Toyota officials reflect on first Nextel Cup season
SCENEDAILY.COM
Toyota officials believed they had a realistic idea of what to expect as they entered their first season of NASCAR Nextel Cup competition this year, but at season's end they graded their performance as below expectation.
The manufacturer struggled in 2007. Of its seven full-time entries with three teams, only one managed to break into the top 35 in owners points and finish the season with a guaranteed starting spot in the race each week.
"I would probably give our first season a letter grade of a B-minus," said Jim Aust, vice president of motorsports, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. "We're probably about 14 races behind where I thought we would be. We expected to run in the top 15 by midseason, and we moved in on that at the end of the season. Overall, the consistency picked up, but we still have plenty of work to do in order to compete with the Hendrick, Childress and Roush teams."
Toyota drivers won two poles in the Cup series - Bill Davis Racing's Dave Blaney at New Hampshire International Speedway in June and Michael Waltrip Racing's Michael Waltrip at Talladega in October. Drivers for the manufacturer earned two top-five finishes - Blaney finished third at Talladega in October, and Red Bull Racing's Brian Vickers finished fifth at Lowe's Motor Speedway in May - and 11 top-10 finishes.
Blaney finished the season as the group's top driver, 31st in the driver standings and 34th in the owners points.
The manufacturer, however, will have five drivers guaranteed with starting spots in the 2008 season-opening race. Joe Gibbs Racing is moving its three teams to Toyota, as is Hall of Fame Racing. Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and J.J. Yeley will all be locked in the field, as will Blaney.
Those additions create optimism within the Toyota ranks.
"I think our teams are setting themselves up for success next season," Aust said. "I don't think there is any question that we will get some wins next year, and hopefully the first will come at Daytona. When we looked at our program, we thought that by year three we would be in contention for a championship - and that was before the addition of Joe Gibbs Racing. That's going to be moved ahead by a year now with the addition of that team."
That will boost all of the Toyota teams, since the company has long worked with an all-for-one philosophy. By adding JGR, the entire program expects to improve quickly.
"One of the philosophies that we have tried to embrace - dating back to the start of our NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series program in 2004 - is to get all the teams to work together as best as possible," Aust said. "You're much stronger by sharing information and working as one, as opposed to working as individual organizations. It's not easy because everyone is a competitor. The Gibbs organization has come on board with the outlook that they are willing to share information and work with the other teams.
"As we see that unfold throughout the year, I think we'll see our entire group become stronger. If we can accomplish that, I think we'll have a very successful 2008."
Waltrip, owner of MWR and its three-Cup car operation, thinks that the information sharing will be an immediate asset for his team, which notably struggled in 2007. None of his three teams head to Daytona with a guaranteed starting position.
"There have been meetings on projects we can share with JGR and things we can do to help the learning curve," Waltrip said. "We have a lot of respect for that organization - they've been around a long time and been in contention for and won championships. We really look forward to being able to work with them on projects as we head into 2008."