After starting the year off by finishing 1-2 in one of the biggest races in NASCAR history, Dodge's season has steadily snowballed. Winning only four races in the Cup Series this year, Dodge has struggled to say the least. Now with only ten races before the end of the season, the manufacture is left out the Chase and searching for answers.

With Gillett Evernham Motorsports' Kasey Kahne just missing the cut-off for this year's Chase, Dodge has quickly taken a back seat to Chevy, Ford and now Toyota. A slumping economy, rising fuel prices and a shift in focus seem to have more of an affect on this group than any other.

Not making the Chase has not been the only disappointing thing for the Dodge camp this year. It was recently announced the manufacture would be pulling its support for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, a series it has enjoyed great success in, winning back-to-back championships in 2004 and 2005. With only one win this year in the truck series and none in the Nationwide Series, financial support for three different series has not produced the results needed.

On the Cup side, each of the Dodge teams has experience some sort of in-house shake-up. Petty Enterprises has undergone major changes that have included moving from Randleman, N.C. and selling majority stage in the team. Penske Racing lost long-time driver and Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman to the newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sebates has suffered a more than disappointing year, with Dario Franchitti headed back to open-wheel racing and Reed Sorenson moving on to Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

While they have had more success than any other Dodge team, Gillett Evernham Motorsports has had its own set of issues. After agreeing to supply Robby Gordon Motorsports with engines and technical and manufacturing support, the team recently announced a law suit against Gordon for a breech of contract. Aside from Kasey Kahne's mid-season spurt that included three wins - including the All-Star Race - the past two seasons have more than disappointing for an organization with such top caliber people.

When names like Evernham, Kahne, Petty, Montoya, Franchitti and Penske have a hard time keeping stride with the competition, one is left to wonder the connection. Speaking with a Dodge team member this past weekend in Richmond it became clear the support from the manufacture is not what others are receiving. When asked about Dodge's commitment and support, his answer was simple and to the point, "It's not as good as Toyota's."

To compete in NASCAR you need to be willing to spend the big bucks. In order to have the big bucks, you need to be able to sell cars. When a company like Dodge begins struggling to sell cars, cutting jobs and closing plants, money allocated to funding a full-fledged racing program starts to disappear - and so do the wins. Out of the four manufactures in NASCAR, it appears Dodge has taken the biggest hit of all, and that is evident by looking at the statistics. If this year's Chase field is any indication of things to come, Dodge may be going down the same path Pontiac and Oldsmobile, among others, have gone down before. In order to turn things around, Dodge will have to "grab life by the horns," and start making things happen before it's too late.