Red Bull joins Toyota in NASCAR
Toyota Motorsports have unveiled the first three teams that will run its Camry in Nextel Cup and Busch Series races in 2007: Bill Davis Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and newly-formed Team Red Bull.
BDR brings long-time sponsor Caterpillar, while NAPA remains the primary sponsor for Waltrip. Bill Davis Racing was an early Toyota partner in the Craftsman Truck Series, while former Cup champion Darrell Waltrip is Toyota Motorsports most visible NASCAR spokesman.
Most interesting of the three is Team Red Bull. The entry of the youth-oriented beverage company and all-round adrenalin junkie into NASCAR Nextel Cup racing should shake things up quite a bit, if their impact on the Formula 1 paddock is anything to go by.
No official word on drivers, although Robby Gordon is rumored to be part of the Red Bull equation, and Michael Waltrip is certain to drive the NAPA Camry. More pics after the jump!
[Thanks, dinges!]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
megan d 2:40PM (2/15/2006)
team red bull will suprise everyone. they are in it to win. look at their first tries at F1 which is way more expensive and competitive worldwide than nascar. wait til they announce the driver....you will love it!
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Mike 4:03PM (2/18/2008)
Hey here's a story from the Red Bull Toyata team jackman Shaun Peet.
http://live.orato.com/sports/2008/02/15/i-039-m-83-red-bull-toyota-nascar-jackman
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btkt1623 4:03PM (2/23/2006)
Toyota for nascar is great and should be embraced by the nascar community.
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Dale Jackson 1:23AM (2/26/2006)
Nascar has become all about politics and commercialism and almost nothing to do about racing in recent years. Toyotas entry into nascar is a sign of the end to a once great American racing organization. It really comes down to the team with the most money will win the chase for the cup. Seriously, when has Toyota built a pushrod V8 sedan? Thats right, never. The reality is Toyota can flood the Cup race with Camerys and win races simply by number of cars in the field. In nascar racing there is vary little difference between the Ford and the Toyota. Its really just only the money behind them. In 2007 well see how has the most.
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NAPA 9:36PM (4/18/2007)
Michael Waltrip, we've been trying to contact you but you haven't returned our phone calls. Normally we would wait to talk to you at the track but you're never there. Would you PLEASE contact Accounts Payable to settle this invoice concerning five unused hospitality tents dating back to late February. Please ask for Renee, ext.29404 Thank you. P.S. The tent company wants to know should they bother driving all the way out to Arizona this weekend? We weren't sure what to tell them.
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Marobo 9:37PM (4/18/2007)
Mike Waltrip sucks Mike Waltrip is a loser
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Jaimie B 7:18PM (1/25/2006)
Red Bull on a Toyota is more like it. Looks like a match made in heaven. It's as appropriate as Bud/Coors/Miller on a Ford/Chevy.
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idave101 8:12PM (1/25/2006)
Red Bull and Vodka (RBV) is a drink from the gods. Try it with "Vox" brand vodka (not the flavored ones) and you'll have a new favorite drink.
Directions:
2 shots Vox Vodka
1 can Red Bull (not sugar free kind)
plenty of ice
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JW 8:51PM (1/25/2006)
thats a bunch of bull crap! toyota in NASCAR! I know people are turning over in their graves! Especially Dale Earnhardt. What next Kia? Toyota needs to stay out of american racing and stick to just making cars.
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Whydrive 9:25PM (1/25/2006)
JW - just like how Europeans can't play basketball right?
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starlightmica 9:45PM (1/25/2006)
Heh. CAT and Camry, the We Hate UAW team car.
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mickster 11:32PM (1/25/2006)
#2 I prefer Kettle One with Red Bull over Vox but I do agree it's a perfect mix (introduced to me at a party, my company sponsored it), by Carson Daly and Topher Grace.
#3 Chrysler is German Owned. GM & Ford build a lot outside of the U.S. and Toyota builds boatloads of Camrys here in the U.S. so your argument is moot. The day when Hyundai or Kia is in NASCAR, we'll all be speaking Chinese or Korean as our national language...
The NASCAR Camry looks better than any of the other vehicles...once again, Toyota trumps the Domestics on their home turf.
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Jeff 11:48PM (1/25/2006)
man, I gotta say the front end on a camry looks fast (the second picture)
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Andy 11:57PM (1/25/2006)
Why on earth did Toyota decide to join NASCAR?? NASCAR is for auto companies who lack the technical expertise to compete in real racing.. You'd never see Ferrari or McLaren in NASCAR. After an admirable season in F1, this is a step back for Toyota.
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Ed 12:26AM (1/26/2006)
Why aren't they using their new 2007 Camry for headlight/grill/taillight design? They aren't gonna race 'til 2007 anyways...
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wally 12:44AM (1/26/2006)
Wishing Toyota same success as in other racing circuits. Winning a few races but never a manufacture championship. That's why they quit other racing circuits.
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YoYo 1:52AM (1/26/2006)
Toyota NASCAR ... awesome.
Red Bull and Caterpiller is a waste.
All I have to say is ... Team Hello Kitty.
Bow down to your new master.
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babj615 2:34AM (1/26/2006)
NASCAR =
National
Association for
Stock
Car
Auto
Racing
NOT INTERNATIONAL....
I think NASCAR is NO LONGER......
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RayRay 4:50AM (1/26/2006)
Wow, this is extremely interesting. I'm pretty sure more people would be looking forward to this since many people in NASCAR are closeminded about international competition. This in fact will probably help NASCAR a great deal in future seasons. Base on what I see in the domestic auto sales, the current cars you see racing will die out, and replacement will be needed. If less and less people are out there buying domestic cars, there might as well be less and less people paying attention to NASCAR.
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Snakebte65 7:06AM (1/26/2006)
Ummmm..... shouldn't Toyota be using the Solara body for the race car? They quit making the 2 door Camry when they rolled out the Solara, just seems to make sense, use the 2 door model for the racer... of course the camry is the flagship model... so I can understand that point... and as far as the Camry not being an american car.... MOST of the camrys sold in the US are built in the US. And let's not forget that they have been partners with GM since the early 80's... they prizm/corolla were, and the vibe/matrix are built at NUMMI, even though the company is still based in Japan, most of their vehicles sold in the US now are built in the US. you can't say that for a lot of the US makers anymore... most of the US plants have moved to Canada and Mexico...
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