Toyota's Top-10 NASCAR Finish is a Step In The Right Direction

The debut of Toyota in the Nextel Cup Series hasn't gone as smoothly as the manufacturer had hoped, and Brian Vickers' 10-place finish in the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway on Sunday was treated almost as a victory.

The top-10, Toyota's first in the Nextel Cup Series, closes a tumultuous month for its seven teams. The manufacturer has failed to qualify six cars in the first two races, but Vickers narrowly missed a top-five finish in his first 2007 start.

Vickers was one of three Toyotas that failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, but his No. 83 Camry handled well in the season's first downforce test. Only a bad pit stop on Lap 226 -- where Vickers lost six spots -- kept him from finishing even better.

"We messed up a little bit on the last pit stop but those guys did a tremendous job all day long," Vickers said. "The car had no problems, we didn't have any problems with the car. We learned a lot about the setup and what we can do moving forward, so all around, it was a win-win."


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flozel1 - 2/26/2007 4:38:15 PM

+3 Boost

Toyota should slow down a bit - you know, throw a few races, purposely stay out of the Top 10, and pretend they are struggling and are finding it hard to keep up with the "leaders".

DieselRules - 2/27/2007 2:49:52 AM

+2 Boost

If anybody else had Toyota's racing budget, they would come out #1 ... not "in the top 10".
flozel1: Maybe they ARE throwing the races!

Mark - 2/27/2007 7:44:32 AM

+2 Boost

No they aren't and they will struggle just as Dodge did coming out to the track. Yes they will win a couple of races this year but does that mean we have to start staying that Toyota is going to take over NASCAR?

No, because you'd be an idiot if you said that. Case in point...Daytona 500. Harvick wouldn't have won if Stewart's car, Johnson's car, Gordon's car, etc...hadn't been so loose.

And what does having the biggest racing budget have to do with being number one. Is paying people more going to win races?