A Short History of TRD

After his victory over the Pharnaces in 47 BC, Julius Caesar addressed his Senate and spoke the famous lines, "Veni, vidi, vici" - "I came, I saw, I conquered." Today, over 2000 years later, Toyota Racing Development (TRD) might say the same of every racing venue it has entered.

TRD first started in 1979 as a Toyota Motor Sales USA subsidiary in Costa Mesa, California. It was in charge of after market performance parts design and distribution for TRD Japan. It developed over the next 30 years to become a complete engine development through assembly operation. Their cutting-edge racing technology was in every high speed arena in every genre, stacking up wins and cementing the company's reputation. It was at first a slow climb to the top, but TRD's growth gained momentum in the early 2000s, and TRD engineers now design and build the V-8 Tundra and V-8 Camry engine for their respective Nascar series. In addition, they also do engines for factory-backed vehicles in Championship Off-Road Racing (CORR), National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), the U.S. Auto Club Sprint Car and National Midget Car Racing Series, and the grand American Rolex Sports Car Series.

TRD brought out a Celica in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) road racing competition of 1983, a product of collaboration with All American Racers (AAR). TRD-powered cars moved up within six years into the GTP class, the crme de la crme of American road racing. TRD also joined forces with Precision Preparation, Inc. in 1983 to build trucks for real-world and stadium off-road. Toyota trucks took to the dirt, winning multiple premier Baja 500 and 1000 events, and a manufacturer's championship in the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group SCORE and CORR events.

In 1996, TRD began its climb up the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) ladder, recording its first win in Indy-car competition at the Milwaukee Mile in June 2000 with Juan Montoya behind the wheel. In 2003, a TRD-powered Indy car driven by Gil DeFerran won the mother of all American races-the Indianapolis 500.

The next step was entry in NASCAR with the V-6 Celica Goody's Dash Program. In 2007, the V-8 Camry debuted at the NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch Series, and Jason Leffler ended the Busch Series at O'Reilly Raceway Park third in points, netting TRD its first NASCAR win. David Reutimann earned a second place point finish in the series by winning the Sam's Town 250 in Memphis, and Dave Blaney got the Nextel Cup season record through his third place finish at Talladega.

TRD's success in the NASCAR series wasn't limited to stock cars. With a 2004 debut in the Craftsman Truck Series, TRD took the manufacturer's championship two years in a row (2006-07) and Todd Bodine took the driver's championship in '06.

In addition to these high profile venues, TRD USA includes victories in the NHRA's Funny Car series with Jerry Toliver at the Pomona Winternationals; domination of the 2003 IRL Indy-car series with 11 wins out of 16 races; four Daytona Prototype Driver's Championships since the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series started in 2004; USAC Sprint Car and Midget Car Racing Series wins; and a sweep of the 67th Annual Turkey Night Grand Prix at Irwindale Speedway, with Dave Darland taking the Midget event, and Bobby Santos the Sprint Car.

TRD doesn't only mean Toyota Racing Development, although that is its official meaning. It also stands for "Top Results and Design.

About the Author

Author Jason Lancaster administrates TundraHeadquarters.com, a website with info, news, and reviews of Toyota Tundra accessories and Tundra parts.

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