“The Bad News Is You Don’t Have to Worry About Penske or Hendrick”: Toyota President Issues an Update

Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota Racing Development (TRD) had a rather tumultuous season last year. They lost Kyle Busch to the opposing faction. Further, with the departure of Busch, they also lost his Truck Series team Kyle Busch Motorsports to another manufacturer. However, it now seems that TRD is preparing to bounce back in the upcoming season onwards.

Recently, the President of TRD, David Wilson, expressed his confidence in expanding its presence in the NASCAR Cup Series. In an interview with NBC Sports, Wilson shared that TRD is currently in talks with various teams—both existing and new—to increase their lineup for the 2024 season.

“We’ve got some good irons in the fire now… What was once a very effective strategy to amass our resources across fewer cars, with the marginalization of the areas that we have to play in and the flattening out of the playing field, we definitely need some more help,” said Wilson.

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The goal for TRD when it entered the Cup Series 16 years ago was to field around one-quarter of the 43-car field. However, despite the reduction in the number of cars on the field, TRD’s Cup fleet has remained below ten cars.

Future plans for Toyota Racing Development’s expansion

Currently, there are only six full-time Camrys in the Cup, between Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing. Wilson believes that “nine to ten cars is probably our sweet spot with this new car.”

Over the past two years, TRD has been in talks with teams within NASCAR as well as potential car owners who are yet to enter racing. Although, Wilson declined to reveal if TRD is currently focusing on existing or new teams. However, “he also mentioned, The bad news is you don’t have to worry about Penske or Hendrick.”

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The NASCAR Cup Series has seen a lot of changes over the years, with the number of manufacturers and teams constantly shifting. TRD’s decision to expand its lineup comes as a response to the “flattening out of the playing field” and the need for more resources to keep up with the competition.

With Wilson’s optimistic outlook, fans of the Cup Series can look forward to more Toyota Camrys on the track in the upcoming season.