"Daytona Rising" = Rising Sun

I guess it was bound to happen as the auto makers have become big international brands. But what a contrast it will be at Daytona with the big Toyota alliance versus the old days at Charlotte when my dad, my buddies and I always picked the GM or Chrysler stands over the Ford stands.

This new Daytona Toyota alliance seems to have a lot more legs than the short lived STP presenting the Daytona 500 some years back.

Toyota lands naming rights at Daytona Speedway
AP

FEB 06, 2014

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Toyota Motor Corp. on Thursday became the first company to land a naming rights deal at the revamped Daytona International Speedway.

The Japanese automaker and International Speedway Corp., which owns the famous Florida track, announced the sponsorship deal at the Chicago Auto Show.

The 11-year agreement, which begins in 2015, will provide Toyota with naming rights to one of the five massive fan entrances at the redesigned speedway. Toyota will have more than 20,000 square feet with which to work, giving the company plenty of space to showcase its automotive lineup and promote affiliated race teams.

"This is a unique opportunity for Toyota to elevate our brand in the motorsports community," said Bob Carter, senior vice president of automotive operations of Toyota Motor Sales in the United States.

The deal also makes Toyota an official partner of the Daytona 500 and gives the company pace-car privileges. The means a foreign manufacturer will lead the field under caution at "The Great American Race."

"Toyota has been a great partner for many years and we will continue to work together to enhance the fan experience at many of our facilities across the country," ISC CEO Lesa France Kennedy said.

Daytona is undergoing a $400 million renovation, dubbed "Daytona Rising."

The project will overhaul the front-stretch grandstands with new tiered concourses, wider seats and additional restrooms and concessions. It is scheduled for completion in 2016. The track will have 11 football field-sized "neighborhoods" that feature video screens as well as retail and dining areas.

"Daytona Rising represents our commitment to delivering engaging and innovative ways for our partners to showcase their brand," track president Joie Chitwood III said. "We're proud to integrate Toyota into this historic project. Our fans and guests will now enjoy more exciting, innovative and engaging experiences from the moment they enter the new facility to the time they reach their seats and beyond."

maybe they need to change the name daytona 500 to the riceburner 500

I will reserve comment on this travesty. The Rules of Engagement prevent me for expressing a view on such a cheapening of the sport.

hmm....$ rising perhaps. "Change" is in the air!

Certainly not the first time Daytona and Japan have been linked together.

As I shared in today's racing history minute, victory lane at the 1964 Daytona 500 was linked to Japan.

And in February 1961, Fireball Roberts and Smoky Yunick posed for a photo-op with a couple of Japanese motorcyle racers that ran on the front page of the Daytona paper .

And for the 2015 Daytona 500 you will hear the most famous words in motorsports, it will go like this.....Ladies and gentlemen, stotche moto!

Just another reason not to go to orwatch any NASCAR races run at Daytona.