Sparked by its new alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota has won 8 of 21 Cup events this season, and 15 of 23 in the Nationwide Series. All have been by Gibbs’ drivers, with Kyle Busch earning 13 checkered flags. Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and Joey Logano also have put the Camry into victory lane.
Four other Toyota teams have added seven wins in 14 Craftsman Truck races. Busch has contributed two and championship leader Johnny Benson has three. The Tundra entered that series in 2004.
In total, Toyota has won 30 of 58 races in NASCAR’s three national touring series. Since the automaker’s entry into Cup was controversial with some in NASCAR’s traditional fan base, accustomed to their favorites driving for Ford, General Motors or Chrysler, what has been their reaction to Toyota’s 50 percent-plus win rate?
“NASCAR’s most recent research shows only 6 percent feel negative about Toyota’s participation,” Toyota national motorsports marketing manager Les Unger explained, “with 50 percent favorable, and the remainder neutral.
“Toyota’s most recent market research dovetails closely, with overall acceptance increasing since 2004 to 49 percent, and negative responses falling to 9 percent.”
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