It is known that the American consumer market has already given definitive acceptance to foreign products. The case of Toyota is very special, as its family sedan, the Camry, is the best-selling vehicle in the United States. Statistics indicate that the Camry was the best-selling sedan in 8 of the last 9 years in the US. This very harsh blow hit the three large local companies, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.
This is how Toyota entered the US market with increasing consolidation. In the sports field, since the 1990s, Toyota achieved very important achievements in the US. From the IMSA series championships and Daytona 24 hour victories to success in the CART (now Champ Car) and Indy Racing League.
The relationship between Toyota and NASCAR began in 2000, when the Asian automobile introduced a Celica Turbo in the smaller series “Goody's Dash”.
In 2004 Toyota began competing in the Craftsman Truck series of track trucks at NASCAR. The Toyota Tundra had an excellent debut year, winning 4 valuable victories, 5 poles in standings and reaching the top 5 in 25 races. In 2005, successes continued, achieving 9 victories and 13 poles. The winning potential and reliability are proven.
2007 will be the moment of great expansion in the sports arena for Toyota, as it will compete in the three most important NASCAR categories, the Craftsman Truck series, the Busch series and the stellar Nextel Cup (maximum category).
There are already three teams confirmed to run Toyota cars in the Nextel Cup in 2007. The “Bill Davis Racing” team has more than 12 years of experience at NASCAR, while the driver Michael Waltrip will bring his 20 years of experience behind the wheel. The third team in question will be formed by the company Red Bull. Toyota people said that these teams will race the “most popular car in the US,” alluding to their commercial successes.
The team “Bill Davis Racing” already works together with Toyota in the Craftsman Truck series, where in two years they achieved 2 victories and more than 40 races in the top 10 places. The experience of this team in the top NASCAR category boasts 18 wins, 38 poles, 104 runs in the top 5 places and 257 runs in the top 10 places.
2007 will be a double special year for Toyota in the USA, as its incorporation into NASCAR will be a luxury present for its anniversary: it is 50 years since its arrival in the USA.
© Adrián Blanco 2006 — Prohibited the total or partial reproduction of text and/or images without explicit written consent of the author. —
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