Dodge NASCAR Winston Cup Notes and Quotes from Brooklyn Michigan

Dodge Motorsports announced promotions within its organization on Thursday. Tim Culbertson, former Program Manager Dodge NASCAR Winston Cup Engineering, has been promoted to Manager Advanced Vehicle Packaging. Ted Flack, former Manager NASCAR Engine Programs, Dodge Engineering, will take over for Culbertson. Also, John Worley, former Manager Dodge NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, is now Senior Manager PVO Performance Parts and Motorsports.

TIM CULBERTSON (Manager Advanced Vehicle Packaging)
"Bottom line is I'll be doing the upfront work on hotrods. The PVO Group is a group that takes our current products and putting a more high performance vent on them. I'll be doing the upfront work on that. It's something I've had some experience on it the past. The very first Intrepid that was designed, I did the two intake manifolds on that.  I was always real proud of that because that was something that fit into the cab forward. At that time I was an engineer. This time I'll be a manager of that. It's something I'm pretty exciting about. You've never really up to speed in this sport, and I'm really proud to have been involved in this program. I think the results speak for themselves. I'm looking for a new challenge, and this is going to present that challenge to me. I'm pretty excited about the change. I think that Sterling will continue on. He's had his ups and downs like the stock market, but he's still on top. He's had two really tough weeks, but I think he's going to be strong at Michigan, and he should be really strong the rest of the year. I think it's going to be tough to beat Sterling Marlin."

TED FLACK (NASCAR Technical Program Manager)
"Tim Culbertson has been looking at other opportunities within the company, so he decided to accept a position within PVO. John Worley just accepted a job as head of PVO Performance Parts and Motorsports. He's the senior manager over all of it. Two spots came open - Winston Cup Program Manager and the Craftsman Truck Program Manager. They asked me if I wanted to do it and I said yes. We formed a new position which is NASCAR Technical Program Manager. I'm in charge of trucks, Cup and anything else we might do. I not only think we can hang on with one car but maybe we'll be able to catch that car with another car. It's certainly far from over either way. We've worked really hard on our speedway stuff, and we suffered a while because of that, too. We've got good teams and a lot of good people working together. Am I surprised? A little. Should it have worked like this? Well, we've got the people. We've got the talent. The management in engineering here allowed us to bring good people into the program. It wasn't one of those deals where they threw a bunch of people in that they couldn't find anything else to do. When I got the job with the engine program, they just let me loose. They supported it, and with that kind of support, it's not surprising if you're good."

JOHN WORLEY (Senior Manager PVO Performance Parts and Motorsports)
"I'm really looking forward to it because it involves the whole spectrum of motorsports and our high performance parts. I have a long history of being involved with the team we have now. We're looking forward to being able to put a good engineering organization in place long after I'm gone. We want to continue to win races and have high performance parts available for our customers. I'm working on my 41st year, all with Dodge. The majority of it has been in the racing area. I'm going to have to be selective because I have to spread my race attendance between the World of Outlaws, drag racing and NASCAR. I still have a fondness for truck series, which I recently left, but I'll try to attend as many races as I can. We're up for the battle in the truck series, and I believe Sterling Marlin has an excellent opportunity to win the Winston Cup Championship."

CHIP GANASSI (Car owner Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Dodge Intrepid R/Ts)
"For starters it was a one-team approach and it was an opportunity to get in with a car company that was hungry to prove they were worthy of being in racing. It's a combination of hard work, luck, a lot of things. I don't think anyone has got a grip on any one reason on why that is. I'd still rather be where we are than where everybody else is. This is a tough business. Whether everybody is within five points, 50 points or 500 points, it's a tough business. You have to go in there week in and week out and this series requires consistency over the long term and that's what we're trying to do. You've got to take the good with the bad, and certainly we've had some challenges of late. Hopefully those are behind us. I'm not overly concerned yet. I'm having a lot of fun. I just try to be in the business every day and give everybody the tools they need to work with. We're just here to go racing and try to earn the respect of everybody that we're in the business with, whether it's in the paddock or our sponsors or other people in the industry. I think we showed at Watkins Glen that the 41 has everything that the 40 team has. It's a difficult business. Where did the three-time champion finish at Watkins Glen? It's tough.

"Pretty soon we'll be nailing down the third team. Every day we're closer.

"I can honestly say that I've never met anyone driving a race car who's quite like Sterling Marlin, and I'll bet not many other people have, either. I was very fortunate to run into Sterling and Glover upon my entrance into Winston Cup. Lee McCall is the keystone of the organization. He keeps us all together."