More on Toyota

Well, we ended last week with Roush on Toyota.

Let’s start this week with Toyota on Toyota.

At the Bank of America 500 last October in Charlotte, another of the guests of the Official NASCAR Members Club was Ty Norris, General Manager of Michael Waltrip Racing.

“People always resist change,” Norris said to the members, adding the manufacturer is trying to be respectful to NASCAR.

There’s no way around it, Toyota has arrived. And Norris said, a day will come the Camry will kick tail and take names on the track.

Ty has been with Mikey from the ground up at MWR, and jokes he’s responsible for “everything but the driving.” The Speed Channel and ESPN have both followed him around during the building process and aired one special each about the team (which includes Dale Jarrett and David Reutimann and sponsors UPS, Domino’s Pizza and Burger King.)

“Not many companies and certainly not many teams grow this fast,” Norris said. Norris’ expertise comes from many years at Dale Earnhardt Inc. He left the company in frustration three years after The Intimidator’s death. Had frustration not set in, Norris said “I’d still be in silver, red and black.”

Mikey, a perennial fan favorite, will open his raceshop in mid-May, Norris said. Hopefully in time for the ONMC Convention and the All-Star Challenge in Charlotte.

The raceshop will be fan-friendly, Ty said, noting at DEI you can press your nose to the glass and watch what’s happening.

At the Waltrip place, you’ll be coming all the way into the shop. “You experience it. You get educated to all phases of the operation.”

The shop is at exit 28 on Interstate 77 at Cornelius, N.C.

See ya there!