Toyota to hit the track in Bud Shootout

2 Toyotas to Debut in Bud Shootout

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - As Kasey Kahne navigated through traffic Friday at Daytona International Speedway, he couldn't quite recognize all the competition.

'Who's that in the 44?' Kahne radioed about the car three spots in front of him.

Kasey, meet Dale Jarrett, the 1999 Cup champion and new Toyota driver.

After a year of buildup, the Japanese automaker will make its highly anticipated debut tonight in the Budweiser Shootout. There are two Camrys in the 21-car exhibition event, and Jarrett will lead them to the green flag after earning the pole in a blind draw.

'I'm excited to see what we have,' said Jarrett, who won't be behind the wheel of the No. 88 Ford for the first time in 10 years.

'I'll be glad to finally get into those race conditions to see where we stack up and see how we can compete. How much work do we have to do? Or how little do we have to do?'

That's the pressing question in the Nextel Cup garage, where everyone is expected to tune in to check out the competition. Because the Shootout is an all-star event for 2006 pole winners and past event winners, Jarrett and Brian Vickers are the only two drivers from Toyota's seven-car fleet participating.

'It's the first entry of a non-Amercian

Toyota ready to debut at Bud Shootout

manufacturer, so it's going to be an historical day,' Dodge car owner Ray Evernham said. 'And it's one more thing to pay attention to. They are the new competition and everyone will want to see what they've got.'

Based on Friday's two practice sessions, it's not totally clear how the Camrys will run. Jarrett was in the middle of the pack on the speed chart, but Vickers was all the way at the bottom - close to 5 mph off of Denny Hamlin's fast lap of 189.745 mph.

But that's OK for Toyota officials, who aren't all that concerned with the Shootout. As far as they're concerned, the non-points event is nothing more than extra preparation time for the season-opening Daytona 500.

Dave Blaney and Jarrett, based on his past champion's provisional, are the only two Toyota drivers assured of making the 500 field, so Toyota is taking every chance it can get to gain information it can carryover into qualifying.

Andy Graves, director of Toyota's Cup program, has been in this position before: He helped start Chip Ganassi's NASCAR program in 2001, the same year Dodge re-entered the Cup series. Bill Elliott ran a Dodge in the Shootout, then won the pole for 500, and Sterling Marlin drove his Dodge to a victory in a later qualifying event.

'The biggest thing I know from the past and starting a new program is it was big to be in the Shootout as far as the information we were able to gather,' Graves said.

'We're going to be able to collect a lot of data and feedback that all the teams can use. So we're absolutely grateful to have even one car in the race, let alone two.'

Graves said the two Camrys also will be out to 'earn some respect on the race track, with both the competition and the fans.'

Right now, Jarrett would settle for some within the industry.

Because he's with a new team and didn't carry any points into this season, his spot in the garage pecking order is near the very bottom of the list.

It meant the former champion had to park his team hauler in the Truck garage - a five-minute walk from the hustle of bustle of the Nextel Cup epicenter.

'There's no doubt this is incentive,' Jarrett joked.

'Right now, this isn't really so bad. We're away from everything and we're able to get everything done.'

Budweiser Shootout

WHEN: Today, 8 p. m.

WHERE: Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, Fla.

TV: WTAT

Source: [url=http://www.charleston.net/assets/webPages/departmental/news/Stories.aspx?section=sports&tableId=129992&pubDate =2/10/2007]Charleston Post Courier[/url]