HERE COMES TOYOTA; But the truck championship is wide open.

Byline: AL PEARCE

After languishing for years as NASCAR's "other'' series, the Craftsman Truck Series has some juice. You need look no further than Toyota Racing Development to see why. For the first time in its history, NASCAR is letting a foreign manufacturer into a major series. "Mr. France said we were welcome to come in and win,'' said Lee White of TRD, "but only by a little bit.''

Rumors of Toyota's interest surfaced in mid-2002, became "solid speculation'' that December, and "confirmed speculation'' in January '03. NASCAR publicly embraced Toyota during Speed Weeks '03 in Daytona Beach. The company quickly acquired property in North Carolina, hired new engineers and relocated others, recruited teams and developed a Tundra-based truck and V8 engine. NASCAR approved everything last fall, leaving TRD little time before the Feb. 13 race at Daytona.

White's staff fielded 100- plus inquiries from owners interested in signing on early. No fools, they know Craftsman is the first baby step toward Nextel Cup. "The only way we'll be there is if we've met our objectives here,'' White said. "We want to win races in 2005 and contend for the championship in 2006. And we want to demonstrate a payback to our marketing people.''

TRD picked four owners, each able to run all 25 races. Bill Davis Racing has teenager Shelby Howard and Truck veteran Bill Lester. Two-time series champion Mike Skinner and defending champ Travis Kvapil will drive for Larry McReynolds and Alex Meshkin. David Reutimann will drive for Darrell Waltrip, who will run some himself. And Hank Park-er Jr. and former Goody's Dash champion Robert Huffman will drive for George deBidart.

Todd Holbert, the late Al Holbert's son, has worked with TRD since Davis signed on last summer. He said engineers designed eight Tundras before finding the right one. White said TRD bought, tested, disassembled and studied Ford, Dodge and Chevy engines, then sought advice from several proven builders. He said 90 percent of the ...