As an automaker, Toyota is accustomed to making history with its unique brand of cars. But on Sunday, May 24, history will be made with Toyota’s Camry hybrid.
On that day, the Toyota Camry Hybrid is scheduled to make its debut as the pace car in at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The Coca-Cola 600 takes place at 5 p.m. Eastern and it will be the first time in the history of NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series that a hybrid vehicle serves as the official pace car.
But being the official pace car is not just something that can happen on a whim. Before the Toyota Camry Hybrid could get approved for the honor, it had to pass a performance test mandated by NASCAR officials. The Toyota Camry Hybrid had to be able to reach speeds “close to 100 miles per hour from a standby position near the exit of pit road to the time it reaches the exit of turn two, a distance of approximately a quarter mile.”
This is just one story in which Toyota cars have made history. If you get a chance, check out the NASCAR event on Sunday, May 24 on the FOX network and see some of those hybrid myths put to rest.