NKyTribune staff and Kentucky Speedway
Kentucky Speedway Monday announced Toyota as the “Official Vehicle of Kentucky Speedway,” a partnership that includes a range of integrated elements that will create exposure for the brand using the venue’s traditional, digital and social promotional platforms.
Kentucky Speedway General Manager Mark Simendinger announces that Toyota is the Speedway’s official vehicle. The announcement took place Monday at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky (TMMK) plant in Georgetown. Also at the podium, (l to r) are TMMK President Will James, Fox Sports NASCAR analyst Michael Waltrip and Scott Wracher, General Manager, Toyota Motor Sales North America, Cincinnati Region (photos by Mark Hansel).
Kentucky Speedway’s annual events, including the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts NASCAR race weekend in July, will serve as core marketing platforms for the manufacturer.
“Toyota has achieved incredible success at its plant in Kentucky and also in NASCAR racing,” said Kentucky Speedway General Manager Mark Simendinger. “We could not be adding a better or more significant partner. It is a dream for us to work with the local dealer groups and the Georgetown plant to promote the Toyota brand and the exciting racing taking place at Kentucky Speedway.”
The partnership is fitting for Toyota and Kentucky, as Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky (TMMK) is the automaker’s largest plant in the world employing around 8,000 team members and is located just 50 miles from Kentucky Speedway. TMMK recently added more than 700 team members to support the upcoming launch of the 2018 Toyota Camry, and the plant has produced more than 11 million Toyota vehicles – which represents about one-third of all Toyotas manufactured in North America over the last three decades.
Simendinger credited Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, who does marketing consulting for Kentucky Speedway, with helping bring the partners together. Thayer said it was a natural fit because the TMMK plant is about an hour from Kentucky Speedway and team members buy about 800 tickets to the Quaker State 400 each year, so there are a lot of NASCAR fans there.
“About a year ago, Mark Simendinger called me and said they were going to need a vehicle sponsor for Kentucky Speedway ,” Thayer said. “I told him that I thought Toyota would be a great choice, so I met with (TMMK President Will James) and we put the decision makers at Toyota together with Mark and his team and a year later, here we are. Add that to the success of the Camry at the Kentucky Speedway and the partnership makes even more sense.”
This season, the 2018 Toyota Camry is competing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, aligning the Camry race car more closely with its newly redesigned production counterpart. Toyota’s introduction of the 2018 Camry in NASCAR marks the first time a race car debuted on the race track prior to its production model release.
A 2018 NASCAR Toyota Camry sits in front of the (white) prototype vehicle that will be available for consumers soon. One of Toyota’s goals is to make the car on the race track look more like the model customers can purchase from dealers.
On April 10, the company announced a record $1.33 billion investment into the Kentucky plant making TMMK the first plant in North America to begin producing vehicles using Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), which represents a completely new strategy to the way the company designs, engineers, and manufactures its vehicles.
Fox Spots NASCAR Analyst and former driver/owner Michael Waltrip, a native of Owensboro, was the master of ceremonies at the announcement. Waltrip has driven Camry’s on track, since Toyota’s were first introduced onto the NASCAR circuit.
“I’m a big fan of my home state and any time I get a chance to come back here and do anything I’m happy,” Waltrip said. “Toyota has been a great partner of mine, but also of NASCAR. To know that the 2018 Camry is going to be able to pace the field at one of my favorite tracks, Kentucky Speedway, that’s something that I’m really happy about. I can’t wait to get the track in July.”
Named the “Most American Made” car by Cars.com and the number one selling car in America for the past 15 years, the Camry, from 2018 model year, will become the first Toyota vehicle made in the U.S. to fully incorporate the new vehicle development and production technology.
In addition to the 2018 Camry, the Georgetown, Kentucky facility also began production of the Lexus ES 350 in 2015, marking the first time a Lexus vehicle was made in the U.S. The Avalon, Avalon Hybrid and Camry Hybrid are also produced at the facility.
Toyota has been a part of several Kentucky Speedway milestones, including Camry driver Kyle Busch winning the inaugural Cup race in Kentucky, the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts, in 2011. Former Toyota driver Joey Logano becoming Kentucky’s only three-time, consecutive race winner 2008-2010 with NASCAR XFINITY Series triumphs.
The manufacturer has also visited Kentucky’s Victory Lane in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with Toyota Tundras the past three years – marking seven Truck victories for Toyota at the track.
Fox Sports NASCAR analyst and former NASCAR driver/owner Michael Waltrip was master of ceremonies at Monday’s announcement at the TMMK plant in Georgetown.
“Toyota is thrilled to be taking another step forward with NASCAR by becoming the Official Vehicle of Kentucky Speedway and Camry, the Official Pace Car of the Quaker State 400,” said Scott Wracher, General Manager, Toyota Motor Sales North America, Cincinnati Region. “The all-new 2018 Camry will surprise current Camry owners and the competition with its dramatic new styling, class leading handling, and innovative safety features. The partnership includes the marketing efforts of our surrounding dealers groups in Cincinnati, Lexington, and Louisville and the hard work and dedication of over 8,000 team members building Camrys at the Georgetown facility.”
Toyota has been a part of the U.S. and North America for 60 years and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through its Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 33 million cars and trucks in North America. It operates 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employs more than 46,000 people (more than 36,000 in the United States
Fans that arrive at Kentucky Speedway in Toyota, Lexus or Scion vehicles will be directed to park in the forward sections of the Toyota Parking Lot, providing closer, immediate access to the Kentucky Speedway fan entrances. Sections of the parking lot will bear the names of select Toyota models to guide fans to and from their vehicles on event days.
Toyota became the first new manufacturer to compete full-time in one of NASCAR’s national series in more than 50 years when it entered the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2004 with the Tundra, followed by the manufacturer entering the Cup Series and XFINITY Series with the Camry in 2007.
Toyota and Camry driver Busch won their first driver’s championship in the Cup Series in 2015, followed by Denny Hamlin claiming his and Toyota’s first Daytona 500 victory to start 2016. The manufacturer then won its first manufacturer’s championship Cup in 2016 to go along with manufacturer’s titles in the XFINITY and Truck Series – making Toyota the first OEM to claim all three manufacturer’s championships since 2012.
The 2017 season at Kentucky Speedway begins in July with the return of a NASCAR tripleheader weekend anchored by the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series July 8 Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts. The Camping World Truck Series starts the weekend with the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 Thursday, July 6 and the XFINITY Series Alsco 300 is Friday, July 7.
The General Tire Super Weekend returns in September when the XFINITY Series VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 is run on Saturday, Sept. 23 along with the ARCA Racing Series Crosley 150 on Friday, Sept. 22 which concludes the season’s racing.
Tickets, Kroger Fan Zone passes and campsites are on sale at http://www.kentuckyspeedway.com, by calling (859) 578-2300 or visiting the speedway ticket offices at 1 Speedway Drive in Sparta.
