BOB POCKGRASS
SCENEDAILY.COM

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – At the Dodge headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., six people work full-time on motorsports and another 30 or more have a hand in the motorsports programs.

One of the 129 engine dynamometers is dedicated to racing and there’s a $38 million wind tunnel built in 2002 that Penske Racing can use to test its cars.

That, and an undisclosed amount of cash, is enough to keep Roger Penske happy with Dodge’s contribution to his race team.

And Penske has two Sprint Cup wins and an all-star race victory this year by Kurt Busch, three Nationwide Series wins by Brad Keselowski and one by Justin Allgaier, which is enough to keep Dodge interested in NASCAR.

The reliance on manufacturer involvement is heavy in NASCAR, and Dodge executives and Penske invited media last week to Dodge’s technical center to show the investment they have in each other.

Ralph Gilles, who took over as Dodge chief executive officer eight months ago, was more a sports-car aficionado when he took the job. He records races and watches them regularly. He has gone to the infields of Daytona and Talladega to learn more about the NASCAR fan. He also has spearheaded the development of a Dodge Motorsports website to generate interest in Dodge vehicles from race fans.

Is he sold on NASCAR?

“I know we’re spending the least we’ve ever spent and we’re getting the most we’ve ever gotten,” Gilles said Thursday during the media visit. “We’re paying attention differently. We’re using social media more than ever before, we’re activating the events in a different away. We’re doing things to leverage what we’re already investing instead of just going racing.

“It’s a multiyear deal [with Penske]. I have a couple of years to figure that out. I’m not going to say right here in the media [about the future]. I’m sold on 2010. We’re very pleased with 2010.”

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It was easy for Dodge Chief Executive Officer Ralph Gilles to make it to all the Dodge stops on the 2010 Sprint Media Tour.

That’s because there was only one stop – Penske Racing.

With the split of Dodge and Richard Petty Motorsports, Penske Racing is the only Dodge-supported team left on the Sprint Cup circuit. Dodge is the only manufacturer to have just one organization fielding its cars on the Cup level.

Penske and Dodge think that relationship can work.

“There’s more influence today and more feel from a Dodge perspective, so anyone who said we might be at a disadvantage, I won’t trade places with anybody right now,” said Penske Racing owner Roger Penske, who owns dealerships that sell cars from various manufacturers.

Gilles reiterated last week that just because Dodge has ties to only one organization, that its interest in NASCAR isn’t waning.

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