Daytona's First Foreign Entry

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 30, 2007 — -- As they race the Ford Fusion engines on a stationary platform at the Wood Brothers racing team headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., in preparation for NASCAR's biggest race of the year, the noise is potentially deafening and everybody wears headphones.

In a windowed closet adjacent the car, technicians peer at a computer screen as the "speed" heads north of 200 miles per hour. The exact speed, as well as other technical data being charted, are top secret. But trust me, the Fusion was burning it up.

The Charlotte area is the headquarters of many of the best racing teams in the country. And this week, the pace is really picking up. Whether it's Fords, Chevys or Dodges, the American brands are preparing for the Feb. 18 Daytona 500 -- and they are all well aware that a newcomer is ready to join them this year.

East Meets West

For the first time, the Japanese-made Toyota Camry is entered in what NASCAR proudly calls "the great American race."

It's not the first foreign influence on the event. Dodge is made by Daimler-Chrysler, a German manufacturer, but the brand is still viewed as American.

With Toyota, the Japanese introduction to the great race is creating controversy, to say the least.

"If Toyota wins the Daytona 500," said Eddie Wood, co-owner of Wood Brothers, "That'll be a little hard to swallow."

A little hard to swallow?

For many traditional NASCAR fans, the mere inclusion of the Japanese automaker is tough to take. If the Camry winds up winning the race, there's no telling what could happen.

"A lot of fans are looking at Toyota's entry into NASCAR, especially starting with the Daytona 500, as somewhat of a slap in the face to the old school style of NASCAR," said Kim Roberson of InsiderRacing.com.

Last week at the Daytona speedway, a clutch of fans watched some practice rounds.

"I don't think they belong on the track," one fan said of Toyota. "It's a sport dominated by Americans."

Others suggested that if Toyota wants in, then they should use Japanese teams. "I'd like to see Toyota come in and put their Japanese drivers in there with the boys from Carolina and Georgia," said another spectator.

What Toyota has done, though, is to woo some of the best drivers away from the American teams. Dale Jarrett will be driving a Camry this year instead of a Ford, and he has the hate mail to prove it.

"I know there are people that just aren't going to change, and aren't going to accept it, and that's fine," he said recently. "I can't convince everyone and I'm not going to try to do that."

NASCAR's Robin Pemberton says the controversy is overblown, but welcomes it nonetheless. "I think it's healthy for the sport. Controversy is good."

"It really is a challenge for our domestic carmakers to step up to the plate and take on this challenge and beat these guys," added ESPN's racing analyst Andy Petree.

Business Strategy or Healthy Competition

Critics say, however, that with Detroit flat on its back financially, the Japanese are enjoying an unfair advantage -- throwing money around in a way a Ford official called "predatory."

According to Wood, "They have raised the price of racing."

But Mike Accavitti of Dodge Motor Sports doesn't share that view. If Dodge had the same amount of cash on hand as Toyota, "I'd be doing the same thing," he told ABC News.

As for Toyota, officials appear to see the race as a wonderful marketing tool. Toyota knows a large number of NASCAR fans own pickup trucks. What better way to market the new Toyota Tundra truck than to celebrate all things Toyota at a nationally prominent race?

Indeed, Toyota has been running in NASCAR's truck series for years. But this is the first time the manufacturer has ever entered in the premier stock car event.

"We think the racing will be better, the fan experience will be better and the sport will be better off because Toyota is involved," said Jim Farley of Toyota. "NASCAR works great for us from a marketing standpoint," he hastened to add.

Farley and others point out that the Camrys involved in the race are all built in this country, while the so-called domestic brands are assembled abroad. "The cars are built here," said Pemberton, "so it makes sense for a company like that to try and get involved."

But there is nervousness among Toyota's opponents.

"I think there's just a fear that Toyota's going to come in and completely dominate the big three manufacturers," said Roberson.

Others suggest Toyota knows full well that to humiliate the Americans in the biggest race of the year might not be a great sales pitch to consumers in this country. For that reason, says Roberson, "Domination is probably not on their mind right now because of the fact that their main goal is just to get in the race."

Long-term goals are something else, though. Not far from the Wood Brothers headquarters is an 89-acre parcel of forest land just purchased by Toyota.

For now, it's filled with woods, but in time, Toyota will build race cars there. It's the clearest sign that the Japanese automaker, which may soon become the world's No. 1 car producer, is in stock car racing for the long haul, attempting to achieve on the track what it's already shown on the street.