Well, let me tell ya somethin’ about them Toyota NASCAR engines. Folks keep askin’, “what engines do Toyota NASCARs use?” It ain’t as simple as you think. It ain’t like them little cars you see on the road, no sir.
First off, them NASCAR fellas, they use a powerful V8 engine. Now, what’s a V8? Don’t rightly matter much to you and me, but it means it’s got a whole lotta power. They say it’s got somethin’ like 725 horses under the hood. Can you imagine? 725 horses! That’s a whole lotta horses, more than my whole farm could hold, I reckon.
- Toyota ain’t usin’ them regular engines you see in their cars on the street. Them NASCAR engines are special. Built for racin’, pure and simple.
- They say Toyota makes these engines down in California, a place called TRD. That’s Toyota Racing Development, for you fancy folks. They make a whole bunch of ’em, maybe 400 a year, they say. That’s a lot of engines, enough to keep them fellas racin’ all year long.
Now, they used to use somethin’ called carburetors in them engines, been usin’ ’em for years, but now they use somethin’ called EFI. Don’t ask me what that means, but it’s supposed to be better, I guess. Keeps them engines runnin’ strong. And these engines, they ain’t small, they’re about 5.8 or 5.9 liters, whatever that means. Just know it’s big and powerful, that’s all that matters. They got these things called pushrods and valves, two for each cylinder, whatever a cylinder is. Sounds complicated, but I guess it makes the engine work good.
Toyota uses these V8 engines in all their big NASCAR races. They got the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, all them big races you see on TV. They use special cars for each race, you know, like the Camry. They just came out with a new one, the Camry XSE, they say it’s real good. Before that, they had the Camry TRD, and that one won a bunch of races, too. Seems like Toyota knows what they’re doin’ when it comes to racin’.
Now, you might be thinkin’, “Can I get one of them engines for my car?” Well, hold your horses. These engines ain’t for regular cars. They’re built special for racin’, like I said. They’re optimized, they say, for goin’ fast and turnin’ left. You wouldn’t wanna drive one of them to the grocery store, that’s for sure.
And it ain’t just Toyota makin’ these engines, y’know. There’s this other fella, Roush-Yates, he makes engines, too. And cars, and parts, all sorts of stuff for them racin’ teams. He helps out a bunch of teams, like Penske and Stewart Haas, all them big names. It’s a whole lotta folks workin’ together to make them cars go fast.
So, if someone asks you “what engine does Toyota use in NASCAR?”, you can tell ’em it’s a big, powerful V8, built by TRD down in California. It’s got somethin’ like 725 horses, and it’s made for racin’, not drivin’ to the market. And it’s used in all the big NASCAR races, from the Cup Series to the Xfinity Series. And don’t forget about that Roush-Yates fella, he’s in on it, too. That’s about all I know about them Toyota NASCAR engines. It’s complicated stuff, but that’s the gist of it, y’know.
Some people might tell ya about inline-4 engines and other things, but don’t you worry your head about that. The main thing is that V8. That’s the heart of them Toyota NASCARs, and that’s what makes ’em go zoom! They been usin’ these V8’s since 2012 after a long time usin’ somethin’ else, and they seem to be doin’ just fine with ‘em.
And remember, these fellas are always tinkerin’ and changin’ things, so what’s true today might not be true tomorrow. But that V8, that’s been the mainstay for a while now, and I reckon it’ll be around for a good long time to come. Toyota’s puttin’ a lot of effort into these engines, and it shows. They’re winnin’ races, and that’s what matters in NASCAR, ain’t it?
