With 104 wins under his belt in all three of NASCAR series, Kyle Busch is certainly one of the sport’s greatest drivers. Busch, who is a household name in the U.S., has earned the nickname “Rowdy” for his driving style.
It’s to be expected, therefore, that he would name his entry in Toyota’s Racing Dream Build Challenge competition the 2012 Camry “Rowdy Edition”.
Busch says that the track-inspired Camry, which will be displayed at the upcoming SEMA Show and compete against other proposals from Toyota’s racing drivers, “looks something we should run at Daytona and Talladega”.
Painted in the official black, red and white “Rowdy” colors inside and out, Detroit Speed & Engineering (DSE) has modified the car under Busch’s supervision.
“Our approach to the build was to make a car with the stance, attitude and handling of a road-race car while retaining the functionality of a production Camry”, he said.
The “Rowdy” Camry sports a custom-made body kit, front and rear “belly” pans, DSE-designed and made front air splitter and rear diffuser, a dual exhaust system and red and black bucket seats lifted from the Lexus IS F.
Fellow NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer will compete with a Tekked-Out Prius and NHRA Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria chose to transform a Tundra pick-up truck into a “beastly desert pre-runner”, while a Sequoia SUV was modified for maximum speed by NHRA Top Fuel driver and points leader Antron Brown.
All four Dream Build Challenge contestants, along with three custom-made Toyota Avalons, a TRD FJ Cruiser and the “Ultimate Fishing Tundra” will be displayed at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas on October 30.
The winner of the build competition among Toyota Racing’s drivers will be determined by fan voting on the “toyotaracingdreambuild” Facebook page from October 20-29.
Toyota will donate US$100,000 to the drivers’ designated charities, with the winner’s selected charity receiving US$50,000.
By Andrew Tsaousis
PHOTO GALLERY
