[LXbuilder]

"WE HAVE TRUE AND HONEST FANS WHO ARE FOLLOWING THOSE SRT VIPERS !!"

Just too bad those fans numbers are a tiny little bitty fraction of what NASCAR car's fans are.
While I'm thrilled to see the Viper back on the track and kicking some butt, I know it means almost nothing from a marketing sense. I'm going to enjoy watching them race for however long it lasts, but I know I'll be the only one out of my many motorsport buddies that will.

"WE MADE HISTORY !!!!!!"
Been there done that over a decade ago.



And last year...


http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2012/11/18/dodge-exits-nascar-on-high-note-brad-keselowski/1713259/

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/19/2012-nascar-sprint-cup-champions-keselowski-penske-and-dodge/?_r=0

http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/cup-dodge-leaves-on-winning-note-nascar-sprint/

http://www.chargerforums.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-160273.html

http://www.nbcsports.com/motor-sports/keselowski-clinches-first-nascar-title

http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/story/?id=409801

http://blogs.bettor.com/A-look-at-the-profile-of-2012-Sprint-Cup-Champion-and-NASCAR-racer-Brad-Keselowski-NASCAR-Special-a207788

...it was everywhere but in Chrysler`s Dodge advertising campaigns.

 

[moparbob]

"WE HAVE TRUE AND HONEST FANS WHO ARE FOLLOWING THOSE SRT VIPERS !!"

Just too bad those fans numbers are a tiny little bitty fraction of what NASCAR car's fans are.
While I'm thrilled to see the Viper back on the track and kicking some butt, I know it means almost nothing from a marketing sense. I'm going to enjoy watching them race for however long it lasts, but I know I'll be the only one out of my many motorsport buddies that will.

"WE MADE HISTORY !!!!!!"
Been there done that over a decade ago.

You should have seen the crowd there, the frontstretch was PACKED & there were large crowds there in other sections of the race too! There were more fans here Sunday than there were for NASCAR Nationwide Series or ARCA , No Joke!

 

[TripleT]

Plus the product racing actually has some sort of resemblance to Mopar product. Nascar markets itself (motor based entertainment) the brands washed out with the COT, which was hardly marketable as a Mopar and the new one is only slightly better

This was instantly identifiable as Viper


Good for SRT!!!

 

[Mike V.]

This thread is going to turn into an ugly fight unfortunately.

While I have much respect for the Viper program and have defended them, I don't think it is right to assume that the first win for this new program (first win for the Viper in 12+ years) is a bigger deal than Dodge winning he Nextel Cup last year or the accomplishments Dodge had in NASCAR. I don't see what big "history" that was made here compared to other racing accomplishments that seemed to be mostly ignore by Chrysler in the last few years... Namely the seven Championships won last year in some of the biggest series in North America. At least they quietly had a press release on the media site... Not much else. :ninja:

I'm proud of the Viper's... But the two series and their accomplishments do not compare directly other than the fact that they are full body cars being raced.

Let the Viper's accomplishments speak for themselves and leave the other series and politics that comes with it out if the discussion.

Just my two cents...

Mike

 

[Mike V.]

Chrysler Group LLC Celebrates Seven 2012 Motorsports Championships

Championship Winning Vehicles and Drivers Visit Company Headquarters

Chrysler Group LLC celebrates seven motorsports championships won in 2012 for Mopar and SRT Motorsports programs with Dodge, Fiat and Ram in NASCAR, NHRA, USAC and SCCA series

Championship drivers visit Chrysler Group Headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., to meet employees and sign autographs

Seven championship-winning vehicles on display
January 29, 2013 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - After earning seven motorsports championship series titles in 2012, Chrysler Group LLC today celebrated those achievements by displaying the winning vehicles and inviting their championship drivers to their headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., to meet and sign autographs with company employees.

The event celebrated a year of motorsport series titles won by Mopar and SRT motorsports programs with Dodge, Fiat and Ram vehicles in the NASCAR, NHRA, USAC and SCCA racing series. They include the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship, won in a Dodge Charger by Brad Keselowski and Penske Racing, along with two 2012 NHRA Championship titles by Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson in his Dodge Avenger and Funny Car driver Jack Beckman in his Don Schumacher Racing Dodge Charger R/T.

Seven championships in top level series in one year... With very limited support.

Now that is history making... Sorry to be the bubble burster.

Mike

 

[tjmopar]

I am also really proud of SRT and their Viper GTS program as we are a SRT dealer. They are really a class act and it starts with Ralph! I see you go by Mr. Source so I would guess you work for Chrysler so hats off I am a Sales Manager that has to sell the cars you contribute to. I realize you are excited about the win yesterday as am I but everytime you seem to have a slam against the number one motorsport in our country NASCAR. I have read you slamming NASCAR all last year and here you go again. Who's fault is it that we didn't get more press about our NASCAR championship? Wasn't NASCAR but it would be us and I mean us because my paycheck comes from selling Chrysler products. I would care to bet if I took a survey of the people that walked through the front door in a weeks time I would bet the amount of people that even know what the American LeMans Series would be at best 1 or maybe 2. Ask those same people if they know NASCAR you and I would have to agree that that number would be probably close to 80%.

As far as people knowing who the drivers are in NASCAR at least they care to know! I follow motorsports in general and love almost every form including NASCAR, TORC, NHRA etc. As far as ALMS drivers frankly the only one that sticks out is Tommy Kendall. My point is as a die hard Chrysler guy I am VERY proud that SRT and Chrysler won and it is a huge acomplishment and I really mean that however for you to paint this picture that somehow this win at Road America will be bigger than a Nascar effort is really off the mark.

 

[MoparNorm]

Excellent post TJ!

 

[Stratuscaster]

Mr. Source's comment in regards to the name and brand being mentioned during the ALMS race and win versus NASCAR when the driver and team were more prominently featured is not "NASCAR bashing" - rather it's showing the differences in how the races are perceived, promoted, and marketed. I'm not a huge racing fan, but even I noticed some time ago that the promotion and marketing in NASCAR shifted away from the brands and the cars to the drivers and the teams.

It's not a "bad" thing - it's just different, and Source obviously feels that the recognition from ALMS was better for the company than the recognition (or lack thereof) from NASCAR.

You are free to disagree, but please - there's no need to turn this into (yet another) fight over it. Is NASCAR more popular than ALMS here in the US? Yes. Does that make it better? That's a matter of opinion.

Either way, congrats to the SRT team on the win.

 

[Chris Monaco]

Autoblog just made the Viper GTS-R its Facebook cover photo.

People are making a BIG deal out of this win. Great for SRT!

 

[Guest]

YAWN... Viper wins a few races, I guess if you're rich then it's worth crowing, for the rest of us..... we got the shaft.

 

[MoparNorm]

Mr. Source's comment in regards to the name and brand being mentioned during the ALMS race and win versus NASCAR when the driver and team were more prominently featured is not "NASCAR bashing" - .

I beg to disagree. Based upon what he has written in the past and posted in Motorsports, he is stridently anti-NASCAR and that is his prerogative. Just as it is others' prerogative to call him out.
Each side has a right to their opinion.

 

[Powdered Toast Man]

By the contrary with Nascar, they always mentioned Brad or Penske, but almost never said nothing bout Dodge or Charger, now Brad and Penske are wining, nobody remembers Dodge, fans re still following Brad or Penske, by the contrary of yesterday, WE HAVE TRUE AND HONEST FANS WHO ARE FOLLOWING THOSE SRT VIPERS !!

Except Brad K and Penske are NOT winning. In fact, they are sitting precariously in 8th place in the points and are basically one DNF away from not making the Chase. Without a win he would not even qualify for a wildcard spot.

Maybe the switch to Ford and having a "benchmark" wasn't the greatest idea after all.

 

[SE Charger]

Mr. Source's comment in regards to the name and brand being mentioned during the ALMS race and win versus NASCAR when the driver and team were more prominently featured is not "NASCAR bashing" - rather it's showing the differences in how the races are perceived, promoted, and marketed.

The name of the entire topic is one big slam on Nascar. I am disappointed that we couldn't have a post started by certain people that just states the facts and bask in the glory, Vipers win could have been all that needed to be said but it wasn't. It had nothing to do with Nascar no matter what your personal opinions about it are.

 

[dana44]

I am all for the racing and showing what Mopars in general can do, but if it really comes down to purchasing a $100,000 car, sorry, as much as I love my Mopars, I wouldn't buy a Viper if it was the only car available for the simple reason I have only seen four of them in my whole life so they are just too rare a car to drive around it on a daily basis, but I would probably think about an Aston Martin or Jaguar believe it or not. At the same time, if the Viper was in the $60-65K range, might be a different story. With that, that's how interested I am in this form of racing, not enough driver against driver, more driver against a clock. At least when I watch the drag races it is one against another and a comparison can be made, even if it is only a couple seconds at a time. With that, Mr. Source does have a point, NASCAR is a kit car race, too spec and not enough real car left to them. Race the LS6, Hemi and Coyote, put them in stock cars and load them up with the equipment they have now, make them run the stock bodies with dams in the front and tails on the ends, equal of course, and let's really see who can do what. You can only get so much power out of any engine, and durability is the next item that is proved, let's just see who lasts the longest and runs the fastest. Viper is built as a street race track car, so of course it should do well with these kinds of racing, and besides, it is what SRT is all about . If it didn't win and win regularly over the season, SRT wouldn't be doing their job.

Bottom line is, with NASCAR, as far out as it is, you can say, hey, I can own that Ford, Chevy, or Toyota, so it's a little closer to reality. Have a Viper win, yes, it is impressive, but a car that is two years of annual pay for most people, well, nice car, nice accomplishment, but really doubt many do anything but dream about it. Chrysler really screwed up with a NASCAR championship and then mum's the word. Looking at the stands compared to last year may be part of the reason the stands are sparse to say the least.

 

[MoparNorm]

Looking at the stands compared to last year may be part of the reason the stands are sparse to say the least.

Since the days of the deepest part of the Recession, attendance had been slowing coming back. It would be interesting to know how many Mopar fans dropped out after last year's withdrawal.
If indeed the drop in attendance is a result of Dodge's absence, then NASCAR should fund a Dodge team and tell them to bring a Hemi.

 

[dana44]

Since the days of the deepest part of the Recession, attendance had been slowing coming back. It would be interesting to know how many Mopar fans dropped out after last year's withdrawal.
If indeed the drop in attendance is a result of Dodge's absence, then NASCAR should fund a Dodge team and tell them to bring a Hemi.

Not sure how they come up with the attendance being up, I know there are what appears to be a whole lot more empty seats watching a few minutes of the last several races compared to last year. My daughter in Phoenix asked if I wanted to go to the next race in Phoenix and I told her no, and one of the few times she knew why before I even explained it.

 

[Roy Thigpen]

Why not bash NASCAR? The vehicles are all homogenized, the race tracks are pretty much all ovals, and the engineering is no where near as sophisticated as ALMS or F1. Also, I'm still pissed at how Dodge was summarily dismissed by their teams in favor of Ford, right when they were getting ready to reveal a new Challenger racing body. The timing of the announcement stinks to high heaven, and I will never forgive Ford Racing and NASCAR for letting it happen, especially since Dodge is the defending champion.

 

[duster92]

I am all for the racing and showing what Mopars in general can do, but if it really comes down to purchasing a $100,000 car, sorry, as much as I love my Mopars, I wouldn't buy a Viper if it was the only car available for the simple reason I have only seen four of them in my whole life so they are just too rare a car to drive around it on a daily basis, but I would probably think about an Aston Martin or Jaguar believe it or not. At the same time, if the Viper was in the $60-65K range, might be a different story. With that, that's how interested I am in this form of racing, not enough driver against driver, more driver against a clock. At least when I watch the drag races it is one against another and a comparison can be made, even if it is only a couple seconds at a time. With that, Mr. Source does have a point, NASCAR is a kit car race, too spec and not enough real car left to them. Race the LS6, Hemi and Coyote, put them in stock cars and load them up with the equipment they have now, make them run the stock bodies with dams in the front and tails on the ends, equal of course, and let's really see who can do what. You can only get so much power out of any engine, and durability is the next item that is proved, let's just see who lasts the longest and runs the fastest. Viper is built as a street race track car, so of course it should do well with these kinds of racing, and besides, it is what SRT is all about . If it didn't win and win regularly over the season, SRT wouldn't be doing their job.

Bottom line is, with NASCAR, as far out as it is, you can say, hey, I can own that Ford, Chevy, or Toyota, so it's a little closer to reality. Have a Viper win, yes, it is impressive, but a car that is two years of annual pay for most people, well, nice car, nice accomplishment, but really doubt many do anything but dream about it. Chrysler really screwed up with a NASCAR championship and then mum's the word. Looking at the stands compared to last year may be part of the reason the stands are sparse to say the least.

A little closer to reality? Not really. Nascar is as about as far from reality as possible. It is entertaining...but that is about it. The Viper is very close to what you get on the street. It also a costs a ton more to race the homogenized Nascar created machines. At least with the Viper they are getting knowledge back. It is an apples and oranges argument, but I think the marketing power of Nascar in terms of actual cars is minimal.

 

[MoparNorm]

Why not bash NASCAR? The vehicles are all homogenized, the race tracks are pretty much all ovals, and the engineering is no where near as sophisticated as ALMS or F1. Also, I'm still pissed at how Dodge was summarily dismissed by their teams in favor of Ford, right when they were getting ready to reveal a new Challenger racing body. The timing of the announcement stinks to high heaven, and I will never forgive Ford Racing and NASCAR for letting it happen, especially since Dodge is the defending champion.

The story of what really happened can be found in the Motosrports section of Allpar.
Dodge was NOT dismissed by their team, it was the other way around and Penske just happened to have a backup plan.