CONCORD, N.C. — Toyota introduced three teams and two probable drivers Tuesday night but still has four vacancies in its 2007 Nextel Cup lineup.
Two Camrys are slated to be driven by Dave Blaney (Bill Davis Racing) and Michael Waltrip (Michael Waltrip Racing). BDR has had Toyota Tundras in the Craftsman Truck Series since 2004 and will supply cars to Waltrip. Both teams also will have a second Cup car. The third Toyota team will be a Red Bull-sponsored start-up that hasn't named its two drivers.
Toyota Motorsports vice president Jim Aust said Toyota eventually wants about 10 cars in the Cup.
Waltrip will become an owner/driver in 2007. "I never thought I would be a car owner in the Cup series," he said Tuesday night. "But then I thought, if I can plug into this, I can go race with these guys. ... Now I've got cars. I can race these people."
Missing out: Lowe's Motor Speedway president Humpy Wheeler believes NASCAR should withhold money from drivers who skip picking up awards at the season-ending awards banquet in New York. Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn't attend the Dec. 2 ceremony. Gordon was competing at the Race of Champions in Paris, and Sadler said he also had a legitimate excuse.
"It caught me off guard because no one called me and told me I was supposed to go," said Sadler, who spent the offseason hunting in the woods of Virginia. "If they'd called, I would have gone. You have to take care of those who take care of the sport."
Need help: Speedway Motorsports chairman Bruton Smith criticized NASCAR for directing too much revenue toward teams instead of tracks.
"These speedways across the country are four or five years behind," said Smith, whose company will invest $100 million in its six tracks (Atlanta, Bristol, Infineon, Las Vegas, Lowe's and Texas) this season. "NASCAR will never be any better than the facilities. Money is needed on these facilities; that makes the racing better and helps these drivers make more money."
Rising star: Denny Hamlin turned heads by capturing a pole and three top-10s in a seven-race Nextel Cup audition with Joe Gibbs Racing last season. But the 24-year-old said he attracted attention as a Busch rookie well before the late-season surge propelled him into JGR's No. 11 Cup ride.
"After the first 10 races in Busch, I was offered other Cup rides for this year," Hamlin said. "But I felt I didn't know what I was doing yet in Busch."
Hamlin is one of four Cup rookies (including teammate J.J. Yeley) running NASCAR's top two circuits concurrently this year. Clint Bowyer and Reed Sorenson are running on both circuits.
Pit notes: MB2 Motorsports still is seeking a primary sponsor for Sterling Marlin's No. 14 Chevy in 22 of 36 races, but GM Jay Frye is confident of securing funding. The car will be backed by Waste Management for 12 races and Centrix for two. ... Dale Jarrett, who turns 50 on Nov. 26, will decide this season if he drives beyond 2007. "This is a very critical year," he said
