Toyota may be the most recent manufacturer to join the NASCAR ranks, but Keith Dahl, the automaker’s corporate manager of motorsports and engagement marketing, doesn’t consider the brand the new kid on the block any more.
In fact, in terms of its presence in the sport, Toyota, which debuted in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2004, has come a long way since its first foray into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the 2007 Daytona 500. There, Toyota’s activation of the brand took place in the parking lot of the now-defunct Cancun Lagoon restaurant across from the speedway.
Today, Toyota maintains an increasingly pervasive presence in the sport, with race entitlements, official pace cars and such partnerships with NASCAR as “Chase Grid Live” in Chicago and official truck status for the Air Titan track-drying system.
For Dahl, of course, the bottom line in NASCAR marketing is driving showroom traffic and increasing opinion and purchase consideration among NASCAR fans.
“We are delighted with NASCAR’s partnership,” Dahl said. “It’s opened up a lot of doors for us. It’s a substantial part of our investment, but it’s an easy business case to make.”
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