Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson-owned NASCAR team Legacy Motor Club have announced they will shift manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota ahead of the start of the 2024 NASCAR season. This partnership will see Legacy Motor Club follow the likes of Joe Gibbs Racing and 23X1 who already have Toyota as their manufacturer.
For the most part in NASCAR Cup Series history, it has been Chevrolet and Ford dominating the scene but it all changed when Toyota entered in 2007. The Japanese automobile giant is the only non-American manufacturer to have clinched the Cup Series. Famously, they were the ones who broke Chevrolet’s title streak in 2016, followed up by title wins in 2017, and 2019. It is fair to say that, Toyota has emerged as the giant slayer and teams are now looking for a dynamic approach.
Richard Petty explains the process of shifting from one manufacturer to another
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There are three major manufacturers at play in the Cup Series. Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota, with strict guidelines laid out by NASCAR regarding chassis and engine compositions. The teams do all they can to bend the rules to get a fractional advantage over the opposition, and this can make or break their season.
The ‘King’ Richard Petty now co-owns a cup series team with another legend Jimmie Johnson and their move to shift to Toyota made quite a stir in the NASCAR community. Although Petty and Johnson over the years completely dominated the circuits, that’s not the case with their team. Having switched manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota, the transition will take getting used to, along with some new challenges the entire teams will have to face with this major overhaul.
Petty who was answering questions from Facebook users via his X account, explained what the transition process would look like for his entire team. He said, “It’s a different car, different engine. We’ll have people that are experts on, the Toyota coming in and some of the Chevrolet people won’t be there anymore. It’s gonna be a whole new team, with the majority of players transferred from one car to another. So the big deal is getting used to.
“Working with Toyota which we’ve never done before, I think Erik has worked with them before so that’s gonna help us a little bit. The big deal is the transition of everybody just taking what we had, put it over to the side and bringing everything in new.” Toyota Camry is a different beast speaking in a logical sense, so the Legacy Motor Club team will have a field day the entire off-season to set things straight before the start of the season.
Q: What will be the biggest transition from Chevrolet to Toyota for next season?
Question via Facebook user, James Piccarreto pic.twitter.com/4ALvB11JQl
— Richard Petty (@therichardpetty) December 26, 2023
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It’s not just Legacy Motor Club pulling the string for the next NASCAR season but Toyota with their new Camry XSE is looking to make a statement of their own.
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A new look Toyota Camry to hit the NASCAR circuits next season
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Following Ford’s move to unveil their new performance Mustang for the 2024 season, Toyota also announced their newly designed Camry XSE. The notable highlights were the hammerhead styling on the front of the car, and an upper grille slot that follows a slim and wider headlight pattern. The rear of the new Camry includes revised quarter panel styling and the corners along blend into the rear bumper. The tail lights also got thinner adding to the aggressive look of the car.
“The 2024 Camry XSE race car will properly highlight Toyota’s attention to detail as has been showcased in the new street version of Camry. We are excited to bring this car to the race track and continue to achieve success with it for years to come,” said Paul Doleshal, group manager of motorsports for Toyota Motor, North America.
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Will the change to Toyota will bring any positive changes for Legacy Motor Club in the Cup Series? Or will they regret transitioning from the tried and tested Chevrolet?
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