Toyota raises dust in NASCAR

LOS ANGELES -- Toyota never set out to wear the black hat in NASCAR, but things have sure worked out that way.NASCAR's good ol' boys are up in arms about the juggernaut from Japan. One of them - Jack Roush, who heads Ford-powered Roush Racing - says he is ready to "go to war" with Toyota."I'm definitely preparing myself for siege," says Roush. "Toyota will not find that the established teams and manufacturers will wither in their path."To raise a war chest, Roush plans to sell as much as 50 percent of his operation to Fenway Sports Group, a sports marketing company.Toyota will find out what it means to be the villain this Sunday, when it enters the Daytona 500 for the first time. Although Toyota has raced in NASCAR's lower-tier Craftsman Truck Series for three years, this is its first season trading paint with the big boys in the Nextel Cup.From a PR standpoint, going into NASCAR while the Detroit 3 gush red ink is unfortunate timing. Roush and some other team owners allege Toyota is trying to buy the NASCAR title George Steinbrenner-style, with Yankee-earned dollars.Toyota already has lured veterans Dale Jarrett and Michael Waltrip, among others, to race the NASCAR Camry. Then again, spending more than other automakers has yet to earn Toyota a checkered flag in several years of Formula One racing.Dave Illingworth, a senior vice president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., calls Roush's allegations "unfounded."'Enormous sum of money'Says Illingworth: "There is a lot of concern over the amount of money we are spending. But we are in line with what everyone else is doing."Not all race team owners agree with Roush. The more the merrier, some say, because it helps maintain the health of the racing series. But even NASCAR's official Web site uses the phrase "keep up with Toyota" in discussing how incumbent teams will compete financially this year.One Toyota insider, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, admits the automaker is spending "an enormous sum of money."But bad guy or not, Toyota has lots of reasons for going into NASCAR. Over the past decade, Toyota sales have soared in the coastal regions and Sun Belt. But Toyota still lags in heartland America. That is where the affiliation with NASCAR comes in.Toyota executives complain about misconceptions that many Americans still have about their company. Many Internet firebrands rave that NASCAR is a pure American sport. But the Camry is built in Kentucky, while the Chevrolet Monte Carlo is assembled in Canada and the Ford Fusion comes from Mexico. And isn't DaimlerChrysler owned by a German company?And if Americans don't mind watching the races on Sony or Samsung TVs, why should they care if someone is racing a Camry?It's about pickups, stupid"We're racing Camrys to sell Tundras," says Jim Farley, Toyota Division vice president of marketing. How effective that will be remains to be seen.Says one Toyota source: "'Win Sunday, sell Monday' is mythical creation. It makes sense for Toyota to race, but it's to reach the pickup truck culture."NASCAR has 75 million fans. Of the top 20 sporting events in the United States in terms of attendance, 18 are NASCAR races. What do these fans drive to races? Mainly pickups. And with a redesigned, pumped-up Tundra arriving this month, Toyota needs to get folks to try out its Texas- and Indiana-built truck.Toyota isn't just spending money on racing. The NASCAR marketing effort is equally formidable. "Street teams" will patrol the racetrack grounds in a heavy grassroots marketing effort."Auto manufacturers really haven't leveraged their NASCAR efforts," Farley says, with a hint of bewilderment.Just as important is business-to-business marketing. Toyota is pairing up with carefully chosen race team sponsors to leverage their corporate connections. Partnering with UPS and Caterpillar allows Toyota to reach those companies' customers, many of whom buy pickups.And, of course, there's the dealer angle."There is a value to a program that gives hospitality for our retail partners," Farley says. "A golf program doesn't ring the bell like meeting Dale Jarrett."Toyota executives don't figure Toyota-powered drivers will win right away. But when Toyota joined NASCAR's Craftsman Truck series in 2004, it won four races in its rookie season. And it took only three seasons for Toyota to win the championship. Worth the effortThe Nextel Cup is a different beast. For one thing, early season qualifying is based on each driver's past performance, regardless of the driver's team last year. That means only two Toyota drivers are guaranteed starting spots in Sunday's Daytona 500 grid. The rest have to qualify for the remaining positions in the 43-car field. Similar restrictions apply during the early part of the season.So is the effort and expense worth it? Toyota says the answer is a resounding yes."For us, NASCAR pencils out," Farley says. "Every sponsor I talked to says it is the last thing they would get rid of. Where else are you going to see a grown man wearing a Cheerios jacket?" You may e-mail Mark Rechtin at mrechtin@crain.com

Toyota raises dust in NASCAR

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