Toyota to announce ’Camry’ Busch and Cup entry in January

UPDATE #7 This rumor is now 'fact' as a Toyota representative just made the announcement of their entry into Busch and Cup in 2007. Full story later….. 01/23/06 [Editor's Note: Toyota will announce that the Camry will be the car they use in Busch and Cup] Toyota will race in Nextel Cup events beginning in 2007, becoming the first foreign competitor in NASCAR's top stock car series since the 1950s. The Japanese auto maker will also run the Busch Series races after the 2006 season, joining Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge. The announcement was expected at a Monday news conference from NASCAR's research and development facility in Concord, a person close to Toyota told The Associated Press. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because an official announcement hasn't been made, said Toyota “is looking forward to being competitive right off the bat'' in both series. The last foreign manufacturer to participate in NASCAR's top racing series was Jaguar, which entered several races in the 1950s [and even won a race]. The move by Toyota was not a complete surprise. The company moved into NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series in 2004 and quickly became competitive, with Travis Kvapil giving the manufacturer its first win in July of that year. Toyota raced in several American-based sports car series before moving into open-wheel racing in 1996. ESPN.com/AP

01/20/06 Toyota will move into NASCAR's Nextel Cup and Busch Series beginning in 2007, becoming the first foreign manufacturer to compete in the top racing series since Jaguar in the 1950's. The announcement is expected Monday in a news conference at NASCAR in Concord, N.C., according to a person with knowledge of the announcement who was granted anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it. Toyota will join the American brands Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge in the top two levels of competition. Toyota has competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since 2004, ending a long-held rule by NASCAR that only American-based manufacturers could compete in its events. Toyota has paid to align itself with elite teams and drivers in the Truck series. There has been widespread speculation that Honda will follow Toyota into NASCAR. New York Times

01/19/06 NASCAR has scheduled a special press conference for Monday January 23rd where it is expected the Toyota announcement will be made.

01/19/06 Toyota could join the three American manufacturers [Chevy, Dodge, Ford] within two years. NASCAR is expected to address the issue Monday when it holds its state of the sport address on the annual media tour [in Charlotte]. Toyota, which already competes in the NASCAR truck series, has a press announcement scheduled Tuesday. St. Petersburg Times

01/18/06 Toyota officials were present for last week's Car of Tomorrow tests at Daytona, marking the first time they were officially invited by NASCAR to attend a CoT test. Although the manufacturer hasn't officially announced its intention to enter both the Busch and Nextel Cup Series in '07, there should be something official from the Toyota camp soon, possibly as early as the weekend of the Feb. 26 Cup race at California Speedway. Yahoo Sports

01/04/06 NASCAR President Mike Helton said Tuesday on MRN's NASCAR Live with Eli Gold that NASCAR hopes to make some sort of announcement about Toyota's future involvement within the next few weeks.

12/18/05 Rumor has it that Toyota will announce their entry into the NASCAR Busch and Cup series in late January, possibly on the big NASCAR media tour.