That, quite frankly, is the fear among Toyota competitors. Roush said before the season that Toyota will change the way every other team in the Nextel Cup garage conducts business, because of the alleged deep pockets of the manufacturer.
"I don't know if they have an open checkbook," Davis said this week. "If you go into the garage, we have a pretty good idea what a crew chief is getting paid, what a driver is getting paid, we know what sponsors are spending. We've got a lot of history in this.
"When you see some of the things that they are getting done and the money invested ... we have a pretty good idea that they're outspending us by a large margin. We're not at that level. We're not spending at the level that we think they're spending."
Unger guffaws at such remarks.
"When they say, 'They're outspending us,' the first thing we want to say is, 'Would you tell us what you're spending, so we can tell you?' " Unger said. "How in God's name do they know what we're spending? We've budgeted what we feel the other manufacturers are spending. We are spending what we feel we need to be competitive.
"Do we budget? Absolutely. One word constantly affixed to Toyota is conservative. Not only in terms of how you conduct business, but what you spend. Spending wildly is not in the company's DNA."
What is the company's genetic blueprint in every motor sports series it has entered, is slow, steady growth.
Toyota, which saw its involvement in Nextel Cup racing as a way to boost its Tundra truck sales in the consumer marketplace, first made its appearance on the NASCAR scene in 2004 in the Craftsman Truck Series, and, ironically, earned its first victory at MIS that season.
Toyota won the Truck Series manufacturers title last season with 12 victories and driver's title with Todd Bodine. Mike Skinner, a Toyota driver, currently leads the points.
The automaker has two runner-up finishes this season in the NASCAR Busch series, too.
So, there's no panic about this season's early results.
http://detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070614/SPORTS03/706140357/1004/SPORTS
"I don't know if they have an open checkbook," Davis said this week. "If you go into the garage, we have a pretty good idea what a crew chief is getting paid, what a driver is getting paid, we know what sponsors are spending. We've got a lot of history in this.
"When you see some of the things that they are getting done and the money invested ... we have a pretty good idea that they're outspending us by a large margin. We're not at that level. We're not spending at the level that we think they're spending."
Unger guffaws at such remarks.
"When they say, 'They're outspending us,' the first thing we want to say is, 'Would you tell us what you're spending, so we can tell you?' " Unger said. "How in God's name do they know what we're spending? We've budgeted what we feel the other manufacturers are spending. We are spending what we feel we need to be competitive.
"Do we budget? Absolutely. One word constantly affixed to Toyota is conservative. Not only in terms of how you conduct business, but what you spend. Spending wildly is not in the company's DNA."
What is the company's genetic blueprint in every motor sports series it has entered, is slow, steady growth.
Toyota, which saw its involvement in Nextel Cup racing as a way to boost its Tundra truck sales in the consumer marketplace, first made its appearance on the NASCAR scene in 2004 in the Craftsman Truck Series, and, ironically, earned its first victory at MIS that season.
Toyota won the Truck Series manufacturers title last season with 12 victories and driver's title with Todd Bodine. Mike Skinner, a Toyota driver, currently leads the points.
The automaker has two runner-up finishes this season in the NASCAR Busch series, too.
So, there's no panic about this season's early results.
http://detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070614/SPORTS03/706140357/1004/SPORTS