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Will Toyota make an impact this year in Nascar?

  • Yes, but will not win any races.

    Votes: 3 11.5%

  • Yes, and will win at least one race.

    Votes: 15 57.7%

  • No, it will be a repeat of last year.

    Votes: 3 11.5%

  • Toyota in Nascar, are you serious?

    Votes: 5 19.2%
  • Total voters
    26
  • Poll closed .
Doug Jones said:
What is there, three more open wheel racers moving to Nascar this year I think?
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Probably won't matter this year: it takes them awhile to get their heads around the idea that constant contact isn't fatal.

That said, if Paul Tracy jumps to NASCAR, watch out: his normal style makes Montoya look tentative by comparison.
 
scott spencer said:
...too many "Jean-Claude-Deledominquez Peitrontoni's" around...

:soapbox:
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Hey, Jean-Claude-Deledominquez Peitrontoni is my main man, buddy. Watch your tongue. :rofl:

I've not kept up with NASCAR for a few years, but I used to enjoy watching the occasional race on a Sunday afternoon. (Back before my Sunday afternoons were consumed with shop or yard time.) I've also attended a few CART road races (Long Beach Grand Prix) and the inaugural CART race at the California Speedway in Fontana. In each of these cases, I was a guest of a buddy who did the whole race thing in the motorhome on the infield at the edge of the track, with scanners and headphones for all. I seem to recall there were a few beers involved too, but I don't remember for certain. :rolleyes: It was a fun way to watch a race, although at the Fontana race, the cars never slowed down enough to tell one from the other. They were moving by so fast (and we were right on the edge of the track) it was honestly difficult to tell if the car that just flashed by was the red one with white trim, or the white one with red trim. At least at Long Beach they had to slow down for the turns. :)

Oh, and as to the original poll question, I don't know what impact Toyota might have on NASCAR, but I will say that over the past couple or three years I've become more and more impressed with Toyota products.
 
Last night they had a thing on CMT about rednecks. It was a comedy so no one take offense to this please, the acronym for NASCAR is Non Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks.

Yeah, I don't like acronyms either.:rofl:

I've been to Michigan International Sppedway about 5 times, I was there the day the front wheel came off the Indy Car and went up into the stands killing several people. My son and I were in the infield in the suites, but my friend Bruce (who I built the birdseye Maple bookcase for) sat in the very stands that the wheel flew into and witnessed the event......sad day.

One thing that amazes me is how you are so squished together with others, and how they bad mouth a driver or drivers the whole time...when that driver won the very fans doing the badmouthing reched into their bags, pulled out that drivers T-shirt and put it on....never saw so many Jeff Gordon t-shirts as I did exiting the stands that day.

I quit going a few years ago, the place is a madhouse to try and get out of....might as well take a hour nap and then drive out versus fight the crowd right after the race.
 
Steve, I’d love to go to the Charlotte race, it’s one of my favorite tracks. We’ve been to TMS & PIR a few times. Might make it to LVMS this year...
And you're right, the crowds can be a lot of fun and pain in the butt, all at the same time.
 
I've been a racing fan (all types and venues... cars, boats, planes, motorcycles) since I can remember (5 or 6 years old maybe). And I still watch and follow NASCAR, but for me the sport lost something when they started the restrictor plates. I fully understand the desire (and need) to keep the drivers and spectators safe, but there are ways they could have slowed the cars down w/o creating the bunch-up problems that RPs cause (lower compression engines, etc.). And I think the COT (now stands for Car of Today;)) dilutes the venue. I want to be able to recognize a model I can buy from the dealer. This is also true with the cars of the last several years with all the templates they had to use. I know NASCAR is trying to "level" the playing field, but I don't like it. If GM, Dodge or any other manufacturer designs a car that moves through the air better (and thus gains an advantage) more power to them. It started as "stock car" racing and only became less so in the last 10 years or so. That's why they award manufacturer's points, isn't it? But Ford started whining b/c GM and Dodge had a more aerodynamic design making Ford less compeitive. So let's penalize the other makers b/c one can't seem to get their stuff together. There have been years that Ford had a better platform, but you didn't hear the others whining. They simply created better designs and these were reflected in the showrooms. Ah, the old days. Okay, I feel better now.

Oh, while I don't blame the IRL (and other drivers) for wanting to move to NASCAR (larger following and now better money), I'm not all that thrilled about it. John Paul Willreckya only gets in the way and needs to keep his aggressive style to the open wheels cars. That said, I think Danica may be the first female to actually have what it takes to be successful in NASCAR, should she decide to make the move, but only time will tell. Years ago I thought Lyn St. James might be successful, but she never made the move.
 
More than we know

Winning a race is one form of impact, but another that many don't know about is engine spec/requirements. Toyota never produced a "stock" push rod engine that could be used for racing. Engine design for NASCAR is being changed to some extent because of Toyota's entry into the sport.

I don't know all of the specifics, but I can get answers if any one wants more. My son works for a company that builds engines for some of the teams.

Frank
 
Bruce Page said:
Several million...
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Actually, I know that. NASCAR is huge, no doubt. It's not my thing. Very boring. I do enjoy some car racing. When I was in the U.K., during my service years, I went to closed circuit road races. Very much fun to watch. The English mixed classes of cars during a run. So, you had big cars and little cars and some in between. There were several 'winners'. But the racing was real and definitely made for spectator interest. Later I went to similar races in the U.S. and photographed several. But, the NASCAR, where all the vehicles are nearly clones and held to almost the same speeds, is not a 'race' in my books. Like I said, boring. As for the Toyota thing. Stock car racing does have a uniquely American heritage and I can understand some would rankle at the entry of a Japanese car.
 
Boy, that is one sport that I really have to agree with Frank on. The LOML has gone nuts over the NASCAR thing since one of her friends gave her tickets three yrs ago, (no, I didn't go). For me, I'd just as soon sit and watch rush hour traffic in Houston or Dallas. I used to enjoy Drag and Road Racing myself when I was a Teen Ager, but just never could get into it as a spectator. ('course some of my Pilot friends thought I was crazy because I never wanted to go to the Reno Air Races Either).:rolleyes: Not a big Horse Race fan either. I guess I just get bored watching things go round and round.:D
 
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