Dave Wilson didn’t mince words.
“This is very difficult for me to put in words,” said the president of Toyota Racing Development. “I cannot articulate adequately what this means to Toyota.
“I’ll start by saying it’s our single biggest race in our company’s history. I’ll put it in front of the Indy 500, which was a pretty special one back in 2003.”
After entering the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2007, Toyota won its first championship at NASCAR’s highest level last year on the strength of Kyle Busch’s remarkable comeback from a racing accident that caused him to miss the first 11 races of the season.
With Denny Hamlin’s victory on Sunday, Toyota now has its first Daytona 500.
“This is the greatest race in America,” Wilson said. “For our company to have won it makes it that special. I think most of you have heard the reason that we came into the sport was to connect with the American fans, to talk about how we build every Camry in America.
“Camry was named the most American made car. So I still remember what resonated my first time here in 2007, this moniker: the Great American Race. As we were looking at why we should come into NASCAR, that was a big part of it, to have a shot at winning the Great American Race, to be able to talk to the incredible, powerful fan base that NASCAR has.
“How do you quantify the value? It’s truly stunning and special.”
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