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Crew members push Brian Vickers' No. 83 Red Bull Toyota out |
BY JIM Mc CONNELL
Stock-car racing has been almost exclusively an American endeavor in the 58 years since the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing was incorporated in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Not any longer.
Beginning with Sunday's Daytona 500, Toyota will become the first foreign automobile manufacturer to compete full time in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
And while much has been written about a possible xenophobic reaction by NASCAR's fans, Toyota's arrival has generated little public resistance among the teams that will compete against the new Camry on the track.
"I think it just shows how much NASCAR has grown all over the world," said NASCAR legend and team owner Richard Petty. "People from all over the world come to drive the cars, getting other car manufacturers to come in. Everybody don't drive an American car.
"As we grow, there are 300 million people in the United States, so we're getting new fans coming in. This helps create new interest in NASCAR and new interest to fans to come. I think it's the best thing that can happen to us in the long run."
The Japanese automaker actually entered the world of American professional auto racing 24 years ago. Toyota drivers and teams have won championships in IMSA, CART, IRL and off-road racing, and such prestigious events as the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Indianapolis 500.
Toyota's move to NASCAR came in 2000 with the introduction of the Celica model in the Goody's Dash Series. Four years later, Toyota unveiled its Tundra on the truck series, becoming the first new manufacturer in one of NASCAR's top series in more than 50 years.
"We spent quite a bit of time and research before we went into the truck series because we were quite concerned about what the reaction would be," Toyota Senior Vice President Dave Illingworth said. "And it was amazing to us how well we were received because we thought there would be a little more backlash, but it was really very positive."
By moving into Nextel Cup and Busch, Toyota has seized an opportunity to mass-market its product and "American-made" credentials to the millions of NASCAR fans who remain fiercely loyal to the Detroit-based automakers.
According to its most recent statistics, Toyota employs more than 33,000 Americans at its 11 U.S. assembly plants and another 115,000 at its dealerships. It claims to generate, directly or indirectly, more than 300,000 U.S. jobs, with an annual investment of more than $52 billion in the American economy.
Another aspect of Toyota's public-relations offensive has been pointing out that Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler now build a significant percentage of their cars at plants in Canada and Mexico.
"Of the current cars that are racing [in Nextel Cup], Camry is the only car that's assembled here in the United States," said Jim Aust, president of Toyota Racing Development/USA.
Jack Roush, whose Roush Racing operation fields Fords for five Nextel Cup teams, has seen all of the pro-Toyota demographics. He knows Toyota isn't going to leave NASCAR for the foreseeable future.
But that doesn't mean he has to like it.
At this point, Roush has become something of a lone wolf. He's deeply concerned about the way Toyota handles its racing business, and unlike others within the NASCAR community, he isn't afraid to discuss it with whoever is willing to listen.
Based on Toyota's actions in other racing series, Roush believes the automaker will throw its enormous financial and technological muscle behind its new Cup teams in an attempt to price domestic-backed teams out of the marketplace.
With the "Big Three" struggling to remain globally competitive--Ford reported a loss of $12.7 billion for 2006, the worst in the 103-year history of the company--Roush looks into the not-so-distant future and sees his race team facing a severe financial disadvantage.
But Roush isn't ready to take his cars and go home. Instead, he's reportedly reached a deal to sell a stake in his company to Boston Red Sox owner John Henry--an unprecedented move among NASCAR teams that Roush believes will provide the infusion of cash needed to battle on even terms with Toyota.
"I'm definitely preparing myself for a siege," Roush said. "I expect that traditional conventions--where you look at the Wood Brothers and Bud Moore and the Pettys and all these other folks that have made their name in this business down through the decades--they've done so based on what the dollar income from the sponsorships and from the prize money would justify.
"I don't expect that's gonna be the case with Toyota. I think that they'll carry their money and carry their technology and try to put the rest of us in a catch-up scenario, and I'm trying to be ready for that."
Others are less concerned about the impact Toyota's deep pockets can have in NASCAR. Toyota's budget in Formula One racing is estimated at $400 million a year, but as former F1 star Juan Pablo Montoya noted recently, the company's financial commitment has yet to translate into even one victory.
"I've been with our company for a long time, and it's been a harsh reality that we've had to deal with the financial strengths of a lot of manufacturers. Our corporate philosophy has always been if we want to get in a money-burning contest we're going to lose every time," said Mike Accavitti, director of Dodge Motorsports Operations and SRT Planning.
"We never have enough money as the other guys. I hate to use the analogy, but it's we have to work smarter. We have to figure out a way in our business every day on how to outmaneuver the competition. That's what's going to have to happen with the race teams. It can no longer be we'll just throw more money at the problem and it'll go away."
With the 2007 season's first race just 72 hours away, most Nextel Cup teams are too busy preparing their cars to spend time worrying about Toyota.
At least in the short term, recent Cup champions Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson figure to provide a stiffer challenge than a Toyota driver lineup that includes only two proven veterans (Dale Jarrett and Michael Waltrip). Even Toyota executives don't expect to just roll into the garage and start winning races right away.
So far, the overwhelming response in the Cup garage has been: Bring it on.
"I think all of the talk is over. It's time to finally go race and we don't have to hear about Toyota is going to change the sport and how this is going to happen and how that's going to happen. We're going to actually see what's going to happen," defending Busch Series champion Kevin Harvick said.
"It's something that we get to get out of the racetrack and just kind of see where everybody stands. I don't think adding another manufacturer is going to hurt anything at all. I think it's going to make it as competitive as it's ever [been]."
Jim McConnell: 540/374-
