Melling Racing joins Dodge line-up.

One of the longest standing team's in the NASCAR Winston Cup, Melling Racing is to swap its current squad of Ford Taurus' for a team of Dodge Intrepid's next season.

The outfit, which currently runs the #9 Kodiak Ford for NASCAR rookie Stacy Compton is the fourth team to sign up with Dodge for their return to the Winston Cup in 2001. The marque have already signed deals with Bill Davis, Petty Enterprises and Ray Evernham for their first season back in Winston Cup competition.

Lou Patane, vice president of Motorsports Operations for Dodge was very pleased with the news. "Melling Racing is a great addition to the Dodge program. Melling has a long and successful history in NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing. We are pleased to have Melling contribute to our development effort this year."

Compton currently sits 33rd in the Winston Cup standings with a best result of 22nd in the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond. Compton is currently third in the Reybestos Rookie of the year points standings behind Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Despite some of his results this year, Compton has been much faster than his finishing positions suggest and if luck had gone his way on several occasions this year, he could have found himself inside the top ten. A change to Dodge could spark a new beginning for the team.