Toyota’s NASCAR success translates to car sales
When Toyota steered into NASCAR national series racing in 2004 by dipping its toes into the Camping World Truck Series, racing fans didn’t surge forward to offer an enthusiastic welcome.
In fact, many were appalled that a car manufacturer based outside U.S. borders would be allowed to join what traditionally was a motor sports form reserved for American car builders. Although many Toyotas are built in the U.S., the idea that a foreign-based brand would be racing against fullfledged American steel such as that found in Fords and Chevrolets irritated some fans.
Although some anti-Toyota sentiment remains (there are anti-Toyota T-shirts with images and language you probably won’t encounter in church), the manufacturer has settled into a state of normalcy in NASCAR circles.
Toyota entered the Cup series in 2007, scored its first race win in 2008 and won its first and only driving title — by Kyle Busch — in 2015.
Although car manufacturers typically go racing for a number of reasons, including enhancing understanding of car performance and testing of potential production-car pieces, the bottom line is moving cars out of showrooms and into driveways. And that goal, say Toyota officials, is being reached.
“Obviously, we like motor sports, but we entered NASCAR because we felt that not all of its tens of millions of loyal and passionate fans had us on their consideration list,” Toyota Motorsports general manager Keith Dahl told USA TODAY Sports. “We thought this would be a way to interact and engage with fans and hopefully enhance their experience in the sport and, in doing so, end up with some positive results.”
Dahl said Toyota success on track has led to sales success.
“The trend has been upward and that trend has increased even more rapidly over the past 18 months or so as we won the driver championship and the manufacturer championship,” he said.
Dahl said Toyota has conducted telephone and Internet fan surveys since its arrival in NASCAR. The topic of fan acceptance of the manufacturer has been among the issues addressed.
“Most fans recognize that we make most of the cars we sell here,” he said. “We’re deeply involved in America. And I think the championship and the greater awareness they have of us being in the sport leads them to recall and understand the attributes that we’ve asked them about.
“When you have tens of millions of fans, there’s a bell curve, but I think we have shifted the bulk of that curve toward overall acceptance in the sport.”
A circle of sorts was closed within the Toyota community in January when the car builder’s 2018 production Camry model was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show alongside the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Camry — an extremely public demonstration of Toyota’s commitment to stock car racing.
It was a big moment for Toyota Racing Development President David Wilson.
“It was unprecedented that we had an unveiling of our new production model in concert with the unveiling of our NASCAR Cup car,” he said. “I got goosebumps to see that. It was very emotional because it spoke to the commitment that our company makes toward racing and toward NASCAR specifically.”