(October 28, 2011) Strange as it may seem, the 2012 Toyota Camry will serve as the pace car for the Daytona 500 in February. And the pace car will be on display at the 2011 SEMA Show Toyota exhibit next week in Las Vegas.

It will be the first time a non-GM, Ford or Chrysler nameplate has paced the “Great American Race.” David Reutimann, Camry Sprint Cup Driver for Michael Waltrip Racing, will be on hand to talk about the Camry Pace Car during a press conference at the SEMA Show in the Toyota exhibit on Nov. 1.

The Camry Pace Car is based on the all-new 2012 Camry SE, which carries a 268 horsepower V-6 under the hood. It is specially-equipped with Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetric tires mounted on BBS RS 8.5 x 19 wheels, a StopTech Big Brake Kit, TRD custom stainless steel exhaust and Tein adjustable suspension. Safety equipment includes a roll cage, four-point Simpson racing seat belts, Whelen LFL Liberty LED lightbar, and an on-board fire extinguisher.

Toyota has previously provided pace vehicles at several NASCAR tracks, including Auto Club Speedway of Southern California, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Dover (Del.) International Speedway, California’s Infineon Raceway, Kansas Speedway, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway, Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, Wisconsin’s Road America and Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.
 
In 2004, Toyota began participating in NASCAR competition by fielding Tundra’s in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS). In 2007, Toyota began competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) and the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) with the Camry.
 
Toyota has won three consecutive manufacturer’s titles in the NNS (2008-2010) with the Camry, and Toyota racers have earned one driver’s title (Kyle Busch in 2009) and registered 60 race victories in the NNS. In NSCS competition, Camry drivers have earned 36 first-place trophies.

In seven seasons participating in the NCWTS, Toyota has captured five consecutive manufacturer’s championships (2006-2010), and Tundra drivers have won driver’s titles with Todd Bodine (2006 and 2010) and Johnny Benson (2008), and have earned 88 race wins.

At Daytona International Speedway, Toyota drivers have recorded eight NASCAR wins across NASCAR’s three national touring series, including one NSCS win (Kyle Busch in 2008), two NNS wins (Denny Hamlin in 2008 and Tony Stewart in 2008) and five NCWTS wins. In 2008, Hamlin claimed Toyota’s first-ever NSCS victory in a non-points qualifying event to determine the Daytona 500 starting lineup.