Toyota is taking aggressive measures, similar to the way it moved into the Craftsman Truck Series, to improve its Nextel Cup teams. Lee White, the general manager for Toyota Racing Development, said Saturday that TRD engineers are preparing a car from Michael Waltrip Racing that the struggling Waltrip could use at a future 1.5-mile track. He said TRD also has offered to build a Car of Tomorrow road-course car for Bill Davis Racing and a COT superspeedway car for Team Red Bull to use at the second Talladega race. But White insisted Toyota will not centralize the construction of Cup cars the way it did its trucks. White said four days are scheduled for Waltrip, who has missed the last four races, to test the car that was driven by Dale Jarrett at California. He said if the car ever gets into a Cup event it would be at the May race in Charlotte. White said the car will then go to Bill Davis’ shop in the High Point, N.C., area and be put on a chassis machine, measured, checked and rechecked. White said he is encouraged by the progress Toyota has made the past month, particularly getting five of seven cars into Sunday’s inaugural COT race at Bristol Motor Speedway after a subpar test last month. He said the company remains patient, understanding it will take time to make a mark in NASCAR’s premier series. He hopes sponsors will remain patient as well, particularly NAPA, the primary sponsor of Waltrip’s car. White added that Toyota is nearing a deal with a Busch team to run a few COT Cup road courses this year. He said Wyler Racing, which fields the Toyota Tundra driven by Jack Sprague in the Truck Series, might participate in a COT race later this year. He doesn’t anticipate major expansion next season.(ESPN.com) AND Toyota is sending one of Michael Waltrip Racing’s Camrys back to its TRD research center for a complete dismantling to see if they can learn why the car is so slow.(Ford Racing)(3-25-2007)
