Toyota will become the first foreign manufacturer in NASCAR's top racing series in 2007, The New York Times reported Friday. The manufacturer, which has competed in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series since 2004, will field cars in the Nextel Cup and Busch Series starting next year. According to a source, the newspaper reports the announcement is expected Monday in a news conference in Concord, N.C.
SPEED Channel will break into its regularly scheduled programs on Monday, Jan. 23 at 12:15 p.m. for coverage of an important NASCAR press conference being held at the NASCAR Research and Development Center.
Among the NASCAR Executives scheduled to appear: Chairman of the Board/CEO Brian France, President Mike Helton, Chief Operating Officer George Pyne, Vice President of Research & Development Gary Nelson.
Toyota would join American auto brands Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge, and the newspaper also reports there has been widespread speculation that Honda will follow Toyota into NASCAR.
This will be the next major change for NASCAR with foreign companies entering the sport. One wonders how many teams are gonna jump ship over to the Toyota camp? I think Dodge will suffer the most from Toyota coming in. Many teams are complaining about the new Dodge Charger. I think a lot of them will switch over to Toyota. Bill Davis Racing almost definately, wouldn't be surprised to see even Penske make the switch. I wonder what car they will use... the Camry maybe?
