Toyota would like to field more teams in the NASCAR Cup Series – However, the Japanese are waiting until the Next Gen supply chain is stable
Toyota will start the 2022 NASCAR Cup season with six charter cars: four belong to Joe Gibbs’ top team, two to the racing team of Denny Hamlin and NBA legend Michael Jordan – in other words, 23XI Racing. The Japanese would like to up the punch against Chevrolet (15 cars) and Ford (15 cars), but the brand wants to wait until the supply of spare parts and chassis is secured in the next-gen era, which begins in the 2022 season.
The Next-Gen car made its debut at the Clash at the LA Coliseum and impressed on the super short track. However, the season opener – the Daytona 500 – is a completely different ball game at the four-kilometre superspeedway in Florida, as the dreaded Big One, i.e. a pile-up, is expected. NASCAR is currently experiencing supply bottlenecks with regard to spare parts, which is why the Daytona 500 winning car will not be at the track.
Traditionally, the car is displayed at Daytona International Speedway for one year in the condition it was in when it crossed the finish line. This year, a test car will be fitted with replica livery so that the winning team can continue to use the chassis. The global coronavirus pandemic and resource shortages are impacting supplies in the NASCAR series.
Toyota will therefore be outnumbered against Chevrolet and Ford for at least another year, but that could change just when Toyota has found a suitable partner and the supply bottlenecks have been resolved. Toyota racing president David Wilson says the brand is not yet in talks with other teams to convince them to switch. However, the manufacturer is monitoring the situation closely.
“We are happy to have added a second car to the team with 23XI Racing and Kurt Busch. That’s very important and valuable,” Wilson said. “Our general strategy is to go for quality over quantity. But with the new car, we’re interested in increasing our footprint in the garages and gaining more market share. “
