Over at the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, officials are about to complete a deal to allow Toyota's Tundra pickup to join the series -- the first time a vehicle from a non-U.S. manufacturer* will be allowed to race on the NASCAR circuit.
Not everybody is happy about it:
"You've got Yao Ming in the NBA, and Hideo Nomo in baseball, which is fine. But leave ONE American pastime an American sport!" says Charles Walker, a columnist for the racing Web site Catchfence.com. "When you start including Toyota -- and now there are rumors of Nissan -- where do you stop?"
Once the Tundra joins the truck series, the next step is to allow Toyota's Camry to join the regular NASCAR series -- a prospect that has other fans jumpy as well. Why? Because Toyota has gained a reputation for spending the money it takes to win: first on the CART circuit, and now in IRL, where Toyota has become the engine of choice.
Now, before you write off NASCAR fans as hopeless xenophobes, know this: many people inside American auto racing attribute the diminishing popularity of the CART circuit to its lack of American drivers. In turn, much of the insanity that surrounds NASCAR is driven by the popularity of personalities -- and when you can root for a driver that's from your home state, or in many cases, even your hometown, becoming a rabid fan is all the easier.
And then there's Formula 1, where there are no Americans to be found, and consequently, few American fans (though there are a dedicated few).
Be that as it may, I have to wonder -- what are these folks are so afraid of? Americans go head-to-head with every country in the world in the marketplace everyday. A little competition never hurt anyone, and NASCAR fans ought to have a little more faith in American ingenuity.
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*Though the Tundra is manufactured by Toyota, the truck itself is completely manufactured and assembled in the U.S. -- a fact that NASCAR took into consideration when it opened up the Truck series to Toyota.
