Toyota to make NASCAR debut in Truck race

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Toyota is ready to make its debut in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck series.

Better get used to the idea. While it may not please every true-blue American -- or Jimmy Spencer -- it's only a matter of time before the Japanese automaker infiltrates NASCAR's biggest series, the Nextel Cup.

The future of NASCAR's premier series will be on display in the season opener of the Craftsman Truck series Friday night, two days before the Great American Race.

The move is just another sign of how NASCAR is reaching beyond its Southern roots and trying to become a truly international sport.

"Toyota is coming, and it's good for everybody," said former Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip, who owns a NASCAR truck team that races a Toyota. "How can somebody come into your sport and improve your sport and it not be good for everybody?"

Toyota, which had success in a brief run in NASCAR's now-defunct Goody's Dash car series, has put together a four-team, seven-truck fleet of Tundras to compete against the established trucks of Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford.

Toyota won the Indy Racing League championship last year with Scott Dixon. It was Toyota's first year in the open-wheel series, joining Honda as an engine manufacturer. Toyota won six of the first seven races, forcing Chevrolet to build a new, more powerful engine during the season to be competitive.

Toyota could have the same affect on NASCAR.

"It's immensely different," said Terry Cook, who claimed the pole for Friday's race in a Ford. "Instead of having quantity in the truck series, we now have quality in the truck series. You look around the garage and this is the best looking field of trucks that I've seen for Daytona or for any NASCAR Craftsman Truck race."

Cook will start on the front row alongside defending series champion Travis Kvapil, who qualified third in a Toyota.

"I knew we'd do well, but not this well," Kvapil said.

Chase Montgomery qualified second in a Dodge, but will start in the back of the field because he had to change engines. Wayne Edwards and Mike Wallace also will move to the back with new engines. None of them was driving Toyotas.

Building its own motors and chassis, Toyota didn't get its engine design approved by NASCAR until last year and then had to redesign it because of a subsequent rule change.

It left the Toyota teams a bit short of horsepower in testing. But qualifying showed they quickly caught up. Only two Toyotas cracked the top 10, but none of the other five placed lower than 17th.

"We knew we wouldn't challenge for the pole, but the top 15 right out of the box is fantastic," said Toyota driver Bill Lester, who qualified 17th.

Toyota's entry marks the first time a foreign-headquartered manufacturer will compete in any of the top three NASCAR series.

Not everyone was excited about Toyota's jump into NASCAR.

Earlier this month during a media day at Texas Motor Speedway, Spencer said he was rooting for Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge to humiliate the Japanese automaker.

They "bombed Pearl Harbor, don't forget," the outspoken 46-year-old Nextel Cup driver said. "As long as it's good for the economy, I guess it's OK."

NASCAR and other drivers dismissed Spencer's comments.

"Consider the source," Waltrip said Thursday.

Although Toyota hasn't committed to moving up to NASCAR's top series, most inside racing circles believe it will happen in the next few years.

Waltrip believes Nextel Cups teams already are preparing for Toyota's eventual arrival, pointing to rival Ford team owners Jack Roush and Robert Yates pooling resources and opening a testing center.

"They have decided we've got to unify because Toyota is coming," Waltrip said. "And Toyota has hardly got their feet wet in the truck series. That's the kind of impact Toyota is going to have."