More Toyota news

[PikeBayCommanche]

When you look at it though there are not really any hot rookies looking good in the Busch series this year and all of the ones from last year already are on the nextel cup. They really don't have a whole lot of other options.

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Jarrett AND UPS?

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I can see why they want a high-profile sponsor like UPS but Dale Jarrett please he needs to hang them up soon. Ironically he did win this weeks race last year but his best this year is 9th. Last years average finish was 18.8 th position. I son't know I don't know If I would go after him.

[NAPAFISH]

Having DJ sounds like a credibility issue. DJ is a former champion. There was a fat balding guy on Wind Tunnel the other night (cant remember his name) He was some type of insider. He made it soud like the Big 3 were deathly afraid of Toyota coming in

[JohnMickish]

I saw that too. Like I said before, I don't think that any of the other three are afraid of a fair fight, it's just that nobody thinks this fight will be fair, and that will be to bad.

Did you read that Toyota is looking at bringing Ricky Rudd out of retirement?

[JohnMickish]

Here is the latest. I still say they are going to outspend everybody and make it an all Toyota leage, then pull out.

I can't really blame a guy for taking a 20 mil two year deal, but it makes me think what is your soul worth?

Jarrett/Toyota offer..$20 million? UPDATE done deal? Toyota - The Japanese automaker has pumped in tens of millions of dollars into its teams to launch a Nextel Cup program in 2007. Car owner Michael Waltrip is rumored to be dangling a two-year, $20 million contract in front of Dale Jarrett to get him into a Toyota.(Speed Channel)

UPDATE: #99-Dale Jarrett, the 1999 NASCAR Cup champion, is expected to help head up the company's [Toyota] 2007 entry into the series, agreeing to join Michael Waltrip Racing next season. Several sources have confirmed that Jarrett, 49, informed Robert Yates Racing officials of his decision April 26. UPS, the primary sponsor of the No. 88 Ford, is also in the final year of its contract with the team. And sources have indicated that the overnight delivery service provider would like to remain with RYR, provided the team can sign a competitive driver rather than someone just embarking on a Cup career. If the latter is the case, it's likely that UPS will make the move with Jarrett to Waltrip's organization. RYR typically attempts to sign sponsors for the length of its drivers' contracts. Because of that, those sponsors have some leverage in driver selection. Possible driver candidates that have been mentioned in the Toyota mix have included Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick and owner/driver Robby Gordon. However, car owner Richard Childress said April 29 that he is close to signing Harvick to an extension. Gordon, who has fielded his own team since 2005, has an existing relationship with Red Bull through his off-road racing efforts.(in part from

[NAPAFISH]

Mikey power!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lawdog]

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Mikey power!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Now that right there is funny...I don't care who you are. Mikey power, that kills me!!!

[JohnMickish]

A little more news, this one is kind of disturbing. What do some of you guys think. Is this fair or are there no rules of honor in racing?

Richmond --- While some NASCAR team owners are complaining about Toyota teams offering significant pay raises to lure away talented mechanics, Roush Racing president Geoff Smith said he fears sponsorship is the latest threat to race teams representing U.S. manufacturers.

He's heard some Toyota teams have offered sponsors reduced rates, with Toyota subsidizing the deals.

"Toyota is attacking the price points of our sponsorships in the garage by offering radical discounts to the sponsorship values that are out there today as a means of attracting the corporate sponsors to those teams," Smith said. "That's what they did in the [Craftsman Truck Series], and you can see what the impact is on the sponsorship environment there."

Smith blames Toyota for the lack of sponsor interest in the Truck Series and said he's worried that a sponsor shift in the sport could have long-term ramifications for Nextel Cup.

"It really has a potential effect of disturbing the underlying economics of racing," he said.

[JohnMickish]

If anybody is interested there is a really good article about Toyota's spending habbits over at Jayskies site. Rumor has it that a few years ago when NASCAR confiscated a few engines for "dyno testing" that those engines ended up at Toyota for them to study. If you believe in conspericy then it seems that Toyota has bought NASCAR, or at least is renting it.

[harvey lee]

It also looks like Jarrett will be racing for Waltrip with Toyota.Big money talks.

Talking Mickey power.He might be good with Toyota as sooner or later he has to do well with someone other than a short stint with DEI.

I believe Nascar will sell its soul to bring Toyota to the game and forget about who brought the game this far.

[NAPAFISH]

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Talking Mickey power.He might be good with Toyota as sooner or later he has to do well with someone other than a short stint with DEI.

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See he sees the power too.

Close the doors Jack

Have a seat Rick

Ray who??

MWR is here to haul the mail

Coming to a track near you

You will see when awesome Bill takes the BK Chevy w/Toyota engine on track this year

[JohnMickish]

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Close the doors Jack

Have a seat Rick

Ray who??

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Pretend that happens, then what? Toyota will pull out and we lose NASCAR, just like they did in the IRL and CART. Outspend everybody, lobby for rules changes in your favor stating you can't afford to run the way it is, run the copetition out of business and then quit saying there isn't any competition. Go figure.

[harvey lee]

Well said mnfishinguy

[JohnMickish]

I encourage everyone here to do a little history of Japanese auto makers and automotive motorsports (bikes are a different story). Take a look at the longevity they have been around in F1, CART, IRL, SCCA, ALMS and so on, and then see what they did when they left. Maybe it will be different this time, but then again, maybe the sun will be blue tomorrow too.

[TNFL]

By short stint you must mean 2 tracks and one style of racing.

I think its risky by NAPA to join up with toyota. Sure, thier are a lot of toyotas on the roads. But, are they driven by NASCAR fans? I doubt it. Ford, chevy and dodge fans may subconsiously or intentionally reject NAPA stores.

[OUTDOORNUT]

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By short stint you must mean 2 tracks and one style of racing.

I think its risky by NAPA to join up with toyota. Sure, thier are a lot of toyotas on the roads. But, are they driven by NASCAR fans? I doubt it. Ford, chevy and dodge fans may subconsiously or intentionally reject NAPA stores.

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Derrick Cope could have drove thoses DEI cars in any of those races and done the same as Mikey! It was the cars that were good, not Mikey!

I began my NAPA boycott as soon as they announced they were going to Toyota!

Jarrett is already taking the heat for jumping into the Japanese deep pockets. Fans are dropping him like a bad piece of Susi.

[VMS]

Doubtful that there would be some type of Boycott on NAPA...

I don't think the France Family is going to allow Toyota to just outspend all others. So far, Toyota has been put through the same hoops as all other teams when a new car comes out. Toyota has lobbied to get things changed for their cars "just for them" and NASCAR has said NO each time.

I am interested in this idea of Toyota footing more of the bill for sponsorship, so sponsors do not have to spend as much. Not sure how that will play out yet.

I don't see NASCAR going away... Toyota has not taken over in the truck series, although Dodge did back out to concentrate their funding on Cup cars.

I am not excited about it because of what toyota has done to other series, but I certainly HOPE that NASCAR will keep a tight rope on them.

Steve

[marine_man]

Here's an article that was in Yahoo Sports this morning:

Toyota preparing for 2007 Cup entry and beyond

By MIKE HARRIS, AP Motorsports Writer

May 18, 2006

Sitting on a crowded concrete floor in the new Toyota Racing Development, USA shop, among the many tubeframe chassis and race trucks in various stages of readiness, are the unfinished chassis for a NASCAR Car of Tomorrow, a completed 2006 Camry race car and an almost done 2007 Camry version.

In a nearby meeting room, Lee White, senior vice president of TRD, nods toward the shop.

"This was the worst timing ever for us," White said. "If there had just been a Car of Tomorrow, we would have been smiling, because it's a great leveler for the playing field and it's only going to be used in a third of the races next year.

"Instead, we're learning about what we call the car of today and the Car of Tomorrow, as well. It's added a lot of work for everyone _ all of the teams, all of the manufacturers. But, because of our unique circumstances, it's been tough."

Toyota dipped its toes in the NASCAR waters in 2000 with a car powered by one of its engines in the low-level Goody's Dash Series. A much bigger stir was created among those who believe that NASCAR should be for American makes only when the Japanese company entered the Craftsman Truck Series in 2004.

Now, the company that has become one of the world's most successful automakers is getting ready to enter NASCAR's top two series _ Nextel Cup and Busch _ in 2007, with a heavy emphasis on Cup.

Beyond the parochial idea that teams should not be racing foreign stock cars on NASCAR's ovals, there also has been the fear that Toyota _ which recently leaped into Formula One racing with a yearly budget some estimate at $500 million _ will throw cash at its newest auto racing project, raising the cost of racing and altering the NASCAR culture.

Toyota also has been accused of trying to steal drivers and crew members from current teams aligned with Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler, the three manufacturers currently racing in Cup and Busch. NASCAR owners such as Jack Roush and Doug Yates say they fear Toyota will use its vast resources to attract people away from other garages.

"One of the things that's made NASCAR competition so close and so interesting to all the fans is that there's parity. There's parity among the drivers' ability at the very top. There's parity technically among the teams. There's parity among the manufacturers with regard to what they're able to do or willing to do with supporting the teams and with bringing technology," Roush said. "Toyota has a chance of breaking that parity, and we'll just have to see what happens."

But White and Jim Aust, vice president of Toyota Motorsports and president and CEO of TRD, say such fears are unfounded. Both say the company's intent is to let TRD give the Toyota teams as much engineering help as they need, and let the teams do the rest.

Toyota announced in January that it will run six cars in Cup in 2007 _ two each with the new Michael Waltrip Racing and Red Bull teams, and two with the Bill Davis Racing organization that now races Dodges. So far, the only drivers confirmed for any of those teams are Waltrip and former Cup champion Dale Jarrett, who caused some waves when he signed last weekend to drive Waltrip's second car.

"The thing is that Toyota is not bringing the money to support those teams," Aust said. "They have, or will have, primary sponsors. Whoever that sponsor is, they're the ones that are going to bring the money to the team.

"We will not have a factory-sponsored car when we get to Daytona, so it's a mystery to us how that continues to be out there. We've never, ever been able to determine how much money any of the other three manufacturers are spending. So it's interesting that some journalists have the opinion that we're going to be outspending everybody."

As for the idea that Toyota is stealing drivers and crewmen, Aust said, "In the past four months, TRD in North Carolina has hired one guy and transferred seven people from our open-wheel operation in California.

"We are planning to add about 20 more people for engineering support when our teams are up and running. But we will not be pursuing people with contracts. We'll probably be adding those people toward the end of the season as contracts expire. We won't be poaching people."

The curveball that NASCAR threw at Toyota was the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow, a bigger, boxier car focusing more on safety and less on aerodynamics than current Cup or Busch sedans. The plan is to blend the new cars into the schedule during the next three seasons, starting with Bristol next spring.

Meanwhile, Toyota also has to come up with a current version of its Camry to race the rest of the schedule in 2007 and 2008. That was complicated when the company decided to make major changes to the front of its production Camry for 2007.

That means the car Toyota had approved by NASCAR last summer already is obsolete, with the new version to be submitted for approval by June 30. The TRD people don't seem too concerned.

"Thanks to being part of the truck series, we're going to be, I hope, in great shape on our engine, at least in terms of horsepower," White said. "The really good thing about the Car of Today is NASCAR's templates limit what you can do. And our teams are either racing Car of Today or have hired guys who have been out there racing Car of Today successfully, so there's plenty of knowledge."

He said TRD's philosophy is that race teams should focus on racing, the drivers and the crews, preparation of the cars and execution of race strategies. The engineering aspect is better handled by the company and spread equally across the teams, White said.

"We share everything we develop absolutely equally among all our teams and we encourage them to work together to enhance their own competitive level," he noted. "That approach has worked very well for us in the truck series."

[TNFL]

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Doubtful that there would be some type of Boycott on NAPA...

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Maybe not a well publicized/organized/declared/official boycott, but thier could be a definate drop in sales as regular joes decide to go elsewhere.

[harvey lee]

It will take the best car Toyota has with the biggest engine made for Waltrip to win.

[JohnMickish]

The COT was brought back from the dead for Toyota to bypass 30 years of knowledge. This way they will be on the same page as everybody else, as far as this body goes.

NAPA, it will be easy for Toyota to run Jack, Ray and Rick out of business for they will be raiding their best people.

I'll be the first to say it. Toyota dosen't have the knowledge to tutor it's own engineers and drivers, they have to resort to spending to get what they want.

NASCAR does not have a sallary cap so there is nothing to stop Toyota from outspending everyone else, but yet it's not fair for Jack to have five cars...

[NAPAFISH]

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Derrick Cope could have drove thoses DEI cars in any of those races and done the same as Mikey! It was the cars that were good, not Mikey!

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Truex is burning up the track isnt he??? Mikeys cars were garbage 85% of the time. Jr got all the top of the line stuff. I am sure Cope could drive the #19 or #10 and it would be the same. These 2 or 3 car teams only have one great car.

Why should DJ be taking any heat?? Besides plate racing he gets junk. His cars are not competitive. Actually I think Yates is getting screwed by Roush

[NAPAFISH]

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Doubtful that there would be some type of Boycott on NAPA...

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Maybe not a well publicized/organized/declared/official boycott, but thier could be a definate drop in sales as regular joes decide to go elsewhere.

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You base this on what??? Do you mean regular joes who follow Cup?? Or just plain old anybody?? I would say i average 50 invoices a day. 20 are probably dealer accounts.

So 30 per day are retail customers. Rough estimates. 150 per week. I would bet that 95% of the customers that I see could care less about the race car. I would bet that 65% of them dont even know who Michael Waltrip is. I think the REGULAR JOES are more concerned about price. Some others are more concerned about service.

A sales drop I doubt it.

[NAPAFISH]

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NAPA, it will be easy for Toyota to run Jack, Ray and Rick out of business for they will be raiding their best people.

I'll be the first to say it. Toyota dosen't have the knowledge to tutor it's own engineers and drivers, they have to resort to spending to get what they want.

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Your tone is more serious. My orginal post was made in jest. After the years of sub-par equipment, I am excited to see Mikey in HOPEFULLY some good cars. Race after race finishing so low in the standings, it is so hard to root for one of your favorite drivers. Especially when he is the flag ship of your job.

[JohnMickish]

I know Mikey is your guy and I don't want to bash him but I just feel that both him and DJ have "sold out". Sure, that kind of money is hard to pass up but I can't stand to listen to Mikey talking about "his" money when I'd be willing to be my next paycheck that Toyota is bankrolling him so it's not "his" money.

For the record, I wouldn't have any problem with a new company coming in if it where someone other than Toyota (ok, maybe Honda too), and it has nothing to do with the country of origin, it's their business practices. I just don't see any good coming from this other than a select few getting richer and the sport as a whole suffering.

I too have added NAPA to my list of stores I no longer go to. I only go to a parts store about 3 times a year and used to go to NAPA all exclusivly (because of their racecar sponsorship) but not spend my money elsewhere. NAPAfish, it's not because NAPA is going with Toyota its because of Toyota and how they do things. I know I don't spend much there but every bit helps (or hurts).

Does anybody think the truck series is better now than it was three years ago?? Does anybody even watch the truck series anymore?

[lawdog]

I still watch the truck series. I still think its about the best racing in NASCAR from a pure competition and side to side, wheel to wheel, action standpoint.