Toyota in the U.S.: From nearly failed brand to NASCAR champion

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Toyota in the U.S.: From nearly failed brand to NASCAR champion

By J.A. Ackley
Nov 27, 2024

The number one-selling passenger car in the U.S.

Three NASCAR titles.

Yet Toyota’s success today seemed far out of reach early on. The automaker left the American market for nearly four years after its first car failed to sell.

Inside Toyota’s U.S. headquarters lies a treasure trove of vehicles that chronicle the company’s time in the country. Here are 10 significant pieces that mark key points in Toyota’s history as it grew from awkward startup to dominant powerhouse.

2002 CART Champion Engine

Toyota Racing Development designed the RV8 engine specifically for motorsports, debuting the RV8F variant for CART single-seaters in 2002.

The engine was a hit. Brazilian Cristiano da Matta used it en route to seven victories and a CART championship while driving for Newman/Haas Racing in 2002.

At the time, it was the only U.S.-designed and -built engine in CART. It and its predecessor, RV8E, were the only American-built engines to win in CART for the preceding 20 years. The turbocharged 2.65-liter V8 put out more than 800 horsepower and ran up to 17,000 rpm.

2017 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Engine

This cast-iron, 358-cubic-inch V8 powered Martin Truex Jr. and Furniture Row Racing to the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship. It produced 750 horsepower and redlined at 9000 rpm.

When Toyota first entered NASCAR through its Truck Series in 2004, the sanctioning body gave the manufacturer and TRD permission to develop a powerplant from scratch, as the brand didn’t have a pushrod engine in its portfolio. This eventually ushered in other clean-sheet designs for Ford and Chevrolet.

After success in the Trucks, Toyota entered the NASCAR Cup Series in 2007. The company struggled in its first season, posting a single top-five result in 36 races across seven teams.

The following season, though, Kyle Busch earned Toyota’s first victory, and the manufacturer won 10 races overall that year. With Busch at the helm, Toyota scored its first driver’s championship in 2015, and then its second with Truex in 2017. Busch won Toyota’s third in 2019.