Toyota Camry Daytona 500 Pace Car
The Daytona 500 has been about as ’Americana’ as any sporting event in the US today. The only others that are on that level are the Indy 500 and the SuperBowl. So it’s no surprise that in the 50 years that the event has been held, only one of the pace cars involved doesn’t have an American lineage to it. That is until now.
Joining the Porsche 914 that was used as a pace car in 1971 is the all-new Toyota Camry, which has been tapped to lead-off the Daytona 500 and open the NASCAR Sprint Cup season next February.
In an event that has fielded a steady number of Pontiacs, Buicks, Chevrolets, Fords, and so many other US-born automakers, the decision to choose the 2012 Camry as the official pace car of the 2012 Daytona 500 is a testament to the Japanese automaker’s growing influence in the US stock car world.
Details surrounding the pace car have yet to be announced, but when you happen to watch the event this February and you notice a Japanese car leading the field on the warm-up lap, understand that it’s only the second time in the event’s 50-year history that a foreign car is leading the parade at the Daytona 500.
That in itself is something worth looking into.
Toyota Camry Daytona 500 Pace Car originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 3 September 2011 23:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/toyota/2012-toyota-camry-daytona-500-pace-car-ar114910.html
Francois Mazet Gastón Mazzacane Kenneth McAlpine Perry McCarthy Ernie McCoy




