2003 Chicago Auto Show. Photo...
2003 Chicago Auto Show.
Photo by Jeff Bartlett.
lead photo by Canoy/Whitmore-VPS Motorimages
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. and Toyota Racing Development (TRD) U.S.A. have submitted the official Tundra race truck to NASCAR officials for competition in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The manufacturer announced its intentions to race in the Craftsman Truck Series at the Chicago Auto Show in February; a Toyota Tundra prototype race truck was unveiled at Daytona International Speedway during race weekend.
The Tundra's official submission is a significant milestone in Toyota's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series program in preparation for its debut at Daytona in 2004. The "Road to Daytona" for the Toyota Tundra race truck began over a year ago when TRD had an optical scan created of a production Tundra. TRD then utilized Swift Engineering, the aero-development company located in San Clemente, Calif., to help create the Tundra race truck body design.
"From the beginning, the Tundra race truck's creation utilized the talents of a number of knowledgeable people within TRD and several other well-known companies," said Jim Aust, president and CEO of TRD U.S.A. "We have a wealth of experience and talent at TRD in creating an engine from scratch, but in developing the Tundra chassis and body we went to industry experts with the know how in NASCAR-type equipment."
TRD and Swift took the Tundra body scan and digitally morphed it over 2004 body templates provided by NASCAR, which were also scanned into a design computer. Once the Tundra body shape digitally complied with what the common NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series templates were going to be in 2004, the digital surface information was translated to create a high-density urethane foam model. This model was ultimately used in creating the first set of Tundra body parts.
Once the Tundra race truck's basic shape was determined, the construction of the first generation chassis and body began at the TRD Tundra Race Truck Center in North Carolina. A crew of experienced NASCAR fabricators and craftsmen began creating a prototype NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Tundra.