It's Time To Tell NASCAR How We Feel About Toyota

http://insiderracingnews.com/dt060403.html ^

[Provost-Marshal]

It's Time To Tell NASCAR How We Feel About Toyota

By Denise Thompson

June 4, 2003

I cannot believe what I have been hearing, and reading.

Much to the dismay of some fans, it looks like Toyota is going to get the chance to compete in the American sport of NASCAR.

I belong to several NASCAR fans private groups online and can honestly say that the majority of these fans are not just in shock at this news, but are as mad as Tony Stewart and his crew chief, Greg Zippadeli, were when NASCAR confiscated Stewart's Home Depot Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway earlier in April. Now it's come to light that NASCAR has given that car to the Japanese to help them produce a Toyota race car.

However, NASCAR has denied that Stewart's car was ever given to anyone and stated that the car is still in the R & D shop. If what NASCAR says is true, then why is Stewart and Zippadeli upset with NASCAR?

There are two reasons why most of the fans don't want to see Toyota in NASCAR.

The first reason: During World War II, not only did some of these fans lose a grandfather, husband, dad, uncle, brother, cousin and or a dear friend, while other fans may have a loved one that is or was permanently injured, as losing their eye sight or even a limb if not two, during the sneak attack on our American troops, that fateful day on December 7, 1941 known as "The Attack at Pearl Harbor." The Japanese brutally killed our boys on the march to Bataan, on Mount Suribachi in Iwo Jima, as well as the P.O.W. camps, our American soldiers were brutally murdered and dismembered. It's not that we Americans hold a grudge, it's just the Japanese have never apologized to the United States for any of these cowardly acts.

Don't get me wrong, we realize that the Dodge's are now a German vehicle (Daimler owns 51% while Chrysler owns 49%), and we don't mind having foreign cars in NASCAR such as the Dodge, but it was first an American manufactured vehicle. The fans just don't want to see any foreign made cars in NASCAR.

Secondly: Traditionally this sport was based in the south and has traveled throughout the United States. Drivers like Ned Jarrett, Lee Petty, Ralph Earnhardt and Curtis Turner, just to mention a few, began this sport on the beaches of Florida and North Carolina, as well as dirt tracks in North Carolina. This sport has been passed from generation to generations of American families. What happened to the tradition of this sport? This is what the fans are asking. Why does Mike Helton or even Bill France have the right to change that? Looking at the whole picture, if Toyota is allowed to race in NASCAR, what's next? Are we going to open the door to Italy, France, Russia, China, or the rest of the world. Where does it end? Does this sport go International? Will we be actively looking for foreign drivers? Will NASCAR be building tracks in other countries?

No longer will NASCAR be an American sport. Like so many other things we have lost, it's time for the fans to stand up and fight for this by letting NASCAR know how we feel about it.

I am speaking on behalf of the majority of the NASCAR fans, We do not want Toyota or any other foreign made car in the sport of NASCAR. We want to keep the tradition and we want to keep NASCAR the way it is right now, today.

Many fans have fallen in love with the sport. Don't let NASCAR or anyone else take it away from us. You can contact NASCAR at the following address:

NASCAR 1801 W. International Speedway Blvd. Daytona Beach, Florida 32114

[breakem]

Uh and how do "we" feel about Toyota?

[ColdSteelTalon]

What fun to mention is that both Toyota and NASCAR pay Jesse Jackson hush money.

[mitchbert]

Totally agree. Besides, Toyota has a lot of racing experience in other formats and there's no doubt in my mind they can bring something to the party. Besides, the Japanese generally love American sports when they get a chance to be exposed to it and there's a huge established base of racing fans there already. Can't see a downside, personally.

[m18436572]

series? In that case I'll pass on the Toyoda. Aside from that, you'll have a hard time getting a job with Toyota or Nissan if you are'nt a minority.

[kevkrom]

Recently looked at buying a Toyota Sequoia, full-size SUV.

I love mine. It's a bit unwieldy in a parking lot, but a smooth ride, lots of space (I'm a big guy, so that's very important to me), and still gets me 16-17 MPG with a full-size V8. Not much towing capacity, but that's its only real drawback.

[rattrap]

actually F1 cars turn just under 4 g's in the hardest turns on the circuits, you can look at formula1.com and get the speed and g info for every turn on every course.

as far as driving goes, the top nascar drivers are good drivers but i'd like to see one turn a 100+ mph lap at monaco like JPM was last weekend. formula 1 is the pinacle of motorsports from engineer to pit crew to driver, hands down

[kevkrom]

NASCAR is to auto racing as donkey basketball is to the NBA.

I'd rather watch donkey basketball than today's NBA.

[Guillermo]

The Japanese love everything American. Japan is one of our closest allies on this earth.

The same people bitching about Toyota getting into NASCAR likely bitched when Reagan lowered tarrifs on Japanese imports, thus SAVING American manufacturers. Remember how crappy American cars used to be?

[kevkrom]

There's a little more to an afternoon at Bristol than just turning G's.

True, plus those F1 guys will forget where they are and hit the brakes hard every time they reach a corner...

[coder2]

oh, I wish I could do that... LOL !!!

[longtermmemmory]

Yes they are because the PROFITS are going to the USA. Why did france and germany push for contracts in exchange for cooperation? The profits would go home.

Labor is not as big a issue for the japanese makers because they bring they parts suppliers to the USA. As for canada, canada is for all intents and purposes a subsidiary of USA inc. ( http://www.unitednorthamerica.org for a site which proposes the canadian provinces elect to become states of the USA. neat little animation on homepage)

Rolls Royce and Bently are owned by BMW and Volkswagen respectivly, those profits are no longer english, they go to germany.

For any corporation doing business away from home, it has an advantage in threatening to leave and take the jobs of voters with them unless they get favorable tax breaks, incentives, and political advantage.

[RipSawyer]

It is true that I haven't driven much in the north but I have driven fifty miles at a stretch on solid frozen rain right here in SC but not at a forty five degree angle to the verticle. I have started from a dead stop going uphill on solid ice on a fairly steep upgrade by putting the car in gear and letting the engine idle and stepping outside and pushing until it started to roll slightly and then jumping back in. It is amazing what a plain old rear wheel drive car will do if you push it to its limits. We used to drive up and down hills on clay mud that was almost as slippery as ice and the secret is to go as fast as you dare downhill and then ease up on the accelerator every time the wheels start to spin going up the next hill. If you handle it just right you keep dropping speed until you top the next hill just before you completely lose traction and stop.
I have seen people get stuck with four wheel drive vehicles in conditions not as bad as what we used to drive through on a regular basis with a two wheel drive. Of course, if snow or mud is really deep there is no substitute for ground clearance.

[biblewonk]

Are you suggesting that the rail (passenger and freight) industry wasn't demolished by free market forces, but that the federal government intervened and propped up the trucking and bus industries by subsidizing the construction of the interstates, and by enforcing draconian anti-trust regulations on the railroads?

Not passenger at all, freight.

[bert]

....There are two reasons why most of the fans don't want to see Toyota in NASCAR......

Is one of them Datsun?

Perhaps like SCCA members who saw Datsun come to dominate the SCCA circuit they don't want a repeat.

[rintense]

Agreed. I've had my Toyota for 12 years and 146,000 later, it still looks and runs good. If Toyota wants in NASCAR, let them. A new competitor may spark some excitement in the sport.

[Tribune7]

I'm happy with my '99 Ranger. Of course, it only has about 30,000 or so miles on it.

[coder2]

Thanks !

We're looking at a 2000 Ranger with approx 28K miles... They want $10K for it... Pretty basic, no power windows/locks (which is fine)...

I guess my thought of getting a nice p/u about $5k is really out-of-date... LOL

[NYFriend]

Everyone is forgeting something. In NASCAR, "stock" used to mean "from the dealer", then it meant "if the company sold 500 of them", then it meant "if the company sold them", now it means "the same as the others". IF, and it is an if, the Toyoda's had an advantage (say aero.), NASCAR would find a way to take it away, either by changing the Toyotas or giving everyone else something.

BTW, remember that after Ford dropped the Thunderbird, they were going to be out of NASCAR, until NASCAR said that a 4-door that otherwise could meet their size requirments was ok. Nowadays, I think eveything that races NASCAR is only available as a FWD 6 cyl, despite the fact that Winston Cup cars are all RWD 8's.

[pnz1]

That would be pretty interesting..

[m1911]

I'm with you on the rattles, metal & vinyl, but the 2.3 could be made to go with work, and the gymkhana suspension (with some tweaking by a buddy) was a joy in the twisty bits. I never drove a 5.0 model, but in a glorified Pinto, the must fly.