July 27, 2008
By Kim Roberson
Kim Roberson
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NASCAR seems to have done what many thought could never happen: They have made people who hate Toyota, actually feel sympathy for them.
The decision this week by the sport's sanctioning body to cut down the horsepower advantage that the Toyota teams have apparently had all season was not a popular one with Toyota or fans. About the only people who seemed to support the decision were the teams who felt they were getting their rear ends soundly kicked by the Toyota teams.
Fans that I have heard pound the entrance of the foreign manufacturer into NASCAR, all year, have suddenly begun saying that the Toyota Nationwide teams are getting screwed.
“Toyota has won 14 of 21 races this season in the Nationwide Series, and all but one of them came in a Camry fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing. JGR builds its own motors for its two Nationwide Series cars. The rest of the Toyota engines in that series and the Craftsman Truck Series come from Triad Racing Development, a Bill Davis-owned company that leases engines. Sounds more like Gibbs motors are running away with it, versus Toyota to me. Is this any different than Ernies, Petty, Yates, Roush or Hendrick depending on the year? Is it Toyota or Gibbs?” -- asked one friend of mine.
Another friend commented “There is one and only one fair way to settle this; let the manufactures run what they brung. Set the limit on cubic inches and carburetors and let the shops determine the rest.”
“Gibbs seems to have found something...not necessarily Toyota. Will Toyota find it too? Remains to be seen but I dislike mid-season rule changes brought on by a single team that found an edge. Especially if Dodge is only 4 horses back and they get no restrictions so "Toyota" doesn't have a 3% edge on everyone....just Chevy and Ford.” was another comment.
Many people are recognizing that in part, the Toyota dominance in the Nationwide Series isn’t so much the car, but the man behind the wheel.
“I don't believe it is in the engines at all. For one thing, as has been said before, it is one car and it's in the Nationwide Series.
I remember the Crew Chief for the 32 car said that when Kyle (Busch) tested the car, they had to totally replace the front end as per Kyle's Instructions
I think JGR has found something that will let Kyle turn the car where and when he wants. We have all seen him make some crazy moves and every one thought he was being reckless. I think he has the car that will do what he wants.
They can slap this different size plate on his engine and that might affect his straightaway speed, but if I am right, he will still kick butt going through the corners, where much of the race is won.
That same front end geometry is on his Cup car and what ever it is, it suits him personally.”
Personally, I agree that while the Toyotas might have more horsepower, their dominance is as much in part the result of the drivers behind the wheel as the engine making 15 more horsepower. If the horsepower were such a major factor, then why isn’t Toyota finishing with all of its cars in the top 10 every week, not just one or two? Why is it a Chevy driver who leads the Nationwide points’ standings, not a Toyota? Most importantly, what happens when the new Chevy and Dodge engines come online, and make more horsepower than the now dumbed-down Toyota engine? Will they give the power back, or will they dumb those new engines down to where they have Toyota right now?
Seems a bit like a Pandora’s box to me.
When you have a new engine, you have the latest and greatest innovations making it work. This year, it is the new Toyota engine. In another year, the Toyota engine will be old, and there will be new engines making more power. If you expect to keep the innovation that makes NASCAR great, you can’t handcuff the men and women who work day and night to find those little tweaks that make the cars run better. What incentive is there now to build a better engine? I see none if you know that when it is found to have more power it will just be brought back to the field. And why should current engine makers work to make their engines better if they know that no matter how good another team makes their engine, it will always be kept at the same level as yours?
If you look at the times from Saturday, it doesn’t seem that the change made much of a difference in speed anyway. So it gets back to asking the question “What’s the point?”
In my opinion, this was not the best move NASCAR could have made. Unless, of course, you look at the fact that NASCAR has now made Toyota a manufacturer that friend and foe are rallying behind.
If that is what they were aiming for, then good job, NASCAR. Good job.
Finally, a wish of good luck to a friend of mine. MRN’s Dave Moody is not working his day job this weekend, but will instead be getting behind the wheel of a race car. The 24th Annual M&M Beverage Enduro 200 at Barre, Vermont’s Thunder Road is a no-holds-barred race where over 100 novice drivers race virtually street-legal automobiles for 200 laps. Dave will be strapping on a helmet and getting behind the wheel, hoping to finish and not end up hospitalized. All the best Dave, and remember to at least bring back the steering wheel.
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.
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