Jack Roush vs. Toyota vs. NASCAR

here we go Roush has a point though NASCAR has always been for American Cars and with Toyota coming in Many people are going to see them as invaders in a truly american past time and also they will have a tremendous finacial advantage over the domestics

gmguy111, the NBA and MLB used to only be for white athletes too. Did that make it right?
 
As for budgets, theirs a great article in the January 2007 Motor Trend about Toyota and NASCAR... "Skinner (242 NASCAR Nextel Cup starts since 1986 to his credit) says, "[Toyota] just spends smarter." The Toyota engineers we use are the Toyota engineers for Skinner's truck. "the Toyota engineers we use are the Toyota engineers, period. Those other guys use Gneral Motors and Ford and Dodge engineers, plus they have their own full staff of engineers. Toyota is not just going in there blowing money to buy its way in."
 
 Moreover, "Toyota insists it's giving its teams little if any financial help and will not sponsor a car, thus requiring the teams to seek sponsorship and finance their efforts on their own."

It's not like Toyota has scared anyone in Formula 1.
 
I think a lot of antagonism stems from the fact that no one thinks of Toyota as a racing company, and that this looks like a ploy to become a normal, American company in our minds. (I think that does happen after a company has been in a market long enough, and Toyota in the US really is pretty different than Toyota elsewhere. Here, where we have a Toyota plant locally, that's certainly becoming true.)
 
But let's say Honda did it. They're not interested from a technical standpoint, but let's say they entered NASCAR. I don't think it would seem so strange... all the kids know Hondas have raced Mustangs and all else up and down the country. For a motorsport started by a group of people very similar to street racers, it'd be a natural fit, and an interesting battle. (I just looked up NASCAR's history, and apparently it was never supposed to be about "stock" cars at all, but about heavily modified cars that post-Prohibition bootleggers turned on each other... I'll stop complaining about the lack of stockness.)
 
But Toyota's not really a part of the street racing scene. Their F1 experience is recent and laughable, and their only real racing histories are in rallying and JGTC (touring cars, in Japan), neither of which are really known to Americans. There's no connection between their racing and their road cars either... so they really are misfits in NASCAR. It's pure marketing, the kind no one trusts.

Carlisimo - I beg to differ. Toyota has (or rather, had) two names in the street racing scene. First, the MR2 has always been a quick little sprinter, though not at the top of anyone's wish list. It's more a marvel of MR engineering. Second, they had the Supra. Now, in street racing culture, the Supra is a god for Japan import enthusiasts. It ranks right up there along with the Skyline and the RX-7. Ask any racer with a Honda or a Nissan what their top 5 cars are, and I vouch that the Supra will always be on it. I think you'll be surprised how many Toyota fans there'll be.
 
Does that mean Toyota has the expertise to succeed in NASCAR? I would say not yet. But if the continuous improvement of the Supra reveals any hint of what the future may bring, I'd say Roush does have a reason to be angry.

A good competitor SHOULD only make the domestics get better. I like how agressive Toyota has been over the last decade and it shows in their ever growing market share. What I dont like is their corporate structure/culture, but thats a whole different chapter. When you think of Toyota you dont think of racing heritage or anything dealing with racing. More like a Kenmore dishwasher, its nice, built well, does its job, but BORING!
 
Honda on the other hand has a completely different corporate structure/culture thats simple and efficient, yet advanced like the products they produce and their racing heritage comes out in all of thier vehicles be it a little or a lot.