A Toyota spokesperson called Denny Hamlin's photo-finish victory at yesterday's Daytona 500 "the greatest win in the company's history," according to Lewis Franck of REUTERS. Toyota Racing Development President & GM David Wilson said, "As we were looking at why we should come into NASCAR, that was a big part of it, to have a shot at winning the Great American race, to be able to talk to the incredible, powerful fan base that NASCAR has." He added, "Obviously back in 2007, when we started Cup racing, the fans were apprehensive." Franck noted even though NASCAR was "growing out of its down home Southern roots there were many perceived prejudices against a 'foreign company' invading a made-in-America sport." Wilson said, "When we came into the sport, we struggled. We were not ready. The level of competition that this sport has amongst the teams and engineers is unlike anything we've ever seen, including CART and IndyCar." With yesterday's win, Toyota has "established itself as a worthy competitor to the Ford and General Motors brands in the hearts and minds of NASCAR fans" (REUTERS, 2/21).
FULL CIRCLE: USA TODAY's Mike Hembree writes Toyota "finally reached the end of a long road," as Hamlin's thrilling victory "served as a sort of bookend to Kyle Busch's run to the Sprint Cup championship in Toyotas last season." Busch's title "was Toyota's first in Cup." Wilson said, "This was our 10th try at the Daytona 500. ... It's taken time for us to collectively build an organization with our team partners that is capable of winning races and competing for championships." Wilson said that Joe Gibbs Racing and Furniture Row have "worked well together, and that concept was no better illustrated" than in yesterday's race, when Furniture Row driver Martin Truex Jr. "drafted throughout the afternoon with the JGR cars" (USA TODAY, 2/22). In Orlando, David Whitley writes under the header, "Toyota Climbs To The Pinnacle Of American Racing." When Toyota "broke into NASCAR, a lot of fans thought Japanese cars and the Southern-fried sport would never mix." Whitley: "That notion was dealt a death blow" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 2/22). In N.Y., Peter Kerasotis notes Hamlin's victory "was also the first Daytona 500 victory for Joe Gibbs Racing since Dale Jarrett's victory" in '93. Gibbs said, "You can’t separate the thrill, winning the Super Bowl and winning this" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/22).
