Jack Roush, co-owner of NASCAR's Roush Fenway Racing, can sleep a little better these days.Toyota Racing Development -- long the rotten apple in the eye of Roush -- acknowledged this week in a conference call that it too expects budgetary cuts in the coming year thanks to an automobile market that's having a problem or two selling cars.
TRD's NASCAR point man, Lee White, said the entire company posted its first annual loss in 70 years in 2008 and that "there is probably not anything on this earth here that Toyota is involved with now that is not under some level of review regarding budget expenditure" thanks to sorry market conditions.
Since joining the Camping World Truck Series in 2004 and Sprint Cup & Nationwide Series in 2007, Toyota has been greeted by some in the garage area with a cold shoulder, thanks to the company's overseas ties and seemingly endless cash stream.
Roush, ever the Ford man, has long had not-so-nice things to say about the company mainly because he fears the deep pockets could overwhelm his race team's ability to compete. Roush's Sprint Cup drivers include Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, David Ragan, Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle.
The latest round of Roush vs. Toyota came at Atlanta Motor Speedway last March, a week after Edwards' race-winning Las Vegas failed post-race inspection due a loose oil tank cover. White, a former Roush employee, didn't buy the argument, and Roush responded.
Needless to say, relations between the blue oval and Toyota are roughly as warm as a sheet of ice.
Perhaps today, though, Roush's idea of being overrun by Toyota's deep pockets has simmered some. That being said, I wouldn't go as far as to say that Christmas cards are going to be exchanged anytime soon.
