Toyota excited about what future brings in '08 season (cont'd)

"What's made the Truck program work so well is that our company [Triad Racing Development] builds all the chassis, hangs all the bodies, and builds all the engines," Davis said. "So all those things go out the door. They do all the testing -- all the straight-line testing, the wind-tunnel testing. So they're all the same. They share the information all through the garage, and everything is apples to apples.

"We don't have that over here [on the Cup side]. Everybody's got different chassis. We haven't had that benefit that we've had in the Truck Series. So you really can't compare the two.

"And it's not going to change in the Cup series. I mean, Gibbs Racing isn't going to share information with Bill Davis -- and I don't expect them to. But the level of the performance of the Toyota, it will just help us all overall."

The Toyota engines need help, too. That much is clear, and both David and White are willing to admit it.

They think the addition of JGR, which will build its own engines but with engineering and other technical assistance from many of the 220 employees of Toyota Racing Development (TRD), is going to help generate advances in the engines of all the Camrys that will be racing next year.

"There are some things that we need to do different," Davis said. "Hopefully we'll get some time to address that over the winter, and we'll go into next year with a better combination. We haven't had the reliability that we've always been used to in years past, and we don't have quite the right combination that we've had in the past. Hopefully some of that stuff, with a year under our belt, we'll do a better job of being prepared next year."

White is candid about the struggles the Toyota engines have faced in this, their first Cup season.

"Facts are facts, and we're working on it," White said. "We have a job to do, and the people working on the engine have a job to do. You don't generate parts and pieces overnight. It takes time to do the engineering, to do the proper durability testing -- and to get enough pieces to see that it can be implemented across seven or eight cars, along with spares, and get it out into the field."

Both Davis and White added that going to the Car of Tomorrow full-time next season will enhance Toyota's chances of being more competitive across the board.

"I've seen the [COT] wind-tunnel results of all four brands," White said. "A single car running all four different noses, tails, whatever -- and they're line on line. There is literally no difference from one to another, brand to brand, from headlight to grill. The difference there is there is a tremendous resource of talent and engineering capability at TRD that's going to compliment these guys, getting ready for Daytona [next February]. So let's not discount that it may not be a step back [for Gibbs]; it might actually be a step forward.

"And the same goes for the engine. We've raced this engine for a year. Guys like Michael Waltrip and Red Bull and Bill Davis have been down there rubbing their noses in the pavement, literally, getting through this first year -- helping us learn how to get this thing where it needs to be. It will be there by Daytona. These guys are not just going to be catching up; they're going to be looking over their shoulders."

Or at least, he hopes, residing in the main part of the infield with the rest of the teams securely in the top 35 in owner points.