Mike Delahanty – Senior
Manager, Dodge
Motorsports
The Dodge R6P8
engine made its NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series debut
this weekend at Kansas
Speedway. Has it been a
normal evolution
process?
“Our teams started
working with the new
engine early in the
calendar year (2008).
It started with engines
on the dynamometer
followed by mid-week
testing with the engines
in actual racecars.
This weekend marks the
first time that a Dodge
team (No. 2 Miller Lite
Dodge Charger from
Penske Racing) has
rolled it out for Sprint
Cup competition. It’s
the normal evolution,
not just an engine, of
any type of new part or
technology we introduce
into the sport.
How long has the engine
been used in cars for
mid-week testing?
“Penske Racing has
actually been running
the engine in cars in
mid-week testing for
several months. They
have done the
development, the
durability testing and
are now confident the
new R6 is ready for
racetrack competition on
Sunday.
What is the status of
the progress by other
teams with the R6P8
engine?
“Our other teams are
following a parallel
course with Penske.
They have the R6 engines
in the development phase
building power and also
out in the mid-week test
vehicles running
durability laps. It’s
not clear yet how soon
the other teams will
roll the new engine out
in competition. As
we’ve said in the past,
it’s quiet. That’s a
good sign. It will be a
period time before the
engine is fully phased
in because of the number
of engines required.
Another factor, the R5
(current engine) is a
proven durable piece.
The new motor is good.
The current motor is
still good too.”
What is your assessment
of the debut of the new
engine?
“We are pleased with the
initial on-track
performance of the new
engine. This is another
step in the development
process toward full
implementation during
the 2009 season, well
ahead of the 2010
mandate from NASCAR.”
Kurt Busch – No. 2
Miller Lite Dodge
Charger
Was it a handling issue
today and how did the
new engine perform?
“It was just a tough day
all around – loose,
tight, loose, tight. We
were so loose there with
30 to go that I slapped
the wall twice in three
laps. Our handling
issue didn’t give us a
chance to evaluate the
performance of the new
engine. We will get a
better opportunity at
tracks like Phoenix and
Martinsville.”
Mike Nelson – Vice
President of Operations
(Penske Racing)
Has the development of
the R68P engine
progressed the way you
expected?
“It has. We’re excited
about what we have today
and appreciative of all
the work Dodge has put
in with us. It’s gone
pretty smoothly so far.
We’re looking for a lot
of success with the
R6.”
Are you on schedule with
the development?
“Coming into the season,
we didn’t know what we
would be facing. We’re
pretty much on schedule
we feel like. We’re
just trying to get it in
as many races as we can
by the end of the season
to be ready for next
year.
Why Kansas, is it a good
track to debut the R6P8?
“This is a 400-mile
race, it’s a good place
for us to start running
the new engine. We’ll
have it in the racecar
at Phoenix. That will
be a good short-track
experience. We have
Atlanta and Charlotte, a
lot of different tracks
coming up. We’ll see
how it goes and keep
moving forward. It
depends on where we are
at with it and how
things go, but we would
like to continue to run
it the rest of the
season.”
What about the
performance of the
current engine (R5)?
“We have really strong
engines (R5) right now
with Dodge. We honestly
think we can do better
with the R6, but right
now I don’t think we’re
hurting on that end
(engine performance).
We’re very optimistic
about the opportunities
with the R6.”
What’s your assessment
of the first race for
the R6 engine?
“We’re happy to get our
first race with the new
engine under our belt.
That was a good thing, a
positive. It’s a good
thing for Dodge and
Penske Racing.
Pat Tryson – Crew Chief
(No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge
Charger)
Can you make an
assessment about the
performance?
“It seems to be an
improvement and we
expect it to be a good
thing for us in the long
run. It’s not earth
shattering by any means,
but we didn’t’ expect it
to be. This is probably
not the best place to
tell. In order to get
your car running good
here, you don’t have a
lot of rear grip so it’s
hard to drive off. I
think we’ll see as we go
along what advantages
the engine will
provide.”
What tracks coming up
could provide more
performance data?
“Phoenix could probably
tell you a little more
about it as far as the
low end at
Martinsville. I think
those are two places
that will tell us more.”
What are your thoughts
about today’s race?
“We had runs where we
were good and runs where
we were bad. It was one
of those days. We got a
full race on the engine;
we just didn’t have the
car working the way we
needed to get a better
evaluation.”
