Automakers adjust their marketing strategy with NASCAR

Automakers adjust their marketing strategy in NASCAR, replacing four-door sedans with sporty new faces based on Mustang, Camaro and Supra

Toyota’s new Supra sports car won’t hit showrooms until next summer, but it will hit the racetrack a lot sooner, making its debut at Daytona Speedweeks in January, when it competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Raceway in Florida.

This is big news for Toyota, which is bringing back the Supra name after an absence of more than two decades. Clearly, the automaker is looking to make a statement with the latest incarnation of its longlost halo car.

Still, the NASCAR announcement was something of a surprise from Toyota, which has exclusively campaigned race versions of the Camry sedan in the NAS- CAR’s top-two divisions: the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series; and the Xfinity Series, the NASCAR equivalent of AAA baseball.

That said, the timing couldn’t be better for Toyota. Chevrolet replaced the SS sedan with the Camaro ZL1 in the Cup Series this season and in 2019, Ford Motor Co. will race the Mustang in Cup instead of the Fusion it has promoted since 2006. Ford, which already campaigns the Mustang in the Xfinity Series, introduced the 2019 Cup version in early August prior to the NASCAR race at Michigan International Speedway.

So all three manufacturers that race in NASCAR will have at least one car based on a two-door street model in competition next season. Bear in mind that, other than new nose treatment, there are few physical differences between the Camry racecar and the upcoming Supra. Or the Mustang and Fusion. NASCAR strictly limits car specifications to be consistent across its various series.

The switch to the Mustang was not surprising, given Ford’s announcement earlier this year that it was phasing out almost all of its