to support. I guess I will have to pull for Regan Smith and Kurt Busch no matter how little I really desire to.

I agree we all wondered what would happen to the Dodge teams with the diminished corporate help and I'm afraid this may be the last strong team to drive a Mopar. Sure wish Penske had gone with a Bowtie.

This is so surprising. I hope not but this looks like the end of their NASCAR participation for the near future.

Unless Petty goes back, I wouldn't want Robby Gordon and Brian Keslowski representing mymanufacturer. But still, I figured Roger would've had all the backing from he needed. Since he was basically the only full-time Dodge team in Nascar's top three series. Either he got mad at Dodge, or Ford offered him WAY more money to come back (probably the last one)But, this will be the first full-team that's NOT owned by Jack Roush, and I don't have to complain about the car either!

I don't think RPM is in play for Mopar. Through sources I can't reveal, I was provided this photo of RPM's 2013 Nissan COT - complete with Medallion Financial's TAXI colors and Petty-themed cab numbering: 7C43 (seven championships for Richard Petty). I'm glad they will make the announcement early as it looks like they've got some work to do on their aero package before next February at Daytona.