As NASCAR Introduces Next Gen, Toyota Adds TRD Camry to Nameplate
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (May 5, 2021) – More than two years in the making, Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) today unveiled the manufacturer’s Next Gen car that will take to the track in 2022 – the Toyota TRD Camry – in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS).
Toyota has been working alongside NASCAR, as well as the other OEMs, on the development of the Next Gen vehicles for competition. The components of the Next Gen race cars are an unprecedented move for the sport, but one that looks to continue to evolve safety enhancements of the race cars and promote on-track competition.
Toyota, TRD (Toyota Racing Development, U.S.A.) and Calty Design have worked together to ensure as many body styling characteristics as possible are incorporated into the Toyota TRD Camry Next Gen so it resembles its production counterpart as closely as possible. From the grill to the spoiler and everywhere in between, the Next Gen TRD Camry race car has the most body styling attributes to its production counterpart than ever before in a NCS Camry. This is a practice that Toyota and TRD have employed since the development of the 2013 Camry in NCS competition.
“There has been a substantial amount of work put into the Toyota TRD Camry Next Gen car by all of our partners, but specifically everyone at TRD and Calty Design,” said Paul Doleshal, group manager of motorsports and assets, TMNA (Toyota Motor North America). “We’re thrilled to have the chance to showcase the TRD Camry to represent Toyota in the NASCAR Cup Series through this Next Gen project. This is our topline, track-inspired performance Camry and it seemed only fitting for it to take it’s spot on the race track.”
Toyota continues to be the only manufacturer in NASCAR to showcase three nameplates across NASCAR’s three national series – the TRD Camry in the NCS, the Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) and the Tundra in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS). Since joining the NCS and NXS in 2007, Camrys have earned 156 NCS wins and three NCS championships along with 171 NXS wins and two NXS championships. And since Tundra’s entry into the NCWTS in 2004, Toyota has claimed 205 victories and eight Truck Series championships.
“For Toyota and TRD, we’re committed to the principle of continuous improvement and we believe that’s reflected in this Next Gen TRD Camry,” said David Wilson, president of TRD. “While we know the margins available with this new race car are smaller when it comes to adjustability, we know our race team partners and our team at TRD look forward to the challenge of learning about this car and discovering the performance opportunities that will help put the TRD Camry into victory lane.”
The Toyota TRD Camry Next Gen will make its debut as the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season kicks off at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 20, 2022.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
