http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/5263552 Toyota to join NASCAR starting in 2007. http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/5261296 Put these two stories together, and do you have the Car of Tomorrow starting in 2007? Would teams switch over to Toyota if they had to build 30 cars for 2007, then turn around and build 30 new Cars of Tomorrow in 2008 or 2009? Or can you just reskin a Chevy chassis to be a Toyota? Even if you could, the aero would be different and you would want to redo suspensions, so you might as well have built the car from the bottom-up anyway.
Re: Nascar 2006 It is not a big suprise with Toyota pulling out of the IRL a season early. There is actually an error in Fox's article. Toyota will not be the first manufacturer to compete in NASCAR. Jaguar was. They even had a win. http://www.jayski.com/stats/2005/manu2005.htm#ALL Scroll about half way down the page to see the list of wins my make of car. From what I had understood, the COT is going to be pretty much a spec racer with minor changes allowed by each manufacturer to the nose of the car and quarter window. These will be minor changes not like the radically different look of the Dodge Charger NASCAR and Charger street car. So to change manufacturers would be just needing their approved nose piece and changing the engine block. Also, Michael Waltrip is now driving for his own team, not Bill Davis Racing. The team will be Waltrip-Jasper and have a contract with BDR for engines and chassis for now. The connection to Jasper will give the #55 the coveted 35th place in points as it will assume the #77's team points position from 2005.
NASCAR Nextel Cup Thread 2006 Tony Stewart comes off a relatively dominant season in winning his second Cup, can he do it again? Big questions with Bobby Labonte leaving for the 43 car - although Labonte has struggled mightly in the past few seasons, he always had the talent, if not the determination to win. With JJ Yeley coming into the 18 car, Tony gets a driver with the determination, if not the talent to win. Should be an interesting season, and it may answer some questions about how important teammates are in NASCAR. Rookie of the year candidates go to Clint Boywer, Denny Hamlin, David Stremme, Martin Truex, Brent Sherman, Reed Sorenson, and JJ Yeley. Gotta figure the favorites going into the season are Hamlin (due to his amazing and unexpected run in the 11 car last year) and Truex, if DEI comes back into the form that they've enjoyed since Junior's rookie season in 2000. We're only a few weeks away from the Busch Clash (Bud Shootout), any predictions for the upcoming season?
Re: NASCAR Winston (Nextel) Cup Thread 2006 Is Toyota racing this year or are they still just racing trucks?
Re: NASCAR Winston (Nextel) Cup Thread 2006 Just trucks for '06. They will launch Busch and Cup in 2007.
Re: NASCAR Winston (Nextel) Cup Thread 2006 Is there any word on who will be driving Toyotas or which teams will be fielding Toyotas? Oh yeah... During yesterday's FOX NFL game, Troy mentioned something about his team (96 Texas Instruments?). Anyhoo is that team starting off in Busch or hitting the Cup this year?
Re: NASCAR Winston (Nextel) Cup Thread 2006 I'm not sure if anybody has announced, as it would severely hamper their relations with their current automakers. I know two seasons ago, Bill Davis held talks with Toyota and as a result, they were cut off completely by Dodge/Chrysler.
Re: Nascar 2006 i'm sure the WTN will love watching foreign cars. what's next? a beer other than bud or coors?
Re: Nascar 2006 I am sure 12,000 Toyota factory employees in Kentuck, Missouri, West Virginia, and Wisconsin would not be too much bothered. Also, they've raced their pickups in the Craftsman Truck series for years. Back in the 80's I thought a Volvo might have been interesting in NASCAR. Despite their boxy look, they were supposed to be very aerodynamic.
Re: NASCAR Winston (Nextel) Cup Thread 2006 From an AP article: Not much, but it's a start. There's also something about Harvick being unhappy with Childress, and how there's rumors about the timing of his possible leaving with Toyota coming aboard in '07. === And I will be at the Bud 'Start drinking at 9 a.m. because the beer is cheaper than the soda' Shootout when it rolls around. Daytona's only like 3 hours from here.
Re: Nascar 2006 Toyota will have Michael Waltrip Racing (Waltrip-Jasper), Bill Davis Racing and Team Red Bull (will be #83) for their first teams in 2007.
Re: NASCAR Winston (Nextel) Cup Thread 2006 Yes, big talk around the industry yesterday and today about Harvick coming onboard with Toyota in 07. Would be a huge coup for them. Also, 24 Hours of Daytona is this weekend, among the cup participants Tony Stewart Wally Dallenbach Casey Mears And, get this, Rusty Wallace is co-driving with Jan Lammers, Allan McNish, and... yes, that's right, DANICA PATRICK. I hope Patrick is driving last because I want to make sure everybody gets a turn with the car before she totals it
Re: NASCAR Winston (Nextel) Cup Thread 2006 Feh. When does the German Touring Car Championship start up again? Now THAT'S racing.
Re: NASCAR Winston (Nextel) Cup Thread 2006 Agreed. Even Aussie V8's are better than NASCAR, but its what we've got Watkins Glen and Sears Point are fun
Re: NASCAR Winston (Nextel) Cup Thread 2006 Wow this whole Toyota thing is really polarizing NASCAR fans ain't it? Many are saying it's un-American and yet another example of how NASCAR is changing from the "good ol' days" and selling out. I am all for it. As long as they play by the rules just like Chevy, Dodge, and Ford, then I say bring it on!
Re: NASCAR Winston (Nextel) Cup Thread 2006 I count myself amongst the most old school of NASCAR fans, hating this next generation of PR drivers. But this Toyota thing isnt seperating the old school from the new school fans. Its seperating the bigots from the fans, and its kind of sickening.
Re: NASCAR Winston (Nextel) Cup Thread 2006 I'm actually looking forward to seeing new engines/makes in NASCAR. I always thought Dodge would be able to give Chevy a run for their money, but no (real) luck there. It'll be interesting to see which tracks their engines blow on first.
Re: NASCAR Winston (Nextel) Cup Thread 2006 High attrition during the 24 Hours. Dixon/Mears/Wheldon win the overall (DP) group, surviving a black flag for avoidable contact with about 15 minutes to go. New distance record for the race. All in all, not a bad race. Wheldon wins the Indy 500 and the Rolex 24 in the span of 8 months. Somebody needs to get him a good ride for the Daytona 500
Re: Nascar 2006 Why was this and other auto racing threads moved to automotive? These are sports and were deserving to be in the 'Other Sports' thread. Actually 'auto racing' deserves its own thread in the 'Other Sports' section.
Re: Nascar 2006 I think its because this forum was originally intended as automotive/motorsports. But rather than shoehorn it in as another sports subforum it was given the "automotive" title so that it could run the bredth of car related topics, from streetcar discussion to repair, to motorsports.