CONCORD, N.C. (Friday, May 18, 2012) – The all-new Dodge
Dart is ready to fly. Literally. And with four-time Rally America champion and
action sports legend Travis Pastrana behind the wheel of the custom-built
600-horsepower, turbocharged Dodge entry in the Global RallyCross Championship
(GRC), anything is possible.
Pastrana, 28, leads a contingent of “who’s who” action
sports icons in the ultimate clash of big air meets high-speed at the inaugural
2012 Global Rallycross Championship (GRC) event at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor
Speedway Saturday night, May 26.
Dodge and Pastrana have teamed with sponsors Red Bull and
Discount Tire to compete in the newly formed GRC Series. The series schedule
includes seven events, five of which will be held at Speedway Motorsports
Incorporated (SMI) tracks.
The X Game gold medalist and four-time Rally America
champion brings his fearless attitude and high-performance racing background
into a new genre of motorsports.
“I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the all-new
Dodge Dart and put it through its paces,” said Travis Pastrana, Dodge Dart
Global Rally Cross driver. “The Global Rallycross Championship is the perfect
racing series for the Dart. Action sports fans are passionate about performance
and gravitate toward cool things. Once they get their eyes on our Red
Bull/Discount Tire Dodge Dart and see how well it performs, they’ll be stoked.
I can’t wait to put on a show for them.”
Dodge’s entry into the GRC parallels the debut of its
all-new 2013 production Dodge Dart, which started production at the company’s
Belvidere (Ill.) Assembly plant earlier this month.
Passion for performance.
The all-new Dodge Dart offers three state-of-the-art
powertrains that produce up to 184 horsepower and 171 lb.-ft. of torque and
provide a sporty, fun-to-drive experience.
“The Global Rallycross Championship is the perfect venue
to show off the performance and passion that our customers expect in our Dodge
brand,” said Reid Bigland, President and CEO – Dodge Brand, Chrysler Group LLC.
“At Dodge, racing is an integral part of our heritage and embodies our
competitive spirit, and Travis is a great competitor, making him a great
partner for Dodge in this series.”
Powered by a purpose-built 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder,
16-valve turbo-charged 600-horsepower engine mated to a Sedav 4-wheel drive
gear box that puts out more than 550 lb.-ft. of torque, the Dart rally car is
ready to go.
“Motorsports is a continuous learning curve on the
demands and effects that high-powered racing has on mechanical parts,” said
Dave Bailey, Sr. Engineer – SRT Motorsports Engineering. “Having a world-class
Rallycross driver like Travis Pastrana behind the wheel of our GRC Dodge Dart
is the perfect real-life test environment that will engage our engineering
group to design and build high-performance parts that Street and Racing
Technology customers expect in our vehicles.”
Drivers will participate in an autograph session at 5:45
p.m. followed by heat races at 7:30 p.m.
ESPN will provide coverage on a tape-delay basis.
