[HJJ]

This weeks print edition of Autoweek says that the budget for Dodge '13 Cup program has not been approved and may not. They think the return on the Viper ALMS campaign may give better results.

Dodge will skip first test for 2013 cars: While Dodge has a car approved for 2013, it will skip the first tire test for the 2013 car next week at Martinsville Speedway. Dodge is still looking for teams to campaign its 2013 Dodge Charger in Sprint Cup. Its only manufacturer-backed team, Penske Racing, announced in March that it would switch to Ford. Since that announcement, Dodge has continued to meet all the deadlines and work on its 2013 body despite not having a team signed for 2013. "Earlier this week, NASCAR announced that all four manufacturers have met the necessary targets for their 2013 Sprint Cup Series race cars," said Beth Paretta, director of marketing and operations for the SRT Brand and Motorsports. Due to the lack of time to prepare for the on-track test for the 2013 cars scheduled next week at Martinsville, we have elected to forgo that test opportunity." Scheduled to test the cars next week are #29-Kevin Harvick and #48-Jimmie Johnson in Chevrolets, #99-Carl Edwards in a Ford and #56-Martin Truex Jr. in a Toyota. Even though it will miss this test, there will be plenty of tests for Dodge to participate in and get ready for 2013 if it signs teams to run its cars.(Sporting News)(8-2-2012)