Dodge’s NASCAR Legacy Walks the Tony Stewart Path as Ultimate Rescue Leaves Fans Jaw-Dropped

Tony Stewart really can handle anything with four wheels. After dominating NASCAR Cup cars, Indycar, All-Star Races, and Double duty marathons, now “Smoke” is burning rubber in an 11,000-horsepower NHRA Top Fuel dragster. Yup, racing is racing, and Stewart has nailed pretty much every type of racing that America has thrown at him, joining the likes of A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti in terms of versatile racing skills.

But drag racing? That’s a whole different beast. Those legends only dipped their toes in it for a quick minute. In drag racing, you’re done in about four seconds instead of grinding out 400 miles and making a left turn. And now, maybe after taking a leaf out of Tony Stewart’s book, it looks like the SHR owner has got himself company from a former Xfinity Series driver who brought his 2012 Dodge Challenger, a veteran of the Xfinity Cup circuit through 2018, into the mix.

In a recent video from Keystone Raceway Park, Cameron Fine was shown firing up the NASCAR engine. It’s a beefy setup with 365 cubic inches and about 825 horsepower, featuring 4-9 rear ends, 456 gears, a line lock, a trans brake, and a parachute. Cameron mentioned, “It did a 10-0. We’d like to see it get in the 9s next time out. This was the second run ever on the car for us so we’ll hit it a little harder next time and see what happens. Looking forward to running all year at Keystone.”

Looks like Cameron Fine is gearing up to race his unique Xfinity car all year long at Keystone Raceway Park. To get it drag-ready, fine tweaked the gearing and suspension, which got it running in the 10s and even popping some wheelies! And guess what? The stock car pulled off a wheelie at Talladega too! 

Interesting fact: Dodge was associated with Ford back in 1903, but parted ways in 1914 to introduce their own car.

Dodge first entered the NASCAR scene back in 1953. They recorded their first win with Lee Petty, who drove the Dodge Coronet #42. Soon they became a leading manufacturer in America. In 1964 Dodge celebrated its 50th Anniversary and also introduced the 426 Hemi engine, but NASCAR  banned it in the following season.

The brand kept innovating to bring in faster cars year after year. By 1970, the cars were closing up to 200 mph and that was the first time a NASCAR car had recorded that speed. During a tire test session at Talladega Superspeedway, Buddy Baker reached 200.447 mph in a Dodge. Even legend Richard Petty drove their beasts back in the day. Just in 1974-75m, he won 23 times.

But things started to change slowly. The brand did not see any big wins, but their cars were good. In 2003, Team Penske decided to switch from Ford to Dodge, this was looking like a fresh start for them. But after a few years again in 2012, Penske announced that they would switch back to Ford the next year. This was an unexpected move for the brand itself. Raph Gilles who was in charge of Dodge’s motorsports operation had expressed, “kind of caught us by surprise and we never recovered.” This move marked the end of an era for Dodge, a brand that had been intertwined with the fabric of American racing culture for generations.

However, when the fans heard of the new spin they gave to racing recently, they were over the moon, hoping Dodge would return to NASCAR. Why wouldn’t they be? Out of all the throwbacks, this has to be the best for old NASCAR fans who witnessed the overwhelming presence of the American manufacturer on tracks.

Tony Stewart takes fans on a trip down Dodge’s memory

When fans stumbled upon a Facebook post showing an Xfinity car tearing it up in a drag race, the excitement among them was palpable. They were all praises for this great idea of repurposing ex-circle track cars for drag racing. Did you know that in 1981, the 2nd generation Dodge Challenger was modified in body and added soundproofing along with an increase in head and foot room? It was a spectacle for both eyes and ears to hear the engines roar. One fan exclaimed, “Bet this sounded glorious” and, recalling the brilliant beasts Dodge manufactured, another fan expressed, “Bring Dodge back to NASCAR.”

Some fans compared the feeling of seeing Xfinity in drag to Formula 1 because F1 cars are usually capable of reaching top speeds of 300 km/h. The powerful engines generate over 1,000 horsepower and drifting at this speed, is quite challenging. A fan commented, “Similar feeling when you take a Formula Drift car and put it on the strip. They turn heads when it goes 150mph off the trailer LOL.” One fan even wanted to attempt a drift and wrote, “I’ve always dreamed of doing that…lol.”

Fans largely expressed their enthusiasm for turning forgotten, lower-tier stock cars into drag specifications. After the 2012 exit, Dodge discontinued manufacturing some of its engines and reused the current ones in different models. With the modification of the beats, the muscle car enthusiasts got nostalgic and suggested these could be a whole new racing category. A fan commented, “Bet it took a whole lot of suspension work too. Very cool 🏁.” In 2023, the production officially ended because of the parent company’s transition to EVs. 

Fans are still anticipating Dodge to come back in NASCAR, but only time will reveal what their next move is.