Toyota Tundra to Enter NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series

Toyota Motor Sales, USA, has announced plans to participate in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Tundra trucks will make their racing debut at Daytona International Speedway in February of 2004, with as many as six Tundra race trucks entered for competition.

"Toyota is pleased to be making this exciting step into the professional ranks of NASCAR," Dave Illingworth, senior vice president at Toyota Motor Sales, USA, told reporters. "We look forward to the Tundra's first race at Daytona. It will be a great opportunity to showcase our American-assembled full-size truck to the stock-car racing world."

Toyota Racing Development (TRD) will design, develop, and build the Craftsman Truck Tundra V8 to NASCAR specs in its Costa Mesa, California, facility. Toyota opened the facility in 1979 to develop and produce Toyota's racing engines and high-performance aftermarket parts.

The plans make Toyota the first auto manufacturer outside of America's Big Three--GM, Chrysler, and Ford--to enter the Craftsman series.

Four team affiliations announced so far are Bang Racing, Bill Davis Racing, Innovative Motorsports Inc., and Waltrip Racing Inc.