Well we knew it was coming. It's a shame that we just can't keep anything to ourselves anymore. :bang:
http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/5263552
Toyota in stock car racing, whats next dogs and cats living together......

Book

 

What car will they run? Toyota Prius...lol

"my Nascar gets better gas milage then your Nascar!"

 

 

What, are you afraid of competition?

It is actually a shame on Dodge and Ford that Toyota beat them in the manufacturer standings last year. Maybe it will get them motivated to do better. Maybe it will show Toyota is actually pretty good at building engines. Even if it uses 1970's technology. Personally, I hate Nascar with it's templated silouettes, carbs, live axles and LTO boredom. I just hope it lights a fire under the Detroit boys buts to get them building better cars.

As far as what Toyota will enter, does it really matter? It is all the same car anyway. Heck, if Dodge can call that thing they race a Charger, Toyota can enter a Matrix for all I care. They will probably call it a Camry though.

I can see it now... Camry beats Fusion, Monte Carlo and Charger. Really, why do ANY of those cars belong on a race track?

 

I stopped drawing a distinction between "imports" and "domestics" a while ago. Which is more American, a Mazda6 built in Flat Rock, or a Ford Fusion, built on the same platform, in Mexico? For that matter, the Mustang is built in that same Mazda plant in Flat Rock. Is it an import?

Anyway, Nascar cars have absolutely no relationship to the "stock" cars they purport to be, and the last time I checked, Daimler Chrysler was a German company.

 

Sorry if you guys are confused, but I don't really care that toyota is coming in. All I'm saying is I just don't like how the sport has expanded into the monster it is today. I watch my other favorite sport expand, expand, expand and look at it now. It's crap and NASCAR is heading down the same road.

 

I will start really watching nascar again when they go back to the way they originally started, racing STOCK CARS. When Nascar debuted, it was required that in order to race a car in the nascar series the manufacturer was required to sell all of the parts on the car to the public from the parts catalog. There were several cars that came into production due to this rule. Customers actually benefitted from the racing departments. The daytonas, superbees, talledegas, cyclones, and a few others were the result of these rules.

 

I haven't noticed much of an impact due to Toyota's entry into the craftsman truck series. Besides, a NASCAR Ford Fusion will have more in common with a Toyota NASCAR, than it will with a stock Ford Fusion. Just requires NASCAR to get new light decals.

 

The reason nascar uses the old technology is because it isn't about the engines in the cars, it's about the drivers. No one neccesarily wins in NASCAR because they have a better car, it's all about out driving the other drivers. If they let it turn into a tech war like F1 has become it will go to crap just like F1 has.

 

Do you honestly believe that? How hard is it to turn the wheel left? Drivers win because of the entire team -- down the crew chiefs and pit workers. As far as a tech war, teams would spend just as much developing a modern engine (and let's not forget chassis) as any other engine. Look at ALL the other race series -- how many of them use carburated engines and live rear axles? And how many of them are CHEAPER to run than NASCAR? (just look at Grand-Am, Speed World Challenge, etc.)

NASCAR is about driver personalities and rotating billboards. Ever wonder why they run in an oval and not a real race course? So they can stay within sight of the stands at all times and the fans can see the advertiser's logos more. How is that about either the cars or the drivers???

The whole point of racing is to use technology gained from racing to build better showroom cars. You know, "win on Sunday, sell on Monday." Slapping a "Fusion" sticker on a car that has no silimilarities what-so-ever to its showroom cousin (not even the same drive wheels) serves no one but the advertisers any good.

And, while Honda and Toyota have been in other race series developing technology that trickles down into their street cars (just look at Honda's F20C), Ford and Chevy have been perfecting a 1970's motor. And look how that has hurt their car sales. Coincidence? I think not. Just another sign that the American car manufacturers are stuck trying harder to recapture old glory than changing to meet the modern world. And they are paying the price for it.

 

Let's see Ford racing program(s) over recent years has stretched over ALMS, WRC, Le Mans, F1, Grand-Am Cup, Speed GT, Baja, BTCC, Trans-Am (Carb'd and FI), Aussie V8 Supercars, Champ Car, etc., not just NASCAR.

 

^ Yeah, that's true. Guess I got a little carried away with my anti-NASCAR frenzy. Sorry about that.

BTW, what has Ford done in Speed GT? or the BTCC? and one year in Grand-Am doesn't really count even though they won (no new development), and the Jag team in F1 was hardly a Ford endeavour, but I centainly see your point.

I just wish they would spend more energy in those series and actually use that to improve their cars (like bringing Focus RS here, or using the 5.0 from the Aussie cars in the Mustang, etc.)

 

Speed GT (Volvo)
http://www.swedespeed.com/news/publish/Mot...rticle_315.html

Speed Touring Car (Volvo)
http://www.trackbytes.com/news.php?id=1097

Speed GT (Aston)
http://www.world-challenge.com/news/06press4.html

Speed Touring Car (Focus)
http://www.world-challenge.com/news/05press92.html

In recent years the Mondeo ran in BTCC (I think the Focus did as well). And the Focus was in the WTCC last year.
http://www.speedarena.com/news/publish/tou...icle_5328.shtml

And I'm not sure why you think the Jag F1 was hardly a Ford endeavor. The team started out as the Stewart-Ford team, then Ford bought the team away from Jackie, rebranded it and turned into Jaguar through Cosworth (which Ford owned at the time).

And while it was the first year of full factory support in Grand-Am cup (Mustang), its Mod motor has been used a few seasons in the Rolex series in the Daytona Prototypes . . .with substantial development from Robert Yates racing.

 

Became a NASCAR fan around 15 years ago because I was getting fed up with the other sports (strikes, spoiled players, rotten owners, relocating teams not because they were losing money but could make more money somewhere else) and the fans being the last thing they thought about. I know you can't fight change but I think NASACAR is heading in that direction.

 

Here's a link to an Autoweek article with pics of the Camry stocker.

 

the first camry to ever have a V8 and rear wheel drive

 

Besides the fact that NASCAR runs Watkins Glen at least once a year (didn't they race at Sears Point or somewhere else also?), I think theres more to it than turning left, at 180mph, with other cars bumping into you.... but I never drove in a stock car race so I don't know.

If I'm not mistaken aren't all NASCAR motors 350's bored .30 over and built by specialists like Yates and whoever else? So Toyota won't have anything to do with the motor...?



/haven't watched more than 5 minutes of a NASCAR race in years...
/wish I had SPEED channel!!!!!!!!!!!