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Toyota to Enter NASCAR Arena

8 December 1998

AutoWeek: Runnin' With the Good ol' Boys - Toyota to Enter NASCAR Arena; Cars and Trucks Could Be on the Grid in Near Future

    DETROIT, Dec. 8 -- AutoWeek magazine reports in its
December 14 issue that, if approved, Toyota will run in NASCAR-sanctioned
events in 1999.
    Toyota Racing Development (TRD) officials are awaiting approval from
NASCAR on the acceptability of the Japanese firm's new multi-valve V6 to be
used in NASCAR's Goody's Dash Series.  Additionally, Toyota officials say they
are talking to NASCAR about inclusion of Toyota's all-new, V8 Tundra pickup
truck in the Craftsman Truck Series, although those discussions are
preliminary.
    "Up to this point, we've had nothing but positive feelings about how we've
been received by NASCAR," said Les Unger, Toyota's national motorsports
manager.  "They've been straightforward about what they think might work and
what might not (for the Goody's Dash Series)."
    TRD, based in Torrance, Calif., has been working on the Goody's Dash
engine for five months, according to Unger, and should be finished in another
three or four weeks.  If all goes well, NASCAR will then develop an
equivalency formula to match the pushrod Ford and Pontiac engines currently
used in the Goody's Series.  If that looks equitable, Toyota is interested in
signing up to three race teams to campaign in Celica-bodied stock cars trying
to qualify for the Goody's race supporting the Daytona 500.
    Toyota in the U.S. currently competes in the Championship Auto Racing
Teams FedEx Championship Series for open-wheeled Indy-type cars, in the Toyota
Atlantic Series, in a number of off-road series, plus the Pikes Peak Hill
Challenge.  Still, Toyota would like to try its hand at the marketing giant
known as NASCAR.
    "The Craftsman Truck Series would be a great place (for Toyota) to meet
Chevy, Dodge and Ford head-on," Unger said.
    AutoWeek, published by Crain Communications Inc., is the nation's only
weekly consumer car magazine.  AutoWeek is located in Detroit, Michigan and
has a circulation of 290,000.
    Next spring, Toyota will launch its new full-size, V8-powered Tundra
pickup.  While TRD is not interested in building a pushrod V8 for racing,
preliminary discussions with NASCAR are under way to determine whether there
is any flexibility in developing an equivalency formula to make things happen
in that series.
    "Developing an equivalency formula to match overhead cam engines would be
very difficult, and whether these obstacles can be overcome is difficult to
say," Unger said.
    More details on this news from Toyota Racing Development are available in
the December 14 issue of AutoWeek, on newsstands Thursday, December 10, or
available by calling 313-446-0345.