# Audi - VW Say No to NASCAR Because Consensus Is It's More a 'Marketing Platform'



## [email protected] (Apr 9, 2004)

This time of year (the off season) always brings about speculation on what Audi or its parent the Volkswagen Group plan for the upcoming motorsport season. When Volkswagen Group motorsport emissary and former Audi DTM racing great Hans Stuck showed up at a NASCAR race recently, it certainly started mouths wagging.
A report on Fox Sports yielded some interesting quotes. Among them...

_Quote »_Stuck said he's discussed NASCAR with Dr. Martin Winterkorn, CEO of the Volkswagen Group, and the consensus is VW needs to be in a series where the company can "display our German technology and (NASCAR) is a marketing (platform)."

Now this may sound like a cut on NASCAR but Stuck also paid admiration.

_Quote »_Stuck believes that NASCAR "is the best racing in the world today," and admires the 40-plus cars on the grid and the side-by-side competition. However, the lack of sophisticated engineering incorporated in the cars "is very difficult for Germans to accept."

The article goes on to mention Audi and VW's consideration of IndyCar, Grand Am and the F1 "global engine" concept. Read it all after the jump.
* Full Story - Fox Sports *
* Full Story - AutoSport *


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