HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Off the race track and outside the showroom, NASCAR’s three manufacturers—Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota—enjoy a friendly rivalry, though the car makers aren’t averse to a few well-place digs at each other.
Toyota North America group vice president of marketing Ed Laukes, for example, was quick to remind Chevrolet U.S. vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports Jim Campbell that Chevy didn’t have a driver in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4.
Ford and Toyota are set to decide the title between them in Sunday’s Ford Eco-Boost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (on NBC at 3 p.m. ET). Chevrolet, on the other hand has all four title contenders in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.
“I’m going to congratulate Jim on his championship in the XFINITY Series, and then at that point I’m glad he made his remarks so Dave (Pericak, global director of Ford Performance) and I can take it from this point forward,” Laukes quipped. “Anything else you want to add before you move on?”
“I want to thank you for William Byron,” Campbell retorted, referring to Byron’s move from a Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota Tundra to a JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro this season. Next year, Byron will drive a Chevrolet in the Cup series for Hendrick Motorsports.
The banter aside, Campbell talked proudly of the introduction of the Camaro ZL1 in the Cup series next year and wistfully about the retirement of Dale Earnhardt Jr. from NASCAR’s foremost series.
“The Earnhardt family and Chevrolet have a long history together,” Campbell said. “We all watched Dale Jr. grow up around the track. He worked in his father’s dealership, the lube rack, changed oil as a mechanic and technician…
“He worked his way up with his brother and his sister, Kerry and Kelley, then graduates into XFINITY, wins 24 races, then two championships. That was back to back. It was incredible. Moves up to the Cup Series, obviously, at DEI, then later with Hendrick. Delivered 26 wins.”
Asked whether Ford might counter Chevrolet’s elevation of the Camaro with a move to the Mustang in the Cup series, Pericak was noncommittal.
“We always look at what’s going on in the showroom, where we’re going with our product development cycle plan,” Pericak said. “We introduced the new Fusion a couple years ago. We will be looking at introducing a new car in the future. We have not submitted anything as of yet, but stay tuned.”
Source: Reid Spencer / NASCAR Wire Service
