NASCAR’s and Toyota’s Worst Kept Secret
Toyota confirmed Monday that it will enter NASCAR’s premier stock car series in 2007, joining American-made manufacturers Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge. Toyota also confirmed it would compete in the Busch Grand National series as well. Toyota has been competing in the Craftsman Truck Series since 2004 capturing 4 wins in it’s inaugural season and 9 in 2005 including the last three NCTS events at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead with Todd Bodine at the wheel.
“NASCAR welcomes Toyota to the greatest auto racing in the world,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France.
“Toyota’s entry into the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series and the NASCAR Busch Series is good for drivers, teams and the fans. This move provides for even more intense competition on the track between drivers and manufacturers, which will provide more excitement and fan interest. Toyota’s entry also provides more options for drivers and teams, which will increase the competition between manufacturers.”
My couple hundred Japanese Yen: My first thoughts came from looking at the photo. First, where’s the CoT “splitter” and cow-catcher front end that will be mandated in 2007? And secondly is the #7 on the car. I have a memory of a Lee Spencer article in The Sporting News a few months back. She quoted a “source” as saying they had spotted several Toyota Camry’s built up and adorned with the #7 in Robby Gordon Racing’s North Carolina shop. Hmmm… will Robby be the fourth Toyota team joining Bill Davis Racing and, as previously speculated, Darrell and Michael Waltrip?
Needless to say before the ink dried on the nations sports pages announcing the Toyota decision the bashing of the world
So the 7 is on the Toyotas because Robby’s got a deal, and not because the deal begins in ‘07? Sounds like some far-reaching speculation there.
Excellent points, you’ve actually convinced me on a few things. I was entirely on board with the Car of Tomorrow because I wanted to see better competition and that was what they were promising, yet at the same time I really don’t want all the cars to be exactly the same. The manufacturer battles and rivalries in auto racing is huge, especially NASCAR. There will be no point to even debating which manufacturer is performing better because it won’t even really be based on manufacturer performance.
I would guess that the manufacturers pay a big chunk of the bills for NASCAR, and hopefully NASCAR won’t make the mistake in not listening to them on this one, because I really see their point.
The three new team owners, each fielding two cars, are Bill Davis Racing, Waltrip (Michael) Jasper Racing, and, the real surprise, Red Bull Racing! Who is behind Red Bull remains to be seen.