Dodge Charger Pursuit Vehicle to Pace NASCAR this Weekend

Posted By RLD | 03.2.2012

Chalk up another great milestone for Dodge, as the 2012 Dodge Charger Pursuit Vehicle will pace two races this weekend in Arizona.

 

To see it in action, tune in to the NASCAR Nationwide Series on Saturday, March 3rd, or to the Sprint Cup Series on Sunday, March 4th.

 

Want a quick glimpse of what the Dodge Charger Pursuit Vehicles can do? Check out this video that shows off just what the new Dodge Charger Pursuit Vehicles are capable of. We asked real police officers to put the 2012 Dodge Charger through the ropes, and needless to say—they were blown away.

 

  • HEMIhead

    May as well say one last goodbye. Maybe Dodge can start it’s own pursuit racing league, call it PRL.

    • ROADNTRACK

      How about a nostalgia stock car series. They could use those reproduction 1970 Challenger bodies!

  • SUBLIME

    NASCAR???… just when Penske breaks the news that he is going with Ford next year.  Perfect timing.  You must have really upset the Penske boys.  Well, with only two cars in Sprint Cup, it is probably for the best.  You can never win a championship with only two cars in a field of 43.  The odds are stacked against you.

  • HEMIhead

    I would say they upset the Penske boys. Roger put an immediate stop on work to the 2013 Nascar Charger development, and his only statements are to thank ford for their long term commitment. I agree it’s probably hard with a two car team against 43, but with all respect to Dodge, Roger should be grateful. They gave him his first Nascar Nationwide Championship in 2010, put both cars in the chase in cup last season. Had one car finish 5th in points. Not to mention 5 wins in cup last year with only two cars. As opposed to ford’s 7 wins with 17 cars on the track! Now that’s dollar for dollar value right there. Also, Edwards who was ford’s second in points in cup last year only has 1 win all season, as opposed to Keselowski’s 3! Two with a broken ankle! Looking at those stats, Roger should be damn well grateful. I hope he gets to eat crow. The Kurt Busch scenario now makes sense to me. I wish Dodge would find a large, loyal team to meld with. One good organization who can win some races each year would be good. My only regret with Dodge is that they now have lost Brad Keselowski. That is really sad, and let me tell you, that’s gonna hurt! Dodge’s involvement with Nascar is inconsistent at best. Now I have more t shirts to burn. Good Grief, here we go again! Dodge, could you please state your future Nascar intentions with us, the fans/owners/consumers? What’s all the big secrets about? Not everything needs to be a secret. State your intentions so we can get on with it!

  • SUBLIME

    Penske got the best bang for the buck with Dodge, however, it is now being taken over by Gilles and the SRT program so maybe that had something to do with it.  Once Gilles was replaced at Dodge, the sales have gone through the roof.  Maybe Penske is just buddies with Jack Roush, who knows.  Anyhow, the contract was up so he may have just wanted a change. Brad has always ben a mopar man so this must be tough for him. I hope they get a few more good teams to migrate to Dodge. We shall see what happens.

  • HEMIhead

    Brad Keselowski seems pretty disillusioned on one interview when he disscussed the move to ford. He says they were doing just fine with Dodge, and that he feels they were not at a disadvantage. If you can read between the lines he’s basically saying that it was not his idea or intentions, and he dosen’t agree with it. He said he’s sticking to his word on that. I don’t think he knew anything about it when he resigned with Penske. I think he’s Mopar to the bone. It’s sad that Dodge has lost such a talented, well spoken, and a great, great spokesperson for the brand. I think i’ll be sick to my stomach to see him with a ford patch on his firesuit in 2013. As for the SRT brand, yes, they are awesome. The majority of consumers can’t afford them, and if you look at sales figures, they are not ever going to keep the company operating on their own. So, come on Ralph Gilles, don’t forget Joe consumer who buys the minivan, the SUV/CUV, the work truck for everyday use. Because those people, my friend, is what pays the bills at Chrysler, and also allows you to have an SRT division. If times get tough, and sales are hard to come by, what division do you think will get the first cuts?

  • SUBLIME

    All Brad has to do is wreck his teammates with Ford a few times and Penske will drop him.  Maybe he can curse at reporters like Kurt Busch did if that doesn’t work.  That should do the trick. I know Dodge would pick him up in a heartbeat.  Hopefully, Gilles has enough sense to find a car for him. 

  • JC Young

    @Sublime It was not Ralph Gilles decision to cut Penske. Yes Ralph Gilles is in charge of the SRT program, but he is also a spoke person for Dodge. This decision came from way up top. Im pretty sure Ralph had nothing to do with it. My feeling was that Dodge was going to give even less support in the 2013 Nascar season. Mr. Penske did not like that. He needs all the support he can get. Now the next question is, what major Nascar team will be racing in a Dodge next season? Petty would be nice, but Petty is NOT a power house team. THEN the question come up about Dodge engine program. Penske builds Dodge engines, and so does Arrington. Will Dodge build there own factory engines like TRD Toyota?? Or would Dodge start up there own Nascar factory team (i dont see happening). Dodge needs a team that builds there own engines, like RCR, Roush, Hendrick. This is a big L for Dodge. If they do Nascar, then give it 100%, if not, then pull out of the sport. But only time will tell…

  • HEMIhead

    Well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Dodge is supposed to be introducing the new 2013 Nascar Charger this weekend at pre race Las Vegas. I hope they announce what teams or who will be driving it also. I hope Dodge can tell us what is in the plans for the 2013 Nascar season. 
    I don’t know what they said to Penske, but he certainly changed his tune pretty quick on what he thought were “Advantages”. He also played up ford like they were his sole saviour and hero. I’ll tell you who my hero is Roger; it’s “The King”. Would love to see RPM take the Dodge helm again, but Petty don’t have any powerhouse drivers and now no longer an engine shop. So, unless Dodge is going to build engines in house for him, run their own team support, and hire some high profile driving talent, then I don’t see how RPM would be good. It’s not enough to just be in Nascar, you have to be competitive too. I hope they are not just going to “wing-it” with those few start and park teams. That would be a pathetic effort. I hope they are going to take the effort “in house”, and give it all the effort they have. That would be awesome. (Loved seeing the “Dodge Dealers” car on the track in the past!) I have no problem with them not putting every penny the company has into Nascar, but one good organization with at least 3 cars, and some real talent would, I think, make a lot of Dodge fans satisfied. Because to be honest,I was really surprised and blown away by the effort of only 2 cars in the last two seasons. We just need the talent to kick some butts! Go Dodge!

  • Oscar Toledo

    Let me drive A Dodge, I ll show you how to drive. I love my Challenger.

  • Timm ross

    I enjoyed the video,and I agree,I’m retired Miami police.I currently drive 2008 charger srt.There is another auto for me at this time.Dodge has made me a believer.

  • Pingback: Dodge Charger Pursuit Vehicle to Pace NASCAR this Weekend | Forgotten MOPARs