It's been about 100 days since Toyota announced plans for Nextel Cup and Busch Series efforts beginning in 2007. For an update, Pit Pass caught up with Jim Aust, vice president of motorsports at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and President and CEO of Toyota Racing Development (TRD), while he was visiting TRD operations in High Point, North Carolina.

Pit Pass: What kind of progress is Toyota making?
Aust: We're making good progress, but we have an enormous amount of work to do. The so-called "Car of Today," the Camry that will race at Daytona next year, is taking shape and we expect to submit a car to NASCAR for review by the end of June. That will include wind tunnel and track testing. We're also working on getting the all-new 2007 Tundra ready for next season. We're playing catch-up in the development of the "Car of Tomorrow" and that's a moving target as the rules remain fluid at this point.

We're also very happy with the progress of the three teams that will be running Camrys next year, Bill Davis Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and Team Red Bull. The teams are staffing up and building facilities.

Pit Pass: What drivers are you lining up for next year?
Aust: Michael Waltrip, of course, is a driver/owner and was part of our announcement in January. I understand the teams have been talking to a number of drivers whose contracts are up at the end of this season. We have a courtesy review as part of the selection process, but the real decision is up to the teams and their primary sponsors. They will make all of these decisions. No drivers have been submitted for our review at this point.

Pit Pass: How about the search for sponsors?
Aust: Again, that's up to the teams. We are not involved in the sponsor search process. And as we said when we announced the program, we will not be sponsoring any vehicles, unlike what we've done in the Craftsman Truck series.

Pit Pass: Any chance there will be other Nextel Cup teams running Camrys next year?
Aust: We are not pursuing any other Cup relationships at the moment. Right now each of the three teams will be running two cars.

Pit Pass: We've been reading about all the people Toyota has hired away from its competitors. How many people has Toyota added?
Aust: It appears that there has been some misinformation circulating around on this subject. In the past four months Toyota has hired one person for our North Carolina activities -- and that was for the Craftsman Truck program. The three teams have made some hires, but not Toyota or TRD, and we're not involved in their hiring.

Six or seven people from TRD's open wheel program in Southern California will be moving to North Carolina to work on the NASCAR program bringing the total number of TRD associates to 16. Eventually we'll be looking to hire an additional 15 - 20 people for engineering support. Toyota has a strict and long standing corporate-wide policy against hiring or even talking to anyone who is under contract to another organization. So we won't be hiring anyone currently under contract to other teams.

Pit Pass: What are Toyota's facilities like?
Aust: In North Carolina, TRD currently operates out of a 32,000 square foot engine shop and a 36,000 square foot fabrication shop, both in High Point. We're in the process of studying our future needs, but one thing for certain we will not be building a test track, as was recently reported by one of the local papers.

Pit Pass: What's been the general reaction to Toyota's announcement?
Aust: Mostly it has been positive. Of course there are those who prefer the status quo and we understand that. Especially given all the other changes NASCAR has been going through. But we've been working closely with NASCAR to make the sport even better. We've helped two new teams join the series in Michael Waltrip Racing and Team Red Bull. And we'll continue to work closely with NASCAR and abide by their rules and guidelines established for all manufacturers.

Pit Pass: What's next?
Aust: We're looking forward to submitting a vehicle to NASCAR for review and getting on the track for some testing. Right now we're all focused on that.