Toyota to Also Run in Additional NASCAR Racing Series'

CHICAGO, Jan 23, 2006; Ben Klayman writing for Reuters reported that Toyota Motor Corp. said it will join NASCAR's Nextel Series racing circuit, marking another market long dominated by U.S. automakers that the Japanese manufacturer plans to invade.

Toyota, which has raced in the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing's Craftsman Truck Series since 2004, will join the Nextel and Busch Series beginning in 2007, the automaker and racing association said. Toyota's drivers will race with its Camry model.

"If you want to compete against the best, in America that means NASCAR," Dave Illingworth, Toyota senior vice president, said in a statement. "We look forward to February 2007, when the green flag waves to start the Daytona 500 and the starting lineup features the Toyota Camry."

The Nextel Series, which includes such well-known drivers as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon, now consists of cars from General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet brand, Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Dodge brand.

NASCAR runs more than 100 races each year across the United States through three racing circuits -- its signature Nextel Cup Series, Busch and Craftsman Truck.

Toyota, which has been doing business in the United States since 1957, will become the first foreign brand to compete on NASCAR's top circuit since the 1950s, when Jaguar, Porsche, Volkswagen and other European brands competed. Toyota raced a Celica model in NASCAR Goody's Dash Series in 2000.

Unlike some other U.S. sports leagues, NASCAR boasts rising television ratings as well as a fast-growing, highly loyal fan base. It signed a $4.48 billion, eight-year TV pact with four networks in December, topping the current $2.4 billion, six-year agreement that expires after 2006.

"This move provides for even more intense competition on the track between drivers and manufacturers," NASCAR Chief Executive Brian France said.

Toyota, which is expected to pass GM as the world's largest automaker this year, and other Asian automakers have taken share of the U.S. auto market from the domestic manufacturers as they have pushed more deeply into such segments as sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks.

GM and Ford, which have racked up millions of dollars in North American losses and are cutting jobs as well as planning to close plants, benefit from their involvement in NASCAR as the racing cars look largely like the models sold by car dealers and fans tend to be loyal buyers of NASCAR-branded products.

More information regarding possible sponsor and driver lineups will be released on Tuesday night, Toyota said.