Toyota will race in Nextel Cup events beginning in 2007, becoming the first foreign competitor in NASCAR's top stock car series since the 1950s.
The Japanese automaker will also run the Busch Series races after the 2006 season, joining Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge.
"Toyota has been an important part of the U.S. motorsports community for almost 25 years," Toyota senior vice president and chief planning officer Dave Illingworth said. "We've competed and won in different series and on tracks across America.
"Toyota drivers and teams have won championships in a variety of different series. But if you want to compete against the best in America, that means NASCAR," he said.
The last foreign manufacturer to participate in NASCAR's top racing series was Jaguar, which entered several races in the 1950s.
The move by Toyota was not a complete surprise. The company moved into NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series in 2004 and quickly became competitive, with Travis Kvapil giving the manufacturer its first win in July of that year.
Toyota raced in several American-based sports car series before moving into open-wheel racing in 1996.
After providing engines for several teams in what was then the CART series from 1996 to 2002, Toyota moved to the rival Indy Racing League, where it won 17 races, including four last year. The highlight for Toyota came when one of its engines powered Gil de Ferran to a victory in the 2003 Indianapolis 500.
The company was scheduled to continue to supply engines for IRL teams through 2006 but decided over the winter to withdraw immediately to concentrate on developing its NASCAR program, leaving Honda, its Japan competitor, as the IRL's only engine supplier for the upcoming season.
Bookmarks