RICHMOND, Va. -- They were lined up in the hinterland of the Richmond International Raceway infield, far away from the comfort of where the haulers of the top 35 teams in Nextel Cup Racing were permitted to reside Friday.

There was the No. 22 hauler of Bill Davis Racing, and just a few yards away resides one from Michael Waltrip Racing and another from Red Bull Racing. In addition to their profound distaste for not being in the top 35 in owner's points and assured the automatic qualification into Cup races that comes with that designation, they have one other thing in common -- they field Toyota Camrys.

Moving forward

In announcing its move to Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing identified itself as a team that was ready, is willing, and will be able to carry the manufacturer's banner in the Cup Series.

• Complete story, click here
• Gibbs switching to Toyota
• Caraviello: Tracing its past
• Rodman: Significant swap
• Message Board: Your thoughts
• Video: Watch news conference

Those running the Toyota this year in Nextel Cup have been running behind the rest of the field virtually the entire season. The No. 22 driven by Dave Blaney for BDR enters this Saturday night's Chevy Rock and Roll 400 as the top Toyota in owner's points, and sits just outside the coveted top 35 in 36th. The No. 83 Toyota driven by Brian Vickers is in 38th, the No. 44 of Dale Jarrett is 41st, and Waltrip's own No. 55 is 46th.

Other Toyotas are sprinkled even further down in the all-important standings.

But beginning next season, that all is supposed to change. Wednesday's historic announcement that Joe Gibbs Racing is switching manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota is expected to have a positive ripple-down effect on the other teams running the Camry, according to Lee White, vice president and general manager of Toyota Racing Development in the United States.

"And given the combined resources, I think it's going to be moved along quite quickly," White said.

White and J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing, made it very clear they expect JGR -- which this season has Chevys driven by Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin poised second and third in points -- to be competitive right off the bat in their new Toyotas next season.

Bill Davis, owner of Bill Davis Racing, said he had no doubts about that, either. And while he said he does not expect information to be flowing freely between his team and JGR even as they both begin running the Toyota brand, he added that he does expect the addition of Gibbs to the Toyota stable to help his operation.

"I don't know that we'll share a word," Davis said. "But it all just filters across the board with Toyota. If they help make Toyota stronger, everyone will benefit.

"I think it will be good to have that solid of a team, a championship-caliber team involved. It will just raise the level of information, and I think it will be good."

At the same time, no one should expect to compare the relatively quick success Toyota had in the Craftsman Truck Series with what will or won't happen at the Cup level. Davis has intimate knowledge of that because his Toyota truck teams have been very successful, but he pointed out that the set-up for exchange of information across the board with other Toyota teams on the Cup level is totally different.

"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.