Speed Racer
aka "mach5driver"
By DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer
General Motors announced Tuesday that it will pull its support of Pontiac race cars following the 2003 Winston Cup season to concentrate its resources on supporting the Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
"GM Racing will focus its 2004 NASCAR program on the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and will no longer race or support the Pontiac Grand Prix race car," said Doug Duchardt, director of GM Racing.
Pontiac's teams running the 2003 Winston Cup schedule include the No. 32 cars driven by Ricky Craven, the No. 0 team now driven by Ward Burton, the No. 10 that Johnny Benson now drives, the No. 01 taken over last week by Joe Nemechek and the No. 4 being driven in recent races by Kevin Lepage.
"Given Pontiac's long association with NASCAR and our many great accomplishments over the years, the decision to withdraw from NASCAR was not an easy one," said Lynn Myers, general manager of Pontiac-GMC. "Consistent with GM efforts to focus its racing programs, Chevrolet will carry the NASCAR banner while Pontiac can now devote resources to developing future racing and marketing programs consistent with our new performance products.
"We are proud of our racing accomplishments and we recognize that it is a powerful engineering, people development and marketing tool. Pontiac is investigating new opportunities to highlight the performance of our vehicles on the track."
Tuesday's announcement comes at the end of a dramatic fall in fortunes for Pontiac in NASCAR. Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte won two of the past three Winston Cup titles in Pontiacs, but when their Joe Gibbs Racing team switched to Chevrolets it clearly signalled trouble for Pontiac.
Craven's win at Darlington in March is Pontiac's only Cup victory in the 2003 season.
"If General Motors isn't going to support the Pontiac next season then I doubt you will see too many teams running Pontiacs," said Benson, who will be replaced by Scott Riggs in the No. 10 team's car after this season. "I would guess that most of the Pontiac teams will switch to Chevrolets and I hope GM continues to support them."
The Charlotte Observer
General Motors announced Tuesday that it will pull its support of Pontiac race cars following the 2003 Winston Cup season to concentrate its resources on supporting the Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
"GM Racing will focus its 2004 NASCAR program on the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and will no longer race or support the Pontiac Grand Prix race car," said Doug Duchardt, director of GM Racing.
Pontiac's teams running the 2003 Winston Cup schedule include the No. 32 cars driven by Ricky Craven, the No. 0 team now driven by Ward Burton, the No. 10 that Johnny Benson now drives, the No. 01 taken over last week by Joe Nemechek and the No. 4 being driven in recent races by Kevin Lepage.
"Given Pontiac's long association with NASCAR and our many great accomplishments over the years, the decision to withdraw from NASCAR was not an easy one," said Lynn Myers, general manager of Pontiac-GMC. "Consistent with GM efforts to focus its racing programs, Chevrolet will carry the NASCAR banner while Pontiac can now devote resources to developing future racing and marketing programs consistent with our new performance products.
"We are proud of our racing accomplishments and we recognize that it is a powerful engineering, people development and marketing tool. Pontiac is investigating new opportunities to highlight the performance of our vehicles on the track."
Tuesday's announcement comes at the end of a dramatic fall in fortunes for Pontiac in NASCAR. Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte won two of the past three Winston Cup titles in Pontiacs, but when their Joe Gibbs Racing team switched to Chevrolets it clearly signalled trouble for Pontiac.
Craven's win at Darlington in March is Pontiac's only Cup victory in the 2003 season.
"If General Motors isn't going to support the Pontiac next season then I doubt you will see too many teams running Pontiacs," said Benson, who will be replaced by Scott Riggs in the No. 10 team's car after this season. "I would guess that most of the Pontiac teams will switch to Chevrolets and I hope GM continues to support them."
