TOYOTA CAMRY HYBRID TO PACE COCO-COLA 600!
 

How low can NASCAR go now that a Hybrid with a 187-hp, 2.4-liter engine will pace the race and do all other pace duties:rofl:. The PACE CAR was ALWAYS a show piece for the manufacturer to show what the latest and best of the breed is. What's next a 10-speed bicycle? This is a RACE where fans come to watch SPEED, NOT a Jap car that gets an AVERAGE of 33 mpg. Whoppie, I was getting 32 mpg (on the highway) with my 1995 Grand Am GT 6 cyl. Just look at the CAMARO SS that paced the Daytona 500, and the one that will pace the Indy 500. That's a pace car, Speed, Performance, Style and outlandish looks. Some were modified to increase performance and car magazines ate it up. Just my :2cents:

who cares? toyota pays money to have their cars there. let them keep paying money

damn 32mph on the highway? how'd you not get run over.

Yeah, if I had to go to my mother-in-laws house (forced visit) and it's down by Exit 82 on the Parkway. I would set the cruise at 65, go to far right lane and get passed by everything except a ride 'm lawn mower, but it did get that mpg on a straight run. :mrgreen:

Toyota is why i lost 90% interest in NASCAR.

oh no, its new competition...lets not watch it anymore

no... he meant that you put mph instead of mpg

i find nascar 90% boring anyways. I use to be into it when i was younger but eh. Camry pacing the cars is super lame though IMO. I mean the toyots ive had were awesome, but they dropped names and models like the celica, mr2, supra, etc. Just comuter cars now, thats all they were ever good for anyways

http://www.fortunecity.com/silversto...5/pacecar5.jpg







not all pacecars are represented by fast cars :nod:
(even though the actual beretta indy had a 3.4 in it and ran a 13.5 1/4 :lol:)

I liked the fact it was an all American sport. No imports. That's why it made me lose interest and also the fact they completely got rid of the labor day weekend Southern 500. There is no more tradition in NASCAR anymore.

they are gonna have to mod the crap out of it lol

The other 10% is because it sucks and is boring. Yay for watching rednecks drive in circles.

I didnt know there was any tradition in NASCAR?
I didnt know that the Camry hybrid will have the ability to handle this task? That what funny.

fixed!

Most of the time it was a Trans Am or the "NEW" 2000 Monte Carlo or a Corvette or Viper that paced the field. Also just found out it is going to pace the field at Infineon, Chicagoland, Watkins Glen and Martinsville. When are they going to replace hot dogs with sushi. The MAN must be turning in his grave.

I don't see how it makes a difference. There is not a single "stock" based component on any of these "stock" cars anyway. The cars have nothing to do with anything so what is the difference what actual car is in front of them?

This isn't ALMS or GrandAm where it has to make sharp turns and still maintain 60mph average, it is a big oval track. Much like driving down the highway all you have to do is hold your foot down. So being a performance vehicle is of no consequence.

hey hey hey...mark martin is no red neck and could out drive 90% of the racing world :nod:

stewart is a die hard chevy guy and hates toyota...maybe he will wreck the pace car :rofl:

Would you rather see a ACR VIPER or a SMART car leading 850 h.p. cars around a racing track? We go to Island or Atco or Raceway Park to see and HEAR really fast cars, and when it comes down to the stock 16-17 second cars race, we all fall asleep.

I think you are giving Mark Martin wwaaaayyyyy too much credit. He is very good and consistent at ovals, but that is about it.

Also, if Tony Stewart hates Toyota so much why were all 6 of his midgets Toyota powered at the Chili Bowl a few years ago? Short answer, he is a driver and what brand/sponsor/car owner means very little to him. If he can get the keys or someone else to foot the bill he could care less what is in it.

Are you watching the race for the pace car or is the pace car just a side note to the race?

If you think the quality or importance of a race is based on the pace car then you are doing it wrong.

no matter what the pace car is, if you see too much of it you will complain about the race being bad......so why complain about what it is?

What your saying is right, it's just a very small role, but it just doesn't fit. You come to a race to get excited and it would be like having a fly over by a group of Piper Cub single engine airplanes. It only lasts for a few seconds, but when those jets come pouring over the field, it's a rush that gets you into the mood. To see those cars being lead out of the pits by a Hybrid is wrong. :shock:

I don't see your point. The pace car is supposed to some how be more exciting than the cars it is leading to the green? Sure, it is easy to put something out there more technologically advanced, but if the pace car enters into the excitement level of the race the driver needs a drug test.

I am at a dirt track nearly every Saturday night all summer, every event of the night is paced by a 5 year old ford pick up with the Bridgeport Speedway written across the side. For all I care they could use the same Saturn SC2 that the URC sprint cars used to use as a pace car. It means nothing to the event, lends nor detracts anything from the excitement, and has nothing to do with the race

ummm based on where nascar came from...I'm pretty sure "stock" does reffer to the car being stock. i'm pretty sure it has to do with what the cars were carring in the begining days that they needed to be fast.

what are you talking about. what "stock car" meant in the 50s and 60s is NOT what it means now.