Saturday Charlotte Notebook

Saturday Charlotte Notebook

Notebook Items:

•           Toyota Introduces 2015 Camry Race Car

•           Hamlin: Charlotte Key To Contender Round

•           After The Lap In Las Vegas Will Have All 16 Chase Drivers

Oct. 11, 2014

Toyota introduces new 2015 Camry race car

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

CONCORD, N.C.—No longer just the so-called “sure bet,” it was a sleeker, slicker, more aggressive-looking 2015 Toyota Camry NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race car unveiled by Toyota Motor Sales and Toyota Racing Development on Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The new Camry is the product of a redesign project with two primary goals: to provide the vehicle with a more distinctive identity and to correlate the appearance of the car to the 2015 street version that was introduced early this year.

“A lot of hard work has gone into redesigning the 2015 Camry race car for NASCAR competition,” said TRD president and general manager Dave Wilson.

“It was a challenging process balancing performance and design, but working closely with Calty Design (part of Toyota’s global network design team), NASCAR and our race team partners, we were able to develop a race car that looks similar to its production counterpart--and provide a performance upgrade on the race track.”

The front fascia and grille opening of the new Camry mirror the aggressive design of the production car, and that’s perhaps the most obvious aspect of the new design.

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota, was pleased with what he saw at the unveiling in the Charlotte media center.

“There’s a reason the Camry’s always been the No.1-selling car,” Bowyer said. “It is the sure bet, and it’s neat to see some styling enhancements make it a little more aggressive, just a little bit more sexy car than the that sure bet.

“Everybody wants a sure bet, but every now and then you’d like a good-looking date, too. Certainly, we’ve accomplished that with the Camry, and I’m pretty excited about it.”

Bowyer and other Toyota drivers will have a chance to get some track time in the new race car this year before NASCAR’s testing ban goes into effect Jan. 1. And with NASCAR’s new lower-downforce, lower horsepower competition package set to debut in 2015, Bowyer feels the timing of the new Camry couldn’t be better.

“I think it’s a perfect time to have a new car, to be honest with you,” Bowyer told the NASCAR Wire Service. “It’s a whole new rules package with a lot of unknowns anyway. So what you had last year per se isn’t going to be the same recipe for success next year with all the different rules.

“You’re pretty much starting from scratch anyway. So it’s a perfect time to start from scratch with even yet another car all linked together.”

THE KEY RACE

Denny Hamlin would love to kick a man when he’s down—three men to be exact.

With Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all having serious issues last Sunday at Kansas Speedway, Hamlin sees and opportunity to keep them out of the next round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

And he thinks Charlotte will be the key race in that scenario, given the often-random nature of Talladega, the final venue in the Contender Round. The way Hamlin sees, Charlotte presents the best chance for the three drivers in question to make up ground, or to guarantee advancing to the Eliminator Round by winning the race.

“I think this is the key weekend for that,” Hamlin said. “All the speed in the world that all those teams have had this year means nothing when we go to Talladega.  In my opinion, this is their shot to make up those points. Next week, you can't count on the speed of the car. It's just going to be about circumstances and drivers putting themselves in the right spot not to get wrecked and then after that, you have to find your way to victory lane." 

“I think this is the week that's going to really set the tone for next week and obviously Talladega is the final cutoff race. You thought it was going to be wild, but now with the way it's playing out, and especially those cars that have had bad races last week, it's shaping up to be very epic. Until the last lap, you will not know who is going to be in or out.”

BONUS DRIVERS

Race fans attending NASCAR After the Lap during Champion’s Week in Las Vegas will get 33 percent more for the cost of admission this year.

Instead of 12 drivers, all 16 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will appear with emcee Marty Smith at the Pearl Palms Concert Theater at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4. Previous editions of NASCAR After the Lap have proven to be both spirited and unpredictable, to put it mildly.

Fans can purchase tickets at www.NASCARafterthelap.com. At the same site they can also enter the NASCAR After the Lap sweepstakes through Nov. 16.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the iconic Ford Mustang, fans entering the NASCAR After The Lap sweepstakes will have the opportunity to win a 2015 Ford Mustang GT. Additionally, two winners will receive an all-inclusive VIP trip for two to NASCAR After The Lap, including roundtrip airfare, hotel, ground transportation and VIP event access.