Braver Camry Face Expresses Stern Toyota NASCAR Sprint Cup Car for 2015

Photo Credit: Michael L. Levitt, LAT Photo USA for Toyota Racing

With the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season almost over, the Toyota teams in the series have been enduring a less than spectacular outing.  A season that looked promising during the first part of Daytona Speedweeks, the 2014 Sprint Cup effort for Toyota has been one of the least fruitful since the conclusion of the manufacturer's winless debut season in 2007. After 31 races, the collection effort of the Toyota organizations has amounted to only two wins in point-paying races. Both coming with Joe Gibbs Racing owned vehicles, the Toyota Camry found victory at Auto Club Speedway driven by Kyle Busch and at May's Talladega race when Denny Hamlin wheeled the #11 machine. While qualifying has been kinder to the 2014 Toyota Camry with seven starts at the front this season, the cars have not seen victory lane in the 21 races since Talladega.

Looking ahead to greater fortunes in next season's NASCAR Sprint Cup series, the Japanese-derived auto company has created an all-new body style intent on seeing it claim more winner trophies than 2014. Based on the production car version of the new Toyota Camry (just recently released for sale to the public), the new stock car receives a more pronounced front end. Reflecting the bolder stance of the production car, the 2015 race car also features reshaping of the quarter panels and rear portion for greater personality.  Responding to the design expertise invested in the 2015 Toyota Camry NASCAR stock car, TRD (Toyota Racing Development) president and general manager David Wilson said, “It was a challenging process balancing performance and design, but working closely with Calty Design, NASCAR and our race team partners, we were able to develop a race car that looks similar to its production counterpart -- and provide a performance upgrade on the race track.”

The 2015 Toyota Camry NASCAR Sprint Cup car will debut next season at Daytona Speedweeks receiving its first ultimate field test in the Daytona 500. With the change for 2015, Toyota becomes the first manufacturer to update a NASCAR Sprint Cup vehicle based on the so-called "Gen 6" architecture balancing brand parity with unique identity. The car will also conform to a refreshed 2015 Sprint Cup series rule package designed to lessen aerodynamic downforce and drag along with reducing engine momentum. This new Camry race car will also be the shape of Toyota's 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series (the soon-to-be new name of the Nationwide Series).

NASCAR Sprint Cup Car to Lose Horsepower, Gains On-board Track Bar Adjuster for 2015

Photo Credit: 301763 Sarah Glenn/NASCAR via Getty Images

Right now, the immediate focus related to the NASCAR Sprint Cup series surrounds the 2014 Chase. However, with eight races remaining in the 2014 season, NASCAR announced a series of rules changes affecting the way the 2015 race cars will be prepared for competition.

For the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota race cars will most notably feature less rear downforce as well as less engine power. Trimming the rear spoiler on this year's car by two inches, the 2015 height for the aerodynamic accessory will be a maximum of six inches. Power for the V-8 engines propelling Sprint Cup cars is being reduced for the upcoming year with the use of a so-called tapered spacer (the same device used on NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series vehicles). Adding the tapered spacer, performance output available from the powerplants of 2015 cars is predicted to circulate around 725 horsepower. Other technical revisions for 2015 includes brake calipers, an altered radiator pan width and the reduction of the overall weight of the NASCAR Sprint Cup to 3,250 pounds without the driver (down by 50 pounds more than 2014 rules).

Another major addition for 2015 places more handling control in the hands of the driver. For the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, drivers and teams can choose to install optional onboard adjustment tool for the track bar. Teams have long exploited the track bar for dialing in the on-track performance of the stock cars on the tour but it had existed only an adjustment that could be made during pit stops. The driver-controlled track bar adjustment tool will be available as an active tool that could take work off the hands of pit crew members and provide competitors with quicker tailoring of the vehicle's track performance. At this time, one of the only other adjustments available to a driver inside the race car is brake bias.

Changes for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series will not be limited to the cars for 2015 There will also be a number of changes made to the sporting and operations of Sprint Cup series. Destined to affect teams the most is the ban of all private track testing. This measure is seen as a measure to reduce costs and to prevent advantages gained by the higher-funded organizations on the Sprint Cup tour. Teams will be invited to take part in NASCAR-sanctioned tests or Goodyear tire tests only. NASCAR also noted that there will be no test at Daytona International Speedway ahead of the 2015 Daytona 500.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series will also introduce the group qualifying format that debuted this season at all tracks for 2015 including its implementation at the Daytona 500. At the road course of Sonoma and Watkins Glen, series tire supplier Goodyear is providing fans the chance to watch a race even in wet conditions. The Akron, Ohio tire company has pledged to create rain tires for Sprint Cup road races. Used more often in the NASCAR Nationwide series in past seasons (including the last race at Road America), Goodyear's rain tires have never been used in a Sprint Cup main event. Additionally, NASCAR Sprint Cup cars will be required to run windshield wipers, window defogger system and a red rear marker light in preparation for wet weather racing.

These changes are the highlight of a total of 60 enhancements made to the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup car rules for 2015.