Boring Toyota Nameplates Out to Prove Us Wrong

What comes to mind when you think of the Toyota Camry and Prius? With both of these models, you find dependable family cars that are easy on gas.

Although that’s truly a big part of what both of these cars happen to be, the Toyota teams have worked hard to create more exciting models to drive and want to change our minds about these cars. Where better to change our collective minds than at a variety of tracks around the country?

Tire Rack One Lap for Toyota

This is exactly what the Toyota engineering teams at three of the manufacturing plants plan to do. These three teams have created a loose affiliation called Toyota Engineering Motorsports with one team each coming from the plants in Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Each team raced at least one trim level of the Toyota Camry which will be the XSE, SE, and hybrid models during the 2018 Tire Rack One Lap of America which took place between May 5 and 12ththis year. These teams also took a 2017 Prius with them to show that this is more than just an eco-friendly commuter car.

What is the Tire Rack One Lap of America

In the early part of the 1970s, the race that’s now called the Tire Rack One Lap of America was called Cannonball Run. This legendary race took place over several days and across a few different courses to show off a variety of ways for the different vehicles that wanted to take part in the event. Today, this race covers 3,675 miles with the race starting and ending in South Bend, IN, and stopping at seven different road racecourses over the course of the eight days.

The race courses that were used for this race were:

Autobahn Country Club, Joliet, IL

Gateway Motorsports Park, St. Louis, MO

Hallett Motor Racing, Tulsa, OK

High Plains Raceway, Denver, CO

Motorsports Ranch, Ft. Worth, TX

NOLA Motorsports Park, New Orleans, LA

NCM Motorsports Park, Bowling Green, KY

This year marks the fourth year for the Toyota team from the Kentucky plant in this race but the first for the teams from Indiana and West Virginia. The goal of these race teams is two-fold with a win being the desire but the building of team unity to become better engineers being the other goal.

So far, the best Toyota finish for this race has been second place by the Kentucky team in 2015 using a modified 2013 Toyota 86 while competing in the Sports GT Small Bore class. The goal is to prove the Camry and Prius is much more than just a pair of commuter cars that are able to offer you much more than just exterior style. During testing at their own track, Toyota engineers have been amazed by how these two cars perform and pass others on the track, now it’s time to prove their greatness to the rest of the country.