NASCAR has long been the play ground for GM and Ford. Dodge got back to the play ground a few years ago, but they are under German ownership now.

The addition of Toyota could start a trend of other international manufactures to join NASCAR. I think the series will increase their appeal by having a more diverse group of manufactures involved.

If NASCAR wishes to become a world wide success, having more manufactures will help. There is little doubt that the number of Japanese viewers watching NASCAR will more then double.

If a company such as BMW would get in NASCAR, German viewership wil grow as well. It is more likely that Daimler will get their Mercedes into the series before BMW just because they are involved in NASCAR already with Dodge.

Maybe GM will bring in SAAB. :p

Considering Toyota does indeed have factories in the USA, I don't see what you're worried about.

Besides having assembly factories in North America (one in Canada, one in Mexico, three in the United States, one joint-venture plant in the US, and a number of other engine/transmission and parts plants), Toyota is the second best-selling car brand in the US (behind Ford, but ahead of Chevrolet).

Other than for marketing purposes, I don't see the need to go racing in NASCAR. The cars are very old technology and share nothing with their production counterparts. Heck, they stopped using stock bodies a few years back and only recently have they put decals on the cars to differentiate them. I'm not a fan of any race car driver...but I am a fan of cars. When I watch a race, all I care about is what BRAND won, not what DRIVER won. I started to lose interest in NASCAR when the bodies became shells unrelated to the production cars. Atleast the Craftsman Truck series kinda LOOKS like the vehicles they represent.

I was disappointed that the NATCC series didn't take off in the US. THOSE cars I could follow.

I agree with you Hudson about the basic technology and lack of diversity in NASCAR. Manufacture championships seem stupid when all the cars are forced to be the same by the rules.

I enjoy the races where different styles of cars compete. To see an Audi RS6, Corvette Z06, Saleen Mustang and Acura NSX battling it out is what I like to see.

NASCAR has worked so hard to even things out it has lost diversity. If more manufactures get involved, maybe it will pressure NASCAR into have a more diverse field of cars. At this point NASCAR is just another version of IROC.

I dont mind toyota coming in. They build in the US and stuff, but i can see where people are against the foreign care image in NASCAR.

Originally posted by Hudson
I started to lose interest in NASCAR when the bodies became shells unrelated to the production cars.

Those where the good old days. I think I remember seeying 911s running with the big guns back then...or was I dreaming?

i had a dream that nascar raced daewoo's:chair: i love nascar and i really don't givahoot who come's in as long as we have a mopar team in volved and by the toyota has been in nascar for atleast 2 season's they race celica's in the goody's dash series:wink:

Jaguar won a cup race a long time ago....only european car company to win in the cup. if nascar opens up to foreign car companies it could become much more popular outside the us.

but is that a good thing? hey we could end up running mercedes with amg supercharged v6's and the americans running v8's and then saab could run a turbo charged v6 :grinyes:

but is that a good thing? hey we could end up running mercedes with amg supercharged v6's and the americans running v8's and then saab could run a turbo charged v6 :grinyes:

right now nascar only allows v8's but the worst thing is that nascar wanted to have common engines between all cars!

we will prolly never see a v6 in a cup car. Or many more foreign car makers. If they were gonig to let one more in it would prolly be honda. Nissan could care less about nascar racing. I think its good and toyota is going to be an arse load of cash to the sport.

If they were gonig to let one more in it would prolly be honda. Nissan could care less about nascar racing.

Try the other way around. Honda has said they could care less about nascar right now since they are in the irl. Nissan has showed interest in getting into the craftsman truck series now that they have a full size truck.

nissan that the infiniti pro series. But i guess well see

To get Japanese interested in NASCAR, there are simply going to have to go to tracks with right corners. The ovals need to die. The original NASCAR drivers were full of old bootleggers who drove in the mountains...at night....running from the police - just like what a lot of Japanese do now (and some Americans as well). Those drivers had real skill. Modern NASCAR is an extremely watered down, bland, non-competitive redneck-round-a-bout (referring to the fans). These people tend to country-boys, uneducated, and xenophobic.

Generalization? You bet, but its damn spot on for the majority of fans....especially the ones who kept NASCAR alive over the decades. The cars will also have to be real to garner attention from Asia and Europe. There simply isn't any compelling reason for foreign companies to invest in NASCAR when that demographic rarely goes import anyway.

Now, a new Trans-Am series of real cars with NASCAR marketing would be great. But, NASCAR doesn't want competition within their races because fans would be pissed off to get their asses whipped by a smaller displacement import.

I kinda rambled and I'm too lazy to edit, but those re some of the reasons why the imports won't go in. Domestics won't give up the push rod engines, the imports aren't going to start making outdated engines just to compete in a series with fans who won't buy their product anyway, and the pushrod guys are scared of the OHV engines. I would like to see some rivalries going though.

it was bound to happen. its not bad at all, except that nascar has already pissed off ford, chevy, and dodge and it would be terrible if one of them left nascar.

oh and i think they need to make a sport compact series with four cylinder turbocharged engines, it would be awesome :biggrin:

there is a sport compact series in nascar already called the goddy's dash series except they run v-6's, http://www.nascartouring.com/goodysdashseries/ check some of those pics out, ihavent seen the series on tv latley but they did last year on speedchannel

Ok....this is in response to vectorclub and hudsons opinions of NASCARS diversity issue....1. The body/shell issue...the shells are NOT the same on any of the makes in the cup, they all may be the same length/width/height but definatly not the same aerodynamic properties. And by the way....the trunk, roof and front and rear bumpers are STOCK PARTS on all of the vehicles and are shipped directly to the teams from the factory.
2. The cars in winston cup may be "old technology" for now but Ford and Toyota are both pushing to get FI made "legal" in the cup series and that is not a bad thing...the cars aren't really even....every team makes decisions on how to tune their car for the weekend within the allowances of max/min HP and torque and the Aero templates used don't restrict their ability to up their aerodynamics, it just makes sure that they don't exceed the L/W/H that NASCAR specifys.
3. Cars don't win the race....drivers and crews do.(Hudson)
4. Nascar is an ever changing sport....has been since day one. Nothing is anything without technology anymore(not on this planet) so NASCAR is going to make things as even as possible between the cars so that the RACER and CREW for the car can use technology and their raw skills to make a better team than the next guy.

never knew there were celicas in the goody dash series and fi would be stupid for nascar unless they went to v6s and that won't happen anytime soon.

Fuel injection is actually not pointless...the FI that Ford has developed would increase throttle response and fuel economy 10 fold....research before you talk man

i don't care enough to research.

Ok....this is in response to vectorclub and hudsons opinions of NASCARS diversity issue....1. The body/shell issue...the shells are NOT the same on any of the makes in the cup, they all may be the same length/width/height but definatly not the same aerodynamic properties. And by the way....the trunk, roof and front and rear bumpers are STOCK PARTS on all of the vehicles and are shipped directly to the teams from the factory.
2. The cars in winston cup may be "old technology" for now but Ford and Toyota are both pushing to get FI made "legal" in the cup series and that is not a bad thing...the cars aren't really even....every team makes decisions on how to tune their car for the weekend within the allowances of max/min HP and torque and the Aero templates used don't restrict their ability to up their aerodynamics, it just makes sure that they don't exceed the L/W/H that NASCAR specifys.
3. Cars don't win the race....drivers and crews do.(Hudson)
4. Nascar is an ever changing sport....has been since day one. Nothing is anything without technology anymore(not on this planet) so NASCAR is going to make things as even as possible between the cars so that the RACER and CREW for the car can use technology and their raw skills to make a better team than the next guy. amen to dat

NO... NASCAR SHOULD BE KEPT AMERICAN.TOYOTA IS NOT AMERICAN.
THERE SHOULD BE NO INTERNATIONAL CAR MANUFACTURERS ALLOWED IN NASCAR. :banghead: NASCAR IS A GREAT AMERICAN PASTTIME AND WAS FOUNDED BY A BUNCH OF GOOD OL' AMERICAN BOYS HAVING FUN.
I AM A HUGE NASCAR FAN AND I AM VERY OFFENDED THAT THIS WOULD EVEN BE A QUESTION.WE NEED TO START A PETITION ON THIS TO KEEP FORIEGN MAKERS OUT OF OUR SPORT. :banghead:

NO... NASCAR SHOULD BE KEPT AMERICAN.TOYOTA IS NOT AMERICAN.
THERE SHOULD BE NO INTERNATIONAL CAR MANUFACTURERS ALLOWED IN NASCAR. :banghead: NASCAR IS A GREAT AMERICAN PASTTIME AND WAS FOUNDED BY A BUNCH OF GOOD OL' AMERICAN BOYS HAVING FUN.
I AM A HUGE NASCAR FAN AND I AM VERY OFFENDED THAT THIS WOULD EVEN BE A QUESTION.WE NEED TO START A PETITION ON THIS TO KEEP FORIEGN MAKERS OUT OF OUR SPORT. :banghead:

1: stop writing in caps, it makes you look like a dumbass.

2: by reading your post I can see the fear in your words...and you should be afraid. When Toyota goes into NASCAR, it will blow away the Domestics.

Being someone who works for NASCAR I can say that most folks dont realize that Toyota has been involved for years in yes the Goodys dash series. That series is no longer. I am excited to see Toyota step up to cup level and think that they will be competitive right out of the box. They dont do things half-ass when it comes to racing. NASCAR should be diverse if it is to press on into the future and further its drawing of not only national but international crowds and $$.

Fuel injection is actually not pointless...the FI that Ford has developed would increase throttle response and fuel economy 10 fold....research before you talk man
The ASA series uses a spec chevy crate motor that is fuel injected.

To get Japanese interested in NASCAR, there are simply going to have to go to tracks with right corners. The ovals need to die. The original NASCAR drivers were full of old bootleggers who drove in the mountains...at night....running from the police - just like what a lot of Japanese do now (and some Americans as well). Those drivers had real skill. Modern NASCAR is an extremely watered down, bland, non-competitive redneck-round-a-bout (referring to the fans). These people tend to country-boys, uneducated, and xenophobic.

Generalization? You bet, but its damn spot on for the majority of fans....especially the ones who kept NASCAR alive over the decades. The cars will also have to be real to garner attention from Asia and Europe. There simply isn't any compelling reason for foreign companies to invest in NASCAR when that demographic rarely goes import anyway.

Now, a new Trans-Am series of real cars with NASCAR marketing would be great. But, NASCAR doesn't want competition within their races because fans would be pissed off to get their asses whipped by a smaller displacement import.

I kinda rambled and I'm too lazy to edit, but those re some of the reasons why the imports won't go in. Domestics won't give up the push rod engines, the imports aren't going to start making outdated engines just to compete in a series with fans who won't buy their product anyway, and the pushrod guys are scared of the OHV engines. I would like to see some rivalries going though.

I see what you mean, but you need to know about the history of NASCAR. (I'm not sure if you think their engines are weak, 800+ horses) I really don't think most teams want push rods, the Hemi was far superior to what they have now, but the officials won't allow them. Most hemi's could destroy any Naturally Aspirated foreign engine if NASCAR teams would have been able to continue developing them, and I doubt the Toyota in NASCAR thing would exist. The teams don't want pushrods, if it was their choice, I'm sure they would go DOHC or Hemi. But it isn't just engines these cars are very unstable, they shake around Daytona and Talledaga (restrictor plate races) and go airborbe quite easily. I was just wandering, by "lower displacement" engines, do you mean 4-cylinders, because how much power can you squeeze out of one that can propell it around an oval at 200mph at almost the redline? With a turbo, drag cars i think max at around 1500 hp(correct me if I'm wrong) they run for less than 10 seconds. Now I dunno, but translate that into 2 hours and I don't think it would do to well. A non turbo, 2 liter 4 cylinder will not last long at all. Now, if ovals die, NASCAR dies. Plain and simple. Toyota came in second at Daytona Friday, and I really don't care. These car were made by hand made by the same guys who built Chevys and what not before they built the Toyotas. Put them side by side, no stickers no paint, they are the same type of machines.

Counterpoint to your statement that an 800hp four cylinder couldn't live all day long: the 24hours of Le Mans (or Daytona for that matter). In the GTP era, all manner of engines, from Jaguar's big V12's to Nissan's V6's to Toyota's V8's and 4's to even Mazda's four row rotaries proved the viability of ALL manner of engine setups so long as they were properly tuned.

In fact, if you want to stay within the U.S's borders, we can look at the Offenhausers, Meyer-Drakes, and Miller fours that dominated Indy in the 30's up to the 80's (Offenhausers won throughout the 70's thanks to turbocharging). Or, for that matter, what about the Mopar, Gaerte, Esslinger, and Ed Pink USAC Midget engines?

It's not uncommon, it just takes thoughtful engineering.

Also, I'd like to point out that the hemispherical combustion chamber is not unique to the Chrysler family of engines. In fact, "imports" were using hemispherical combustion chambers in concert with overhead cams as early as 1951 in the Lancia Aurelia's V6.

I would never advocate the elimination of oval track racing, especially considering one of my greatest passions is ISMA Supermodified racing. However, don't discount the value of bringing in new ideas to NASCAR racing. I would LOVE it if they'd go to a more sophisticated monocoque/unibody design for the chassis with more deformable structure so that the cars would absorb impact when they collide with the wall.

Sorry folks, but it was decelerative force that killed Dale Earnhardt, Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, and Tony Roper, not a Simpson seat belt, lack of a HANS device (though those help immensely), or his open face helmet. Simple physics. Energy cannot be destroyed, it can only be absorbed or change forms. Accelerative force is a car heading towards a wall. Decelerative force is that car hitting the wall. When the car does not absorb the decelerative force by crumbling, wrinkling, or blowing apart, the decelerative force is directed to the one other place where it can be absorbed: the driver.

I know that's jumping topic, but chassis design is the one place I believe modern technology should and MUST be adopted for safety's sake. I knew Kenny Irwin back when he ran USAC Silver Crown, he was a brilliant, friendly, and down-to-earth guy who took the highest highs and lowest lows of racing with the same earnest, thoughtful smile. I absolutely cannot stand it that NASCAR refuses to make the link between Kenny's death (and Adam Petty's death. I was at Attica Raceway Park when Adam died, attending a regular weekly show. They were just about to push off the first heat when they lowered the flag to half mast and announced over the loudspeaker that Adam Petty had been killed in racing accident. Everyone was so shocked and so sad because Adam was an incredibly likable and genuine driver) and Dale Sr's death.

A good strong tube chassis is your best bet at 140-150 on a short track like Bristol, Martinsville, Irwindale, Mansfield, or Sandusky. But at those speeds a car needs to blow apart. The whole reasoning behind those stiff tube chassis is to keep cars on track. NASCAR needs to meet its 43 car field for TV, so keep the cars on track. We can't have 20 finishers out of 43 starters. So what if there's fenders missing and valances gone? The car is strong enough to keep rolling after going upside down. Keep driving 'em. Keep 'em on track. Keep chasing those TV minutes and sponsorship dollars.

It's a dangerous car design on superspeedways, but the sponsorship obligations have dictated this "necessity". None the less, I continue advocating deformable structure, thinner collapsible tubing for non-critical areas, and ultimately a shift to monocoque/unibody chassis.

I miss Kenny too much, and I have a lot more friends from sprints, Silver Crown, and midgets in Cup cars now. I really REALLY don't want to hear about the same happening to them.

Besides having assembly factories in North America (one in Canada, one in Mexico, three in the United States, one joint-venture plant in the US, and a number of other engine/transmission and parts plants), Toyota is the second best-selling car brand in the US (behind Ford, but ahead of Chevrolet).

Other than for marketing purposes, I don't see the need to go racing in NASCAR. The cars are very old technology and share nothing with their production counterparts. Heck, they stopped using stock bodies a few years back and only recently have they put decals on the cars to differentiate them. I'm not a fan of any race car driver...but I am a fan of cars. When I watch a race, all I care about is what BRAND won, not what DRIVER won. I started to lose interest in NASCAR when the bodies became shells unrelated to the production cars. Atleast the Craftsman Truck series kinda LOOKS like the vehicles they represent.

I was disappointed that the NATCC series didn't take off in the US. THOSE cars I could follow.

All the manufacturers have an equal shot at entering NASCAR racing...the only requirements be that the body be sold in the US, the package has to meet a certain weight, and the motor has to fit some stringent parameters.

I certainly would not call todays winston/nextel cup cars 'old tech'. Because they use OHV vs OHC designs? Both designs have been around equally long, and in reality, when you need a design that can last 500 miles, OHV wins (indeed, each year the lions share of attrition at the daytona 500 is due to wrecks, yet at the indy 500 due to engine failures - typically cam drive mechanisms) and as for the car itself, Id say the 'cup' cars have more brainpower invested for these reasons (note, I am comparing winston/nextel/busch cup cars vs IRL, F1 - even Can Am)

1) NASCAR teams are allowed a limited number of track testing hours per year per track, "open wheel" teams can test as long as they can afford rent

2) Robert Duvalls character in 'Days of Thunder' exagerated only *slightly* when he said a nascar stocker weighs twice as much and has to run on half the tire - and since teams are limited in the actual numbers of tires brought to the track, and since nascar has now imposed tire compound restrictions to make the race 'more competetive' the suspension design and handling characteristics have to be spot on, which leads to:

3) IRL/F1 cars can run the entire race upside down on a track suspended from the 'ceiling' such is the effect of the wings and aerodynamics (of course it would also be an incentive not to wreck) nascar rules are very careful to not give any aerodynamic aid other than what is needed to make a basically stock car* not explode over 120mph

4) In all classes of track racing outside of your basic autocrossing, only nascar stockers make an attempt to even resemble a car of the masses. Yes, they are just silhouettes of the real car, but have been that way since the 60's when it became apparent that no OEM chassis/body can protect a human at the speeds now capable. To the fans, Jrs chevy does resemble closely the one they can have sit in the driveway, but at the same time, pay attention come memorial day and not a single vehicle (outside of the pacecar) at indy will resemble anything you can ever purchase - to the majority of fans, this matters. I guess it fuels the 'I have a red monte with a #8 sticker in the back window so therefore I am a racer' fantasy.

To get back on topic, for the case of toyotas entry, a brand new v6 or v8 motor of 358 inches had to be designed. In the olden days all the motors on the track could be had in more sedate form at home, now, they can still be purchased over the counter, rules had to be stretched to allow toyota to race a motor that never has/never will drive anywhere else - but thats a good thing IMO

For almost 2 decades, using even the older rules, toyota and honda have both produced cars that could legally enter the winston cup fray should they be properly engined. they neglected to do so - their loss. Honda F1 racing typically highlights motors (technically advanced only with respect to the amount of on board telemetry they carry - which nascar cars are NOT allowed to carry - nascar must design the package and then hopes it holds together) that share nothing with any street motor other than the 'H' on the valve cover. Saying that since Honda uses variable valve timing in F1 and the accord therefore they are related is akin to saying that since nextel cup cars use 8 cylinders and so does your silverado, they are related. I think there is stronger correlation between nascar motors and street motors than in indy or F1 (save the olds aurora v8 used)

btw as I type this I am watching the daytona truck 250mile race on speedvision - the toy truck is advertising almost 100hp less than the domestics using the same inches. either toyota is lying or they have a few lessons to learn how to get big numbers out of low compression motors.

It is good to see that Toyota is making such a wave. That was their goal I am sure...and now they have the proof they needed to be all in on the NASCAR circuit. All of this talk about what makes NASCAR, NASCAR, is the desired affect they were looking for. NASCAR is going to follow the intrest of the generations they are tending to...and always have, just now they have become a marketing monster due to their extreme success. And Layla...way to set the record straight about the 4 cylinders....although I don't think they could compare in modern NASCAR, they can definatly make the power and run equal lengths of time....but your coments on the chassis designs, though a noble gesture, IS something that is part of NASCAR and has been for a while....wreck em and try to keep em out there....and a car that crumbles on impact removes that option and a fairly large chunk of the spectators excitement.

Ever heard of WRC (RALLY) cars? They seem to be able to withstand crashes off mountains. Yes, yes, they are only travelling 150mph, but they are crashing off road. Stock shell except for the bumpers and wheel well flares. Check out some of the rules below. It's amazing that they can keep a stock 4 cylinder block and head together under 15-30psi of boost and run restictors, huh?

WRC
The car must have an overall length of at least 4m and at least 25,000 units of a car with the same form (excluding bumpers) must have been manufactured in 12 months. The car may have a relatively small cabin volume.

Modifications to the floor (tunnel and rear area) front and rear wheel housings (including the fenders) necessary for adoption of a 4WD powertrain are permitted. The car’s overall width may be increased (relative to that of the production model) up to 1,770 mm. (Its overall length may not be increased.) A rear spoiler and a front airdam may be added.

The engine’s bore, stroke, and other specifications may be changed freely, but the cylinder block and cylinder head may not be replaced with those of another engine. Cooling-system parts including the intercooler may be changed freely. Holes may be made in the front bumper and hood (within limits).

The rear suspension may be changed to another type (example technologies: MacPherson struts, trailing arms, rigid suspension.

Maybe GM will bring in SAAB. :p

If GM brought SAAB into Nascar, then I would probably watch it a couple of times just to see what my car's manufacture is capable of. I dont ever watch Nascar because of all the same cars but I can actually picture a 9-3 or 9-5 made into a stock car and it would look pretty good and stand out in the crowd. :sunglasse

maybe it will get more interesting, the whole go around in a circle thing kinda bores me...bring in the BMW's while they are at it.

Road course racing is great and all, but only from a driver's perspective. As a spectator, road racing gets boring after the first few laps in most of its current iterations. NASCAR road races keep things interesting by putting the whole course under the standard NASCAR caution procedure if there's a wreck or problem. What F1 and GT racing lack is equalization of the field at any point during the race. F1 is fun to watch on TV for about ten seconds, and then the Ferarris run away and nobody ever passes anyone again. The only way to really gain position after the first ten seconds of the race is to pray that the leader spins out or loses an engine. F1 is an engineering race. The SCCA club racing gets some better close-action wheel-to-wheel in, but the races are very short, relatively speaking. I love the NASCAR system; it provides a variety of different environments ranging from two-mile restrictor plate draft races (driver vs. physics) to 1.5 mile tri-ovals (crew chief & driver vs. crew chief & driver) to 1.33 mile ovals (Darlington... like no other) to half-mile short tracks (driver vs. driver) to road races (driver vs. track). I'm looking forward to NASCAR's trek into Mexico next year with the Busch series at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. I love the NASCAR road races. You get all the drama of NASCAR and all the skill of making a three and a half thousand pound car make a hairpin.

I think it will bring positive compition to the sport, beside s NASCAR signed a deal with Eibach Springs, hah.

NO!Nascar should pull Toyota(really called Toylet) out the truck series now.Nascar is an American sport and do not any Japanese junk into nascar.

lol i see we have alot of rice burner fans on here lol,if nascar ever lets all this diferent cars or trucks in the sport nextel cup will die watch young people all you young people think about is speed not skill .

I do think, though, that NASCAR should require Toyota to actually put the motor in a production car, like it requires Ford and Chevy and Dodge to do.

I hope that's sarcasm, SabreKhan, because NASCAR doesn't require that the engines the manufacturers use be production examples.

Ford hasn't produced an OHV V8 in a road car since 1997 when the 4.6L Modular family phased out the 5.0L engine.

The Chevrolet NASCAR engine is a proprietary NASCAR design known as the SB2 that uses a very radical cylinder head design that is reminscent of the infamous Porcupine head used on the infamous "Mystery Motor" 427 of 1963.

The Dodge engine is derived from their 410ci Mopar sprint car engine and shares nothing in common with the current small block Hemi. In fact, NASCAR banned hemispherical heads some time ago (mid-1970's, I believe).

Production #'s, not road-going necessarily. Last I heard, they had to produce a certain number of the motor each year for it to qualify. Chevy and Ford and Dodge put the block in so many racecars and old cars that they qualified, but Toyota had nothing comparable. I'm not sure what the requirement was that they waived for Toyota, exactly, but it had to do with the "stock"-ness of the motor and the numbers produced.

EDIT: I did research on this question, and it turns out that the motors Chevy and Ford use are required to be similar in design to a certain number of production motors produced in the recent past. Since Chevy and Ford have been building racecars since the dawn of time, that worked out well. Dodge and Toyota got to build their own motors from a clean slate for the first year, which stirred up controversy. Dodge ended up using a design similar to those in its old NASCARs, which ducked under the controversy, and since it still builds a ton of "similar" motors nobody cares. Toyota has nothing even close in any of its racecars or street vehicles, so they got to start from scratch, which ticked off a lot of the existing NASCAR teams. Now that they've got a design approved, though, they have to conform to the same basic principle (ie, they can't change the design significantly from year to year). They still don't have the motor production numbers of the Big Three, though, so they don't have to conform to the same production # rules.
Cliff's Notes: You can go order a Chevy/Dodge/Ford NASCAR block from your local dealer. You cannot go order a TRD motor like that.

NO!Nascar should pull Toyota(really called Toylet) out the truck series now.Nascar is an American sport and do not any Japanese junk into nascar.
Let me guess you think imports shouldn't be allowed in the country either? Persoannly the more competation u can have in a series the better. Hell i'm personally waiting for Nissan,Honda to think/make the jump. Better ? when is toyota going to make the nextel/busch plunge. When the announced the truck they said maybe 3-5 years to get the engine program running.

Plus, some of the big 3 "American" manufacturers aren't truly American. As it pains me to admit to this fact, Dodge, member of DAIMLERChrysler, is not all American as it used to be. Now, it's part German. So in a sense, Toyota's jump to NASCAR, is not the first foreign manufacturer to race in the series, Mercedes-Benz had a share in the racing series since the late 90s.

Toyota is rumored to unveil its Busch series vehicle later this year. I can't wait to see it. I wonder if they'll run the Camry or the Avalon?

The probably are going to run Camry's b/c it's a more popular car for most people. Though, I read somewhere that NASCAR mandates that the cars have to be at least 200 inches in length, so, Toyota will have to do some mods to the Camry stock car because the overall length of a Camry (passenger car) is only 189.6 inches. Ford's doing the same thing next year when they race the Fusion, the replacement to the Taurus.

BMW, Mercedes, Citroen, Fiat, Daewoo should all be allowed to run in NASCAR...it's about time they expanded globally.

Fiat,Citroen no b/c they dont' ahve cars here. I think u should atleast sell so many here not make like it is now. But if nascar expands to a global market i see there racing series changing to add more road course races. I love NASCAR but if its supposed to be the best in america i think the need more road course racing and maybe 1 or 2 dirt races like tony stewart said.

Dirt races would be awesome!!! :eek: I do think they should still require them to be built in America, though. Luckily for Honda, Toyota, BMW, and Mercedez, they already have American factories. Is the Fusion the same as the Montego/500? Toyota sells as many Avalons as Chevy sells MonteCarlos, so it wouldn't be hard to see them racing it.

.....Can't wait to see honda in Nascar :lol:

.....Can't wait to see honda in Nascar :lol:

Then all the ricers will be putting a 4.5" tall spoiler on their cars instead of those ridiculous wings.

We can only hope.

Dirt races would be awesome!!! :eek: I do think they should still require them to be built in America, though. Luckily for Honda, Toyota, BMW, and Mercedez, they already have American factories. Is the Fusion the same as the Montego/500? Toyota sells as many Avalons as Chevy sells MonteCarlos, so it wouldn't be hard to see them racing it.

The Ford Fusion is based on the Mazda 6 platform, completly different from the Ford 500/Mercury Montego

Then maybe it will be a worthwhile car! That Mazda6 is actually a pretty nice ride.

Then all the ricers will be putting a 4.5" tall spoiler on their cars instead of those ridiculous wings.
Lol that and side exhuasts i think i might have a idea for my next photoshop proejct.

Also What do u think bout Honda's new truck you think it might be there are thinking bout doing the truck series??

WHERES NISSIAN :(

Ridgeline will undoubtedly make its way into the NCTS. It hasn't been announced, but it's been rumored for some time.

some people in here need to get over there loyalties... and stop thinking that their fav brand of car is better than everything else.the reason nascar still uses the engine they do is because of tradition, but i could see that changing slightly. now i personally would love to see other manufacturers in nascar, that would mean more competition which would force the companies there now to invest more money or get blown away. i think it would be good for the sport , car manufacturers, and the consumers.

I would like to see them allow v6's and v10's and make them even by tuning and detuning. Each engine would have advantages and disadvantages and the races would be more about driving and less about budweiser.

that takes away the tradition of NASCAR, an everyday passenger car with a big V8 engine. There may be those who favor that, but 90% of loyal NASCAR fans from the deep south would not like that. I'm not biased, but a 358 cu. in. V8 is makes enough power. Plus, all the other manufacturers, Ford, Dodge & Chevy are all even, so adding addtional engines is just added expense.

I don't think think that these cars are everyday passengers cars. They are just metal cages with bodies to hold advertisements

Why do u all keep saying southern ppl. You do realize a recent servuy showd that is it almost 50/50 in the U.S. Yes you can't agure thats were it started, but its not that way ne more. More and more tracks going away from the south, to the west,north. New york building a new track. Also look at the Mexico and Japan races they have used to have. They sold out to HUGE crowds. I don't mean to sound like a A** but just wanted to make a point.

I agree, today's stock cars are far from stock. But it's all about tradition. I'm a southerner myself, born and raised in Dothan, AL and even though I live in Orlando, FL, racing is real popular. When Speedweeks were going on in Daytona, it's amazing to see how many people coming for the race. It doesn't matter if they're racing in the backhills of Tennessee or the bright sun of California, racing is racing; we all just come from different parts of the world. Getting back to the issue of asking is Toyota in NASCAR is a good thing, I'm optimistic and think it is. The reason why Nissan and Honda don't jump into it is because it's no real big incentive for them, plus they'd rather stick with CART, IRL, etc. that's where they get money from their racing programs.

I would like to see them allow v6's and v10's and make them even by tuning and detuning. Each engine would have advantages and disadvantages and the races would be more about driving and less about budweiser.


i must say that is a very very interesting idea, i never thought about that. i dont know how feasable that is though, and it goes against tradition which nascar is based on, but then again with all the corporate crap their doing now its starting to look like they dont give a shit about tradition. for christs fucking sake the brickyard 400 is no longer the brickyard 400!! i attend that race... i dont even know if i want to anymore. i do kinda like the idea of allowing ohc engines tho.

TheStang00, I agree, NASCAR is losing its roots. I mean, who would've ever imagined them doing away with the Southern 500? Now, they race Darlington under the lights? What's the next track to get the hook? Why did they can North Wilkesboro? Thompson Speedway? Bowman-Gray? Now "The Rock"? Money does make the world go round, but whatever happened to the good 'ol days when guys would get their cars and get them to go as fast as they could with whatever money they could find?

Guys like Richard Petty, The Allison Brothers, Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Issac, Buddy Baker, etc. those guys are a key part of this sport's history and I wonder what they think about all this growth. Personally, I'm disappointed in the direction they are taking. Their taking the fun out of NASCAR. I guess NASCAR has conformed to the 21st Century and there's no turning back. Onward with marketing & technology (sigh)!

no toyota in nascar, its an american sport made for the american cars.
plus nascar is getting to publisized. to many rulz now. let'em race take the plates off let the drivers decide how fast they can handle. JMO