Jim Aust is not Japanese, but as far as some NASCAR fans are concerned, Jim Aust is the American turncoat who just started World War III, and this time Pearl Harbor has a Home Depot.
Aust is the VP of Motorsports for Toyota Motor Sales USA. Aust also runs Toyota Racing Development (TRD). There may not be a more powerful manufacturer rep in the world of racing, and this week he showed it when he landed Joe Gibbs Racing as Toyota's flagship Nextel/Sprint Cup team for 2008 and beyond.
There are a lot of people who believe that NASCAR should "stay American," and should have never allowed Toyota to join NASCAR. Of course such thinking is very backward, given the fact that when Dodge came back to NASCAR in 2000, they were owned by Daimler-Benz, a German company. Also factor in that Toyota is a major employer of American workers, and sells a heck of a lot of cars in the US.
Ok, off the geo-political and back to racing.
Toyota got off to a slow start in NASCAR. Its first year in the Craftsman Truck Series was not the stuff of legend, with only four wins in 25 races. Two years later, they won almost half the races on tour, the manufacturers championship, and the drivers championship.
I'll repeat that - Two years later.
Aust and his people at TRD have won championships in Grand American Rolex competition with Ganassi/Sabates. They accomplished that in short order as well. TRD has a habit of getting into a series, connecting with great teams, and winning championships. This week that tradition got a great potential boost with JGR siging on. Suddenly, people are taking Toyota a whole lot more seriously than they were in February of this year. You remember February at Daytona - The Waltrip debacle, several Toyota teams show up, most of them leave, Toyota never a factor after much hype. Chevy, Dodge, and Ford lovers basically toasting the Japanese Cup debut as a joke.
Nobody's laughing now.
Up until now, nobody saw JGR's relationship with Chevy as a liability, but with the fusion of RCR and DEI's engine program, and the Hendrick aquisition of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing was starting to feel like being Chevy property was not really a winning situation for them. Not one to sit on his laurels, JD Gibbs decided that if JGR was going to compete on the same support level as Hendrick, he had to make a move, and Jim Aust was there to offer it to him. The result may mean a fourth Nextel/Sprint Cup Championship next year for JGR, and the first for a "foriegn" automaker.
Another thing that makes this move easier for Gibbs is the COT. Every COT chassis that JGR has currently can accomodate a Toyota engine and Toyota body. There is no aero advantage for any manufacturer so the only thing that JGR has to worry about is power, and as they have already proven in the Truck Series, TRD can make power. In Cup, people ultimately make the difference, and JGR has quality people.
Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Toyota - I'm lovin' this! This is why Cup racing is the best motorsports entertainment on the planet. With the swipe of a pen on a contract, NASCAR's stock just went up! If you were looking for the next Dale Earnhardt in NASCAR, this story just gave it to you. Toyota is the new guy in the black hat. American purist race fans are going to root against "The Rising Sun," and are going to get their hearts handed to them.
It is now officially "us against them," except now "them" is also the head coach of the Washington Redskins, and the three-time Nextel/Sprint Cup Series champs. It'll be interesting to see how many boos will rain down when Tony Stewart wins the Daytona 500 - THE 50'th DAYTONA 500 in a CAMRY. Think it can't happen?
Think again.