Rival manufacturers will, of course, be intent on not yielding any ground to the newcomers.  Dan Davis, the director of Ford Racing Technology, related Toyota’s upcoming NASCAR entry to their entrance into CART champ car racing a few years back in saying, “They’ll come in and spend a lot of energy on it. They’ll be competent and do a really nice job, but I would not expect them to dominate. I expect we’ll have something for them to keep them where we need them.”

This sounds like manufacturer “smack talk” and I love it. It should add a renewed spark to the brand battles that will be a lot of fun to watch.

More teams will also have a chance at top-echelon support from a manufacturer.

Let’s face it. Do you think a team is better off as the No. 5 Chevy team or the No. 2 Toyota effort?

Ford has Roush, Yates and the Wood Brothers, Chevy currently supports the Hendrick, Gibbs, Childress, MB2 and DEI efforts, while Dodge has the Penske, Evernham, Ganassi and Petty teams.

For some of these teams, Toyota’s entry is the chance to move up the pecking order. Bill Davis Racing and the newly announced Michael Waltrip Racing two-car effort will be on the Toyota team in 2007. They will have a chance to gain the resources needed to rebuild and build that they weren’t going to get under their current from their current manufacturers.

Teams that jump ship to join Toyota’s ranks will keep the rumor mill buzzing for the next few months.

And that will be fun to watch.

A yellow caution flag
Toyota has a reputation in racing, developed from its participation in other forms of motor sports.

That is cause for concern because Toyota has a reputation for entering a series with a massive budget and using it to dominate the competition. At a certain point other makes would drop out of the series, since they couldn’t justify spending the money.

NASCAR must ensure that doesn’t happen, and that the playing field remains level for all involved makes.

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Team owner Chip Ganassi, who raced with Toyota in other forms of the sport, said, “Toyota is very concerned about how they’re perceived in the sport. I think they’re going to do a good job with it. I’m sure they’ll represent themselves very well … we’re fortunate to have them and to have their dollars spent in our form of racing."

NASCAR officials already understand the concerns of the current teams and manufacturers, and will be paying close attention to this issue going forward. Maintaining a level playing field for all makes has been NASCAR’s stated goal and method of operating for a long time. Don’t expect for one make to alter that balance in a big way.

But the real key to the success of this broad step is whether the sport’s fans are OK with it.

I think in the long run they will be. But it won’t happen immediately.

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