“When you talk Toyota and cool cars, Supra is the first thing that comes to mind for many auto enthusiasts.” Ed Laukes, Group Vice President, Toyota Division Marketing
“When you talk Toyota and cool cars, Supra is the first thing that comes to mind for many auto enthusiasts,” said Ed Laukes, group vice president of Toyota Division Marketing. “Supra’s return in production form is huge news, but now we’re also going to see this iconic sports car return to American motorsport. From a marketing perspective, it’s important to have a race car that evokes the dynamism and character of its showroom counterpart. We’re confident we’ve accomplished that with Supra, and we hope racing fans the world over will proudly cheer its success on track.”
“We’ve had tremendous success working with Calty to develop race cars that match the look, feel and excitement of their showroom counterparts,” said David Wilson, president of TRD. “We’re confident Calty and TRD have developed another race car, Supra, that is capable of winning races and championships. For Supra to be racing in NASCAR just speaks to how important this vehicle is to us, and that we believe Supra can be a bona fide championship winner.”
Toyota has raced the Camry in the Xfinity series 2007 and has achieved four manufacturer championships, two driver championships and 142 wins. The 2019 season marks the first year Toyota will field a different model in all three of NASCAR’s national series – the Camry in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the Tundra in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Supra previously raced in both America and Japan, where it was a dominant force in Super GT competition and a contender in the IMSA Camel GT Series in the 1980s. It also made two appearances in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in the 1990s.
Calty worked with TRD, Toyota’s North American race engineer arm, to ensure consistency between production models and on-track Toyota race cars, while also improving on-track performance with each new build. The groups began work on the NASCAR Supra in 2017.
“When Ed (Laukes) told me they were bringing Supra back, I almost didn’t believe him,” said Kyle Busch who won the 2009 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in Camry. “I figured he was messing with me, but Toyota did it and this is a big deal for the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Supra is an iconic cool car, and to have it racing in NASCAR to highlight Supra’s return speaks to how important this is. I’m hoping to be the first guy to get Supra to victory lane, but I’m sure there’s a few other Toyota drivers thinking the same thing.”
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