Even earlier than van Gisbergen’s victory for Chevrolet squad Trackhouse Racing on his NASCAR debut, there had been rising worldwide consideration on NASCAR’s prime sequence this season.
NASCAR’s Hendrick Motorsports-run Storage 56 Chevrolet at this 12 months’s Le Mans 24 Hours, which included 2009 System 1 world champion Jenson Button and 2011 Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, was well-received by followers whereas Button additionally made his personal Cup debut on the Circuit of the Americas in a Rick Ware Racing Ford.
At Le Mans, it was introduced that Toyota’s 2021 Le Mans 24 Hours general winner and former F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi would make his Cup debut in the 13 August race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Highway Course with 23XI Racing.
In changing into the primary Japanese driver to begin a top-level NASCAR race in over 20 years, Kobayashi will be a part of Button, plus returnee van Gisbergen and Supercars rival Brodie Kostecki, who will make his Cup debut for Richard Childress Racing.
“I’m trying extra ahead to Indianapolis than every other race on the calendar this 12 months – perhaps carve out Phoenix,” mentioned Toyota Racing Improvement USA president David Wilson. “We should always have some horses in that race. However it’s going to be nice.
“We’re going to have the most important international viewers. Now we have prime administration flying in from Japan, some who’ve by no means seen a NASCAR race. It’s placing Toyota and the U.S. programme and TRD USA on the map and I’m pleased with that.”
Wilson mentioned the response to Kobayashi’s NASCAR debut “caught us slightly bit abruptly pleasantly”.
“There’s no query it’s put some eyeballs on our sport for the primary time in lots of cases,” Wilson mentioned. “He’s a reputation and a face that’s identified – clearly in Japan he’s big, however in Europe due to the penetration of WEC and sportscars he additionally has a reputation.
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Kamui Kobayashi
Picture by: JEP / Motorsport Images
“You pair that up with what Shane did at Chicago. Unquestionably there may be extra curiosity. Unquestionably, Kamui’s pleasure – it’s palpable.”
Maybe the largest change for Toyota to come back from the curiosity in NASCAR from worldwide racing stars – together with these supported by Toyota – has been a change in how the OEM seems at its driver belongings and their futures.
“It has helped open a dialogue that we haven’t had prior to now,” Wilson defined.
“The best way that Toyota has managed motorsports globally is what I confer with as a decentralised mannequin. The brand new Toyota president Koji Sato acknowledges the North American market from a motorsports perspective, from a manufacturing car respective, is a unique market than Europe and Asia.
“The philosophy is to offer us the autonomy to handle our participation, resolve the place we should always race, how we race, how we handle our belongings together with drivers.
“What that’s finished over a long time is form of constructed silos round every nation. The place we’ve had technology-sharing, we’ve by no means actually talked about drivers.
“The ‘Kamui impact’ or the ‘Shane impact’ has definitely prompted us to open a channel of communication.
“It has us trying on the steady of drivers now we have and seeing if there are some natural potential matches to trade and commerce sources or drivers. That’s fairly cool; that’s fairly thrilling.”
Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing, Draft Kings Toyota Camry, Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Draft Kings Community Toyota Camry
Picture by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images
Sharing belongings between Toyota’s racing operations
Wilson mentioned the OEM is taking a extra “pyramid look” at its motorsports operations – trying to see how belongings could be shared and even moved round. That even consists of Toyota’s highly-lauded driver improvement applications.
The curiosity in NASCAR can open the door for a few of Toyota’s drivers to discover extra profession paths – ones they maybe by no means thought of prior to now.
“I feel drivers like Shane which might be nonetheless younger, I feel the consideration opens for a second profession in NASCAR,” Wilson added.
“May it open doorways for a component two to a profession to take a run at a championship in NASCAR? I feel the reply is completely. Completely there will likely be some thought.
“To even be extra aggressive, why couldn’t NASCAR be on the consideration set for youthful drivers internationally?
“I do know in speaking to our circle of relatives, now that now we have a greater understanding of what we’re doing, we’re speaking about sharing seats globally.
“We’ve by no means had these varieties of conversations earlier than. It’s a mirrored image on the respect the game is getting.
“It’s a mirrored image on the respect TRD is getting relative to our funding and dedication to driver improvement.”