The last straw was witnessing yet another Toyota victory in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. The other manufacturers have little chance now that Toyota has seized control of NASCAR’s top series.
The best quote came from Clint Bowyer in the Nationwide race, another category that the foreign manufacturer has dominated this year. The Toyotas, according to Bowyer, simply have too much power.
I’m interested in finding out what NASCAR will do. Great American vehicle manufacturers created this sport.
In 2007, Toyota entered the top two NASCAR divisions. Just ask team owner Jack Roush: Toyota invested TOO much money and hired the best minds in sports. In an effort to make ownership more affordable, NASCAR unveiled the COT in 2007. Teams ended up paying even more money to obtain data on the new vehicle as a result of NASCAR’s limited schedule with the new chassis.
This resulted in one of the most unbalanced seasons in recent memory, with nearly half of NASCAR’s 36 victories going to Hendrick Motorsports. Toyota has won seven of the 18 races so far this year, followed by Chevrolet four times, Dodge four times, and Ford three times. It’s not all that horrible to look at these statistics unless you break them down by driver.
With six victories, Kyle Busch has the most in the series; Carl Edwards is second with three victories. It shouldn’t take NASCAR too long to realize that TOYOTA is the key differentiator.
Since they will likely lose their only championship driver to Haas CNC, I don’t blame Joe Gibbs Racing for switching. However, NASCAR has to examine their 2008 campaign theme, “Back to Basics,” and take action against Toyota’s hegemony in the sport.
In This Article...
When did Toyota begin to be used by NASCAR?
For the first time in nearly 45 years, a foreign automaker took part in the American racing organization’s premier series as Toyota made their NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2007. Although Toyota made its debut in the Busch (now Xfinity) Series of NASCAR in 2007, the Japanese manufacturer was no stranger to American stock car racing. In fact, the company entered a version of their Tundra pickup into NASCAR’s Truck Series in 2004. Additionally, Toyota had previously raced cars like the Celica coupe in NASCAR’s less well-known Goody’s Dash Series.
However, Toyota decided to race a specific model of its Camry family sedan in the Cup and Busch Series. Admittedly, the parallels between the production Camry and its NASCAR ancestors were and still are essentially restricted to their common likeness, with the former imprinted on the bodywork that covers the latter Camry’s rear-wheel-drive chassis and V-8 engine (good luck finding a rear-drive, V-8 Camry at your local Toyota dealership).
NASCAR’s Cup Series had an unusual 2007 season. You may thank NASCAR’s odd decision to race both its older fourth-generation and newer fifth-generation cars all season long. The latter, known as “The Car of Tomorrow,” was noticeably safer than the earlier fourth-generation vehicles, a chassis with origins in the 1992 campaign.
Nevertheless, Toyota’s Cup Series racing performances in its inaugural season were not particularly noteworthy, since none of the seven cars it fielded won any races throughout the 2007 campaign. Nevertheless, the Camry did manage to finish in the top 10, and driver Dave Blaney even managed to secure a podium berth with a third-place result at Talladega in October.
In 2009, Toyota continued to show Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ford that it was a serious competitor in the Cup Series. Despite numerous victories, notably in the season-ending race at Homestead, neither the company nor any of its drivers were able to win the championship (Jimmie Johnson and Chevrolet triumph as the season’s champion driver and manufacturer, respectively).
The spoiler made a comeback for NASCAR drivers in 2010. The capacity of the previous rear wing to elevate the vehicle it was attached to in a collision is to blame, as was the case with Carl Edwards’ Ford Fusion at Talladega during the Aaron’s 499 race the year before. The reintroduction of the spoiler had minimal impact on Jimmie Johnson or Chevrolet, who once more won the manufacturer’s and driver’s championships. Nevertheless, Toyota and driver Denny Hamlin of Toyota racked up enough points to win silver in the respective championships for manufacturers and drivers.
Toyota altered the style of its race cars to match that of the new 2012 Camry later in the season, whereas the brand began the 2011 season with Camry race cars that resembled the decor of the 2011 model-year sedan. Toyota’s Cup Series racers didn’t enjoy the same level of success in 2011 as they had in 2010, despite the updated aesthetics.
Clint Bowyer, the driver for Toyota, came 39 points short of winning the 2012 Cup Series championship, which was ultimately won by Brad Keselowski, who drove for Dodge. Bowyer’s second-place performance may have received praise from some, but as Reese Bobby famously remarked, “if you ain’t first, you’re last,”
In 2013, the sixth-generation of NASCAR race cars made their Cup Series debut. Compared to the outgoing fifth-gen versions, the cars saw improvements in weight and safety. More crucially, NASCAR gave permission to every manufacturer to customize the bodywork of their vehicles. Because of this, compared to previous NASCAR Camrys, Toyota’s Camrys looked far more like their production counterparts (likewise, the competing Chevrolet SS and Ford Fusion featured styling that more closely resembled their road-legal kin).
Toyota modified the bodywork and graphics on its NASCAR Camrys to better reflect the appearance of the 2015 Camry sedan. More significantly, Kyle Busch won the driver’s title during the 2015 Cup Series season in his M&M’s-sponsored Camry racer. Yes, Toyota finally saw one of its race cars propel a driver to the championship podium nine years after it first competed in the Cup Series.
Toyota ousted Chevrolet from the top spot it had long held, ending the bow-tie brand’s 13-year tenure as manufacturer’s champion. However, Toyota was unable to win back-to-back driver’s championships as Kyle Busch came in third place, trailing Jimmie Johnson of Chevrolet and Joey Logano of Ford.
Toyota was unable to duplicate its Cup Series triumph from 2017 in 2018. However, the Camry’s performance was anything but disappointing. In fact, throughout the season, the model brought Toyota more than a dozen victories. Martin Truex Jr. was able to move up to second in the driver’s championship as a result.
Thanks to Denny Hamlin’s victory at the Daytona 500, Toyota’s 2020 Cup Series campaign got off to a solid start. Sadly, the business’s fortune eventually ran out. Ultimately, Ford and Chevy drivers took the top three slots in the driver’s championship, with Hamlin coming in fourth. Toyota finished second to Chevy in the manufacturer’s standings, but the company’s nine Cup Series victories were significantly less than the 18 checkered flags that Ford drivers collected during the 2020 campaign.
Toyota failed to win the Cup Series title in 2021. Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin, who drive Camrys, took second and third place in the driver’s championship. Kyle Larson, a Chevy driver, won the race.
The seventh-generation stock vehicle for NASCAR will make its debut in the 2022 Cup Series. The most recent NASCAR racer is equipped with numerous cutting-edge engineering technologies, at least by NASCAR standards. This includes features like a five-speed sequential transmission, an independent rear suspension, and 18-inch wheels with a single center-locking lug nut. The live rear axle, four-speed manual transmission, and 15-inch five-lug wheels of the outgoing vehicle are replaced by these components. Although a Formula 1 car is a technological marvel, NASCAR’s seventh-generation racer embraces modernity in a way that the sports has long lacked. It remains to be seen whether Toyota, Ford, or Chevrolet will be successful with this new vehicle during the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.
How did Joe Gibbs decide to go with Toyota?
It might have taken place. Since the beginning, Joe Gibbs Racing has been a part of General Motors, first with Chevrolet, then with Pontiac, and again with Chevrolet. Tony Stewart, a driver, has a lengthy personal relationship with GM.
Furthermore, Toyota’s entry into NASCAR racing in 2007 was disastrous; their assortment of third-tier and startup teams found it difficult to even qualify for races, let alone perform well. Michael Waltrip’s automobile was reportedly seized by Toyota so that they could examine it and figure out why it was moving so slowly.
Gibbs understood that Childress would always be in front of him and that he would never be one of the top teams at GMHendrick. He thus gambled and relocated his group to Toyota in 2008. When they were successful, they astounded everyone, possibly even more so than with GM.
Imagine if Gibbs hadn’t opted for Toyota. Toyota would be gone, along with their teams. Racing by Michael Waltrip Gone. Red Bull Motorsports? Gone. Bill Davis Motorsports They have left whether Gibbs is there or not.
Gibbs demonstrated to Toyota that money cannot substitute experience, you see. All of the Toyota teams were essentially factory teams when Toyota arrived, and they filled their teams with cash. Everything they required was present.
When Gibbs started driving Toyotas, they were able to exchange nuggets of knowledge that helped all the teamsfrom engines to chassisimprove. For their own benefit, they needed the other Toyota teams to do better as well; otherwise, Toyota may abandon the sport totally and leave Gibbs once more hanging out to dry. As a result, they were unable to keep this information to themselves.
The Nationwide Series, what about it? Before Toyota, JGR was a respectable Nationwide team that occasionally triumphed like the others. But after they moved to Toyota, something strange happened. They suddenly had complete control.
2008 saw 20 of the 35 races won by JGR drivers, including an astonishing eight straight victories. With 35 races, their success persisted in 2009. Numerous rule changes were implemented by NASCAR, the majority of which are thought to have been made specifically to slow Gibbs and the Toyotas.
Since Jimmie Johnson has occupied the championship position for the past four years, many people (including The Racing Tool) believe that Joe Gibbs Racing and Denny Hamlin are the team with the best chance of unseating them.
The long-established NASCAR teams panicked when Toyota started getting ready for a Sprint Cup attempt in 2007 because of all the money the manufacturer was investing into the endeavor.
Then, in 2007, they made a grand entrance at Daytona with a daring plunge from a cliff. Toyota’s effort was saved by Joe Gibbs Racing. Things today wouldn’t look the same without Gibbs.
Participates Toyota in NASCAR?
NC’s CHARLOTTE (May 5, 2021)
Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) today introduced the Toyota TRD Camry in the NASCAR Cup Series, the manufacturer’s Next Gen vehicle that will hit the track in 2022 after more than two years of development (NCS).
Toyota has been collaborating with NASCAR and other OEMs on the creation of the Next Generation race cars. The Next Gen race cars’ components are a first for the sport, but they aim to advance race vehicle safety improvements and encourage on-track rivalry.
In order to make the Toyota TRD Camry Next Gen as similar to the production model as feasible, Toyota, TRD (Toyota Racing Development, U.S.A.), and Calty Design collaborated to incorporate as many body style elements as possible. The Next Gen TRD Camry race vehicle sports more production-like body style features than any other NCS Camry ever has, from the grill to the spoiler and everything in between. Toyota and TRD have been doing this since since the 2013 Camry was created for NCS competition.
“All of our partners, but especially everyone at TRD and Calty Design, have worked very hard on the Toyota TRD Camry Next Gen vehicle, according to Paul Doleshal, group manager of motorsports and assets, TMNA (Toyota Motor North America). “We are overjoyed to have the opportunity to display the TRD Camry as Toyota’s NASCAR Cup Series representative. It felt only natural for this Camry, our top-line, track-inspired performance model, to take the starting line on the racetrack.
Toyota is still the only manufacturer in the three NASCAR national series to provide three nameplates.
the Tundra in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the TRD Camry in the NCS, and the Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) (NCWTS). Camrys have achieved 155 NCS victories and three NCS championships as well as 171 NXS victories and two NXS titles since joining the NCS and NXS in 2007. Furthermore, Toyota has amassed 204 victories and eight Truck Series championships since Tundra’s introduction into the NCWTS in 2004.
“According to David Wilson, president of TRD, “For Toyota and TRD, we’re committed to the notion of continual improvement, and we believe that’s evident in this Next Gen TRD Camry.” “Although we are aware that the adjustability margins with this new race car are smaller, we also know that our race team partners and the TRD team are looking forward to the challenge of getting to know this vehicle and finding the performance opportunities that will help the TRD Camry reach victory lane.
As the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season gets underway at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 20, 2022, the Toyota TRD Camry Next Gen will make its premiere.