September 4, 2007

By Brian Watkins

Brian Watkins

Toyota is coming! Toyota is coming! Jack Roush spent the better part of the run up to the 2007 season bemoaning the arrival of Toyota in Cup and preparing for nothing less than all out war. And then crickets. Waltrip’s team was busted for cheating, and the rest of the season for the Toyota teams ranged from mediocre to tragic. The war it seemed never came to the world of NASCAR, and for all his worries (even taking on new partner Fenway to fend off the evil Camry’s) it seemed the man in the hat was more Chicken Little than Paul Revere. Or was he?

As we near the final 10 NNCS races, Toyota is steadily improving. While not a threat to the chase or the championship, Team Red Bull, Michael Waltrip Racing and Bill Davis Racing have all posted better than expected qualifying times and finishes. Waltrip, whose point standings this year have to be near a record low, has been qualifying on speed and qualifying fairly well. While Jarrett seems to be transitioning to the broadcast booth in preparation for retirement, the rest of the Camry drivers and crews have been learning and looking forward to next season.

2008 will be the season to watch for Toyota. Not just because this years crop of drivers will have learned a great deal from the trials and tribulations of the 07 season, but because all indications are that three of this seasons top ten cup drivers (Stewart, Hamlin and Kyle Busch) will be joining Waltrip and company when Joe Gibbs Racing makes the jump from (foreign manufactured) Impala SS and Monte Carlo racers to the (US built) Camry’s.

The move for the Gibbs team is a big one. With three very talented drivers, each of them more than capable of bringing the team a 2008 championship win, it would be foolish of Gibbs to place a blind bet. While mediocre or worse performance for the Gibbs owned Redskins seems to be the norm, the Gibbs race team performance doesn’t seem to need much tweaking, leading us to believe that somebody somewhere has good reason to have whole lot of faith in the Toyota program.

Tony Stewart has stated that he’s alright with a new manufacturer, which could be the party line, but how often does Tony talk to the press like an indoctrinated robot? Exactly. I would think that if Tony was unhappy about the way the organization was going, there would have been more grumblings by now. Maybe when the official announcement is made Wednesday, Tony will have more to say on the subject. Makes me want to spring for Sirius radio just so I could listen to his show.

What does this mean for 2008? Well, first we have to get through 2007, and with two lame-duck Chevy drivers occupying the #2 and #3 positions in the standings, it will be interesting to see if support from Chevrolet for the Gibbs team dries up or somehow lessens. One has to wonder how long Chevy will continue painting its fingernails when they know their left arm is being prepped for amputation.

The situation was similar last year when a post Toyota announcement Jarrett was still driving for Ford. I got the chance to talk to him about the move at a UPS event in Lexington, KY last August and while he did comment about his excitement about being involved with Toyota and MWR, he made it clear before the camera’s rolled that he was still under contract with Ford and RYR and wouldn’t feel comfortable commenting on the new manufacturer to any degree. The same will most likely remain true for the drivers (and future driver) of Gibbs Racing. We’ll get the announcement, a few statements from the drivers, and then other than comments during the race from commentators, not much more will be said until the off season. Chevrolet will make a statement or two expressing that they are disappointed to be losing such a strong member of the Chevy racing organization, but that they are proud of their remaining teams and the strong finishes they exhibited thorough out the season, and that they are looking forward to the friendly competition next year.

In the mean time, Chevy will be doubling its efforts to ensure they out race their biggest competitors on and off the track. Toyota Racing Development will concentrate on not disappointing its newest team, Dodge will continue to do what Dodge does (take that anyway you’d like) and Jack Roush may just lock himself in a small room watching WWII movies, slowly rocking back and forth in his chair, hat in hand, mumbling “I tried to warn them…. I tried to warn them… I tried to warn them…”

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.