2015 Toyota Camry set to circle NASCAR track near you

Mon, 13 Oct 2014

Toyota recently introduced the all-new 2015 Camry for the street, so it follows that it should want to promote its new bread-and-butter sedan by putting it out on the racetrack as well. And that's just what it's done here with the release of the new Toyota Camry for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The new Camry represents the first reskin of the standard stock car chassis since the Gen-6 model was introduced in 2012. Toyota's Calty Design studio worked closely with series organizers to determine which parts could be redesigned to more closely resemble the new production model, and what you see here is the result. Since it is based on the same control chassis as all the others, the Camry's skin is applied over a steel tube frame and powered by an old-school 5.86-liter pushrod V8 mated to a four-speed manual gearbox.

Although the idea of a Japanese automaker in American stock car racing didn't initially get the warmest reception from some of the good ol' boys when it first entered the series back in 2007, it has by now become a staple of the NASCAR circuit. After all, it's hard for even the most patriotic of racing fans to argue with the US-built Camry's ranking as one of the most American cars by content on the market.

Toyota Racing Development will roll out the new Camry at Daytona in February during Speedweeks, after which it will also reveal a new Camry for the second-tier Xfinity Series (currently known as the Nationwide Series).

Toyota Reveals 2015 Camry Race Car
First Manufacturer Redesign of NASCAR 'Gen-6' Model

CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 11, 2014) -- Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) and TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) today introduced the new 2015 Toyota Camry race car that will compete in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) competition beginning next season.

With the announcement of the 2015 Camry race car, Toyota becomes the first manufacturer in the series to update the NASCAR 'Gen-6' model -- which was initially introduced in 2012 for competition beginning during the 2013 season. In addition, a redesigned Camry will also be used in next year's NASCAR Xfinity Series, currently the Nationwide Series.

The 2015 Camry race car marks the culmination of a redesign to provide the vehicle with a more unique identity -- and a look similar to the 2015 production Camry that was introduced earlier this year. TRD worked together with Calty Design, part of Toyota's global network design team, to update the on-track Camry and incorporate design elements from the new 2015 production Camry into the race car.

"We're thrilled to finally be able to show off our new 2015 Camry race car -- becoming the first manufacturer to update the 'Gen-6' model that was introduced before the start of the 2013 season," said Ed Laukes, TMS vice president of marketing, performance and guest experience. "We anticipate that fans will appreciate the development behind this bold Camry design -- both on the race track and the showroom floor. Fans will have the chance to get an up close look at our new 2015 Camry in our NASCAR activation and fan engagement activities."

The boldest change to the new 2015 NSCS Camry is the aggressive front end and grill area, which looks exactly like its production counterpart. In addition, the new Camry boasts an all new, sleek hood and nose, along with a new tail of the car. A distinct change in the quarter windows also adds to the sleeker look.

"A lot of hard work has gone into redesigning the 2015 Camry race car for NASCAR competition," said David Wilson, TRD's president and general manager. "It was a challenging process balancing performance and design, but working closely with Calty Design, NASCAR and our race team partners, we were able to develop a race car that looks similar to its production counterpart -- and provide a performance upgrade on the race track."

For 12 straight years, and 16 of the past 17 years, the Camry has been the best-selling car in America. Built at Toyota manufacturing facilities in Georgetown, Ky. and Lafayette, Ind., the Camry has been named the 'Most American Car' by Cars.com's American-Made Index for four consecutive years.

In an effort to create more distinct and stock vehicles for the race track, NASCAR worked together with the three series manufacturers prior to the 2013 season to determine what areas were either 'locked in' or 'open' for unique design. NASCAR along with the manufacturers have also worked together to allow for updates to each manufacturer's design -- with Toyota being the first manufacturer to work through that update process.

"The redesigned Toyota Camry race car is a byproduct of the vastly improved collaboration that has taken place between NASCAR and its auto manufacturers during the past three years," said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's executive vice president and chief racing development officer. "Toyota's dedication to remodel its Gen-6 race car to more closely resemble its street production counterpart has been exemplary, and we look forward to watching it perform on the track each weekend in 2015."

The new 2015 Toyota Camry will make its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut at Daytona International Speedway during February's 'Speedweeks.'

By Noah Joseph