Mustang, Challenger, and Camaro To Take On NASCAR?

Editor

With the Car of Tomorrow redesign underway in NASCAR’s second-tier Nationwide Series, there’s been a lot of wild-ass speculation about whether the Big Three might seize the opportunity to introduce their newest crop of pony cars to stock car racing. It’s not as far-fetched as you might think: there were those CoT prototypes tested last year at Richmond, Ford has all but committed at least some version of its Mustang to run in Nationwide, and the mags and the blogs have been mulling over the idea for months. Two main threads within the CoT development discussion include 1. the importance of running a car that’s closer to “real” cars available at the showroom, and 2. the idea that the car would be different enough from Sprint Cup’s CoT that Sprint Cup drivers would have no particular advantage in the series–so in other words, you wouldn’t have to watch Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch win the race on cruise control weekend after weekend, with the rookies whom Nationwide is supposed to serve bringing up the rear of the pack. I think the racing of factory-based Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers would not only be awesome, but it’d give the ailing Nationwide series the shot in the arm it needs: it could finally be cool in its own right, rather than a little-brother series to Sprint Cup and a lazy playground for already-established NASCAR champs. Check out Murray Pfaff’s rendering from the October 2009 issue of Hot Rod, which, apart from the fact that it depicts the supposed Nationwide cars in Sprint Cup sponsorship regalia, gives a pretty good idea of what Detroit’s pony cars might look like racing side-by-side on the track. The whole thing kind of begs the question, though: what’s Toyota supposed to run?

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Posted at 1:41 am in Jen Dunnaway, NASCAR, Nationwide

Comments

Robb31
Sep 12, 2009 at 10:08 am

Or Toyota could bring back the Supra;)

EL-CHAMO
Sep 1, 2009 at 2:34 pm

i like watch that!!!!!!!

Team61RaceCars
Aug 28, 2009 at 4:10 pm

SCREW Toyota…..IMHO

xxnatedoggxx
Aug 27, 2009 at 7:07 pm

toyota can run a really moddified IS-F. it could lead the way for a more cheaper Toyota badged or even scion badged IS-F

leetcliche
Aug 27, 2009 at 6:07 pm

yes, maybe this will push Toyota to stop making the most boring crap in the universe and start making cool sports cars like they used to. New supra or Mr2 anyone? hell, I’d be happy with a new celica. It’s amazing that Toyota has absolutely nothing sporty on their entire lineup, and they are one of the biggest car companies in the world.

cknarf
Aug 27, 2009 at 4:31 pm

Honestly, I don’t think a company should be able to run unless a v8 option is available in the production model. lol V8 camry…

Toyota should run the Yaris!

TOPlamborghini
Aug 27, 2009 at 4:19 pm

ehh..i still think its boring.

Chris Bicknell
Aug 27, 2009 at 2:13 pm

Nicely put. I’d love to see these cars on the track every weekend. The only problem I see is that I’d have to make the time to watch both Nationwide and Sprint Cup every weekend. I guess that’s the idea though, right? Cool rendering, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for this one! (And yeah, I don’t really care what Toyota does. Make them run a real Camry so we can watch them all trailing at the back of the pack!)

FordRulesAll
Aug 27, 2009 at 1:06 pm

This would be awesome! This is what it should be about. I would definitely watch NASCAR if those three are in. And for Toyota(well who cares).
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This may bring back a true new Boss Mustang. The first Boss was the street variant of the Trans-Am racing Mustang. So maybe just maybe we will see an actual Boss.

firstgencamaro69
Aug 27, 2009 at 8:51 am

This would atctually get me to watch nascar. I just hate watching generic cars about forty of em go around the damn track all day

Raszaron
Aug 27, 2009 at 5:57 am

I like watching the vintage NASCAR racing from the 80′s back to the 50′s, because they did use factory cars that where modified! Todays NASCAR is boring!!! I could care less if you take a fabricated body, slap a spec engine in it and go out and do circles all day long. NASCAR needs to re-invent the wheel, go back to modified production cars, which I beleive would help out the big three because people would see what they could possibly have from the showroom floor. Oh, and add more road courses, left turn after left turn… so your team knows how to set up a suspension for banked turns, whoopty-do!