Toyota earns first ever NASCAR win
Remember when Joe Gibbs Racing dropped Chevy for Toyota last September? Not only did Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin trade in their bow tie stickers for an adhesive Camry grille, but Toyota gained some serious driving talent. The move has paid off quickly for Toyota, which just scored its first NASCAR win thanks to Denny Hamlin, who won the second Gatorade Duel qualifying race in Daytona yesterday thanks to his teammate Tony Stewart, who finished in Second Place. Stewart was able to both give Hamlin push and hold off a charging Jeff Gordon to give Hamlin the win. It's not a points race, but with Hamlin taking the checkered flag and Stewart the No. 2 spot, it means there'll be three Toyotas in the first three rows of the Daytona 500 this weekend.
In other NASCAR news, Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued his comeback by winning the first Gatorade Duel qualifying race yesterday. Add that to his victory in the Bud Shootout earlier this week, and it's clear that Junior has regained an edge he lost during his many year driving for DEI. Jaqcues Villeneuve, meanwhile, who made his NASCAR debut in trucks late last year, crashed his Toyota during the second Gatorade Duel yesterday and took out three other cars. You know what they say, rubbin's racing!
[Source: Autosport via Winding Road, Photo by Nick Laham/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Shipey 11:32AM (2/15/2008)
Ford, Dodge, Chevy, Toyota... its just a sticker either way. Talk about badge engineering!
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Brian 11:33AM (2/15/2008)
I wonder where the get the engine from, Toyota doesn't even make a pushrod engine. Dodge & Chevy still do.
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Mr. Oak 11:35AM (2/15/2008)
Hooray!! The farce that is NASCAR. This car was a Chevy last season. When Joe Gibbs Racing switched camps to Toyota, they literally cut the Impala nose off and grafted the Camry nose on.
Sure they are going to win races, after all,Toyota went out and bought one of the leading Chevy teams.
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Dustin 11:38AM (2/15/2008)
Didn't Hamlin start from the back? Seems like a big deal to me, but then again I'm not too familiar with NASCAR.
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Mr. Oak 11:46AM (2/15/2008)
Worked from home yesterday and actually watched that snooze fest.
With only 26 cars in the race, and folks protecting their cars for the 500, you could win one of the 150s from the parking lot.
Gibbs Racing basically took all of their Chevy knowledge over to Toyota.
NECKCar really needs to get back to production based race cars.
Brill 11:44AM (2/15/2008)
the new Chevy engine R07 (maybe?) was the first time GM had a engine just for nascar. in terms of being based on production, nothing in nascar is, so its not different then something like F1 and none of those engines are production in any of their road cars. though and enzo with a 18,000 rpm red line would be sweet.
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Mr. Oak 11:49AM (2/15/2008)
Brill, the difference is, F1 doesn't decieve the public by giving their race cars standard production street car names.
calebe 11:52AM (2/15/2008)
eh, NAS(TY)CAR racing became pointless years ago
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MemphisNET 11:48AM (2/15/2008)
When Toyota starts making an affordable RWD coupe or sedan, I'll start caring about what they're doing in mosport. In fact, it doesn't even have to be RWD... there's nothing about Toyota that is exciting (to these eyes). Not anymore anyway... days of Supra and AE86's are long gone.
Win on Sunday buy.... a Corolla on Monday?
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geo.stewart 1:11PM (2/15/2008)
I dont think anyone outside their front office is deceived so I wouldnt go using that as your excuse to bash.
KMB 11:55AM (2/15/2008)
Your title is completely wrong, and it is misleading to fans everywhere. Toyota has been winning races for years with NASCAR. Todd Bodine won the NASCAR Truck championship in a Toyota. NASCAR is more than just the Cup series. It is short track racing all across the country, regional racing series, trucks, B series and such. Talk to most fans today, and they think, thanks to the media, that what they see on Sunday is NASCAR. It's not. It's Cup racing. Sanctioned by NASCAR. Iin New England, there are a handful of tracks that run under the NASCAR sanction. Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Late models, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, and more, all are NASCAR. Get your stories straight.
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info 11:56AM (2/15/2008)
What a farce! Cookie cutter yestertech cars with interchangeable manufacturer logos attached. NASCAR is a bad joke.
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VP 11:56AM (2/15/2008)
NASCAR is pointless, yet all of you make a point to come here and tell us all that. If you have something to say about Chevy, toyota or Denny Hamlin please be here. If not we don't need you to come here and tell us it's pointless.
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Otsego_Undead 11:59AM (2/15/2008)
the phrase "shake and bake" comes to mind.
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Brill 12:09PM (2/15/2008)
Mr. Oak
anyone who follows it, they know its not based on anything in production. if you dont know that, ythey probably are not a race fan in general, and in the end could care less. i dont think they are trying to decieve anyone, its marketing for GM, Ford, Dodge and Toyota, so they can put whatever name they want on there. but thats just my .02
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Mercury Mountaineer 06 12:09PM (2/15/2008)
In my opinion NASCAR died February 18, 2001.
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Justin 12:19PM (2/15/2008)
So when is trd going to sell me a pushrod v8 crate motor again?
Oh right...
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Martman 12:27PM (2/15/2008)
So someone please fill me in. Is this a toyota car and chassis? I do not follow NASCAR, but I was wondering what Toyota is using for the drive train.
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Travis Rassat 1:13PM (2/15/2008)
The engine is a Toyota-developed race engine built specifically for this purpose. It is carbureted and is a push rod design. Beyond that, the rest of the chassis and drivetrain is the same as what can be found in the other brands:
1. The chassis is a completely custom tube chassis based on a 110" wheelbase
2. The front suspension is a double-wishbone setup
3. The rear suspension is a trailing arm setup
4. I'm not sure what transmission is used (Jericho is one that has been used, but I don't know if they still are), but they all use a 4 speed, and when Joe Gibbs Racing made the switch, they kept their same transmissions
5. The rear end is a straight axle - it used to usually be a Ford 9", but I think that has evolved to the use of different quick-change rear ends.
6. Brakes are cast-iron or steel discs all around
7. There is no traction control or other electronic driving aids (well, there is traction control in use, but it's not legal...)
I hope that answers your question - basically, there aren't any parts from any stock Toyota vehicle, but the same can be said for the other manufacturers as well, with the exception of Ford which may still run an engine block based on a factory block. I'm not sure about that, though.
Nonetheless, because of the rules and specifically the new car, the cars are very similar from manufacturer to manufacturer. The only changes Joe Gibbs Racing had to make to switch to Toyota was to swap out the nose, the stickers, and the engine. Prior to the introduction of the new car, the hood, decklid and roof panels were supposed to be factory-supplied parts.
Brad Kempeny 12:43PM (2/15/2008)
amen brother, been saying that for years.
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