(Toyota Speedwat at Irwindale Marketing)
A Toyota Camry Hybrid will make its debut as a pace car at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on July 4th while leading field of the King Taco 200 NASCAR Camping World West Series race.
This is not the first time a hybrid has lead a NASCAR event. Another Toyota Camry Hybrid pace car made its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in May at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The LMS pace car was the very first hybrid vehicle to serve as the official pace car for an entire race. A couple of weeks ago at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway had a similar hybrid Camry. The King Taco 200 will mark the first time a hybrid vehicle will serve as a pace car for a NASCAR sanctioned short track event.
The Camry Hybrid is equipped with a 2.4-liter, 16-valve, four-cylinder power plant producing 187-horsepower with an EPA estimated combined average of 33 miles to the gallon. The only modifications made to the Camry Hybrid pace car is a graphics package created by SignPros of Brea, CA and an emergency light system supplied by Whelen Engineering Company, Inc. of Chester, CT, the title sponsor of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Weekly Racing Series at TOYOTA Speedway.
The Camry Hybrid, supplied by the Toyota Dealers Association of Southern California and the Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Los Angeles Region office, will serve as the official pace car for all oval track races held at TOYOTA Speedway.
The July 4th event includes the King Taco 200, NASCAR Camping World 200 lap race, NASCAR Auto Club Late Model Firecracker 75 race, an exhibition of the new Langers Juice S2 division, which is going live at the July 11th event. Special extras for the holiday include a fireworks show, show cars of the Joe Gibbs #18 and #20 (the most recent Sprint Cup winner), and a fly in of the KIIS FM helicopter during the autograph session.
Fans attending the event will be able to watch TNT’s live broadcast of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola from Daytona International Raceway on large flat screen televisions situated in a special viewing area. Gates open to the public at 4 p.m. with the green flag at 7.p.m. General admission for adults starts at $15 with a variety of discounts available.
For more information on Southern California Motorsports, check out:
July 4th events for motorsports fans
Earnhardt and Gordon to appear at Pepsi 500 Party Zone
Janelle Jalbert is a fan of a variety of racing formats and equally enjoys the history of the sport. Janelle grew up in an auto mechanic’s family and swears that there is carb spray running through her veins. She can be reached via email for both comments and story ideas.
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