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

[tacticalogic]

Nice to hear that ---- we're looking a a truck for our son, and are wavering between a Ford Ranger and a Toyota...

That still a tossup. The Ranger is a Mazda underneath those Ford emblems.

[toddst]

I don't know what the story is behind NASCAR, but if it's a "private party" they should permit who they want and no one else should have a say.

Yep, you are right. However, if NASCAR alienates the fans, NASCAR will die. There are already problems due IMO to NASCAR over-regulating the sport. Drivers who are aggressive (too much bumping, going below the inside yellow line to complete a pass) are penalized in the name of "safety." With ticket prices high and excessive restrictions on racing we've grown to expect (rubbing those fenders) attendance is off.

Bringing Toyota in is a mistake and will cause a not kind reaction by fans IMO.

[bigfootbob]

I was telepolled 2 years ago by a firm employed by Toyota about the NASCAR issue. They want in. They stress their manufacturing plants in the Midwest and South.

The author is correct. MOPAR, (NASCAR's once vehicle of choice because of the awesome Hemi), is German now. My '77 Corvette had parts from Mexico and Canadastan.

NASCAR's Championship Truck series allow rice burning vehicles. So where's the beef? Afraid of competition, perhaps? Honda and Toyota bring deeeep pockets to the sport, can that be a bad thing? Only if you're a scaredy-cat.

[ericthecurdog]

Bill Davis Racing is being sued by Dodge for giving trade secrets to Toyoda.

[Richard Kimball]

OTOH, I got over 230,000 out of a Chevy pickup, but my Toyota blew the engine at 82,000. I have also found Toyota dealerships to be extremely shady.

[truenospinzone]

"Hold muh beer so's I kin fire off this here eeeee-mail!" alert? "?

[ilgipper]

I see what is happening here....It's all related to Jesse Jackson. He got Toyota to, uh, donate billions to Jackson's organization a couple years ago. Recently, Jackson went after NASCAR, and all of a sudden Toyota is producing stock cars. It's all becoming clear.

[Hatteras]

"...and drive them around in circles?"

Yeah, circles like Indiannapolis.

[RightWhale]

I read this piece only because I own a Toyota. My uncle flew over Hiroshima the day after the milnuke detonation. He doesn't care if Toyota is in NASCAR or not. Neither do I. Toyota has made some really hot cars from time to time, and would no doubt add some technological interest to the races. Doubleplusgood.

[coder2]

So much confusion, so little time !!! LOL

[truenospinzone]

Sorry, punctuation went a little wonky there. Damn Japanese keyboards...

[MineralMan]

And how many employees in the US does Toyota have? Add on the dealers and their employees. I'd guess a lot of those employees are NASCAR fans, too. Read below, and see the link.

From:

http://www.autointell.com/News-2002/July-2002/July-2002-5/July-31-02-p4.htm

* Toyota's North American operations directly provide more than 32,000 good and stable jobs in the US, Canada and now Mexico. When dealers and suppliers are included, Toyota is directly responsible for more than 175,000 total jobs in North America.

[IowaHawk]

Real racing: Bonneville. F1. Road America. The quartermile at Pomona.

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

[G.Mason]

"Nice to hear that ---- we're looking a a truck for our son, and are wavering between a Ford Ranger and a Toyota..."

Then it won't matter.

He won't have it long enough for mileage to be a concern.

[tacticalogic]

Real racing: Bonneville. F1. Road America. The quartermile at Pomona.

I still miss "Figure 8" races.

[truenospinzone]

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

Well, Allen Iverson is an ass...

[tacticalogic]

He won't have it long enough for mileage to be a concern.

Good point. Best to consider the first one sacrificial.

[al_c]

My thoughts exactly.

[narby]

The simple fact is Toyota makes a superior product. My Toyota pickup has 300,000 + on it and is still running great. By the time my Ford reached 100,000 it needed a new engine and tranny.

Ditto's

My 96' ford Ranger pickup with the 1970's vintage 2.3 liter engine ford didn't bother redesigning for modern gas started pinging at 17k miles. fords "fix" was to pull out a jumper in the wiring harness that caused the computer to retard the timing, reducing power and decreasing gas mileage. As far as I'm concerned, ford knew pinging would start, as demonstrated by the fact they provided the jumper, so claims on HP and Mileage by the factory were fraudulent, as they couldn't be maintained for over 20k miles.

My Toyota now has 98k miles, and runs perfectly. I expect to see 300k before I sell it.

And I'll never buy a ford with fraudulent engineering again. f'ing crooks.

[giznort]

NASCAR is simply whoreing itself out for the $$$$$. It is not the same sport it was in the 1970s (or 80s for that matter). To them, it's money that matters. Your only choice is to extend to them the same loyalty they are extending to their fans. Maybe if they $$$ paid me, I'd become interested again.

By the way; there's no way I'd buy another Jap car. What a POS. One was way too many.