Toyota. It seems the powers that be at Toyota aren't in a hurry to jump on to the top rung of the NASCAR competition ladder. In this week's Automotive News, Mark Rechtin gleaned from an interview with Jim Aust, president of Toyota Racing Development, that Toyota has put its plans on hold for NEXTEL Cup because NASCAR is considering announcing major changes to its chassis and engine specifications either after this year or after the 2005 season. Toyota had originally planned on being at Daytona in February, 2007, but those plans seem uncertain, at best. Maybe a breath of fresh air will blow through TRD, and they'll put their NASCAR NEXTEL Cup plans on ice - permanently. After all, one of these manufacturers is bound to get smart when it comes to NASCAR, and it might as well be Toyota, since Detroit seems incapable of any rational thought when it comes to the subject of the France family's little ol' marketing franchise. Toyota just might come to realize that they don't need NASCAR's "spec car" formula to be successful in their marketing efforts. They certainly have done just fine without NASCAR up until this point, haven't they?

autoextremist.com and jayski.com

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