Expert: Katie - 10/21/2009

Question
QUESTION: how do they determine how many cars a manufacturer is allowed to race in the field of 43 (ie. ford, chevy, dodge, toyota)? i counted 13 toyotas in the 10/17 NASCAR banking 500 race.

ANSWER: There is no restriction or regulation on that, currently the series uses Toyota, Chevrolet, Ford, and Dodge. The teams decide which manufacturer they are going to use, and they sign contract deals to work with those manufacturers.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Katie,  So if one manufacturer wants to field 20 cars, then that is allowed?  or do they have to even up the amount of each manufacturer?  or do the team owners decide how many cars will be raced of a particular manufacturer?  Thanks for your help

Answer
Like I said before, that is between the teams and the manufacturers. Typically it stays fairly even, teams haven't been jumping around manufacturers except for when Toyota came in, and really some of those teams were new. Yes, it's possible the field could be uneven, but that isn't something NASCAR is worried about. If the manufacturers fall behind and a team switches, it's that manufacturers job to step it up and get teams back on board. So it is a team by team decision on what they are going to race. If Hendrick decided he wants to switch to Ford after his Chevrolet contract is up, that's his choice. That won't happen, but you get the idea.