Camry Joining NASCAR

Camry Joining NASCAR

From the link:

The announcement was made by Dave Illingworth, senior vice president and chief planning and administrative officer for Toyota Motor Sales, USA.

"Next year - 2007 - will be a special year for Toyota in more ways than one," said Illingworth. "Toyota will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in the United States, and we will be joining the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, America's premier racing series. Toyota has been an important part of the U.S. motorsports community for almost 25 years. We've competed and won in different series and on tracks across America. Toyota drivers and teams have won championships in a variety of different series. But, if you want to compete against the best, in America that means NASCAR.

"We look forward to February of 2007 when the green flag waves to start the Daytona 500 and the starting lineup features the Toyota Camry."


http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto_News/Daily_Edition/Daily_Edition_Jan_24_2006.S173.A9926.html

Well i'll be damned... looks fugly... I wonder if they will do as well as their trucks did?

Wow, that came out of left field. I remember reading last year when some one interviewed home boy about them going to NASCAR based on their craftsman success and he said basically no way in hell.

I hope Toyota dominates Nascar, that'll teach them good ol' boys.

about 3 billion rednecks, its the top grocing motorsport in the country

theyre gona get hated on so much. itll be funny as hell to see it beat fords and shit

Are they going to introduce asian drivers to nascar?

If you want, the NASCAR site has a page where you can vote on
whether or not you want Toyota to join the car series:

http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/cup/01/23/toyota.cup/

So far, the rednecks are being outvoted by those who want Toyota to join plus those who don't mind either way.

Awe I just voted and the "I don't like it's" are winning by far
I like it 37202 31%
I don't like it 54139 46%
Don't care either way 27447 23%
(well as of 10:14pm central time 1/25/05)

But that don't matter...toyota will do it if they want to...shake 'em off toyota...shake 'em off


Really though...how many import comp. are in NASCAR? Pretty sure toyota is the first...it's cool to see 'em spending that fat cash they're making HA HA

I just wish they'd make a rear wheel drive camry...that...would kick ASS!!! I mean if you don't have a rear wheel drive car...why race in nascar? It seems...fake to me...really...just...fake oh well

eh...go toyota!

Well, the Chevrolte is a Monte Carlo (FWD), the Ford is a Taurus (FWD) and the Dodge is a Charger (at least this one actually has a V8 and RWD, lol)... so I see no problems with a Camry in there

Although I think the idea is awesome, the "I like it" votes are behind..

Dre,
Well put. It can be good for both sides. I was going to make mention of the fact that Toyota manufacures vehicles here, but I did not know it was that many. Wow.

cool

IMO if you watch NASCAR youre a hick. and personally i dont care what you think so the poll really doesnt matter. I also think that toyota should race in the WRC again. Maybe that way there will be more parts made for us that way.

I would also love to see more performance aftermarket options available to us for Corollas - but Toyota and future WRC campaign is probably not going to happen. They won most rallies and two championships with WRC Celicas, didn't nearly the same luck with Corolla - so they pulled out in 1998 for F1. Look where the Celica is now. Just like any company - they are going where the money is at - F1, JGTC, D1, NHRA, Craftsman truck series, and NASCAR. Maybe with their recent aquistion of the Subaru stake that GM had - there seemed to be a little light at the end of the tunnel.

I think this is good for a "sport" in which they have targeted a certain demographic of people. hopefully with a foreign car company in the series it will attract a wider range of people.

I thought Ford was running the new Fusion?

So 190 miles an hour around Talladega, going three wide into a corner with inches of clearance is for hicks? I guess I'm a hick then. NASCAR is way better than IRL or Cart anyday. At least in Nascar you have constant battles for position.

Maybe this year, heh, I was looking at last years cars... but even if it is a Fusion, still a I4 or V6 FWD... heh...

monte carlo is rwd...did they recently change it to fwd?

Monte Carlo has been FWD since like 1995 or 96... and from like 90 to 05 there we're none... its based on the Impala platform now and previously on the Lumina platform...

well there were rwd ones though..unlike the camry..but oh well

The original Camry, which was called the Celica Camry, was RWD

"It is better to keep one's mouth closed and be THOUGHT of as an idiot, than to open it and remove all doubt."

Hick (According to hyperdictionary.com)
1. [n] not very intelligent or interested in culture
2. [adj] awkwardly simple and provincial; "bumpkinly country boys"; "rustic farmers"; "a hick town"; "the nightlife of Montmartre awed the unsophisticated tourists"
3. [adj] (informal) rural and uncouth; "hick ideas"

Posting an honest opinion that you don't like something is fine. (Opinions are what a forum is all about) However, making the statement you just did about fans of NASCAR could be considered a violation of rules #1 and #2 of VVT-I.net Forum Rules. Personally I take offense to that. Looking up the term 'Hick' on google shows numerous links labeling it as a racist and/or derogatory term.

Don't do it again.



You guys know me, I like to keep it light and fun. Rarely do i get bent about something. But terms (and posts) like that really have no place in our forums.

awe man are we starting up the NASCAR is for hicks thing again?

Well even nascar itself recognizes where their first fans were...south east...the fan base is drastically changing...so to say it is now a hick sport would be saying only ex-jocks watch football.

I know several "" nerds (quote unquote) who are into football, basketball, baseball, more than any athlete was in high school.

Sure these "hicks" may make up a rather LARGE portion of the fan base...but it is fairly innaccurate to say if you are a NASCAR fan you are a hick...so let's refrain from being offensive

(I personally can't stand nascar races...and I'm not a hick...but that's beside the point)

Wow..watching ESPN right now. They said the last Nextel Cup Series won by a southern driver was 2000 with Bobby Labonte. (sp) Also 3 out of the last 36 races were won by a southern driver. In fact, most drivers come from California... This is all from the ESPN report on NASCAR that I'm watching at the moment.

Just food for thought.