GUNNING FOR TWO; While Toyota debuts in Nextel Cup, it is already well established in the Craftsman Truck Series.(Motorsports)

Byline: Al Pearce

It took three years for Toyota Racing Development to help the parent company win its first NASCAR manufacturers' championship. It shouldn't take nearly that long for Toyota to win its second.

If things go as expected, Tundras again will dominate the Craftsman Truck Series. Last year, Toyota's full-schedule teams won 14 poles and 12 of 25 races and placed its drivers 1-2-3-4-5-6-10 in the championship. This, mind you, was just three full seasons after the company debuted with a second-place finish in 2004's opener at Daytona.

Toyota spent '03 doing its homework. It started slowly enough, winning only four races in '04 before taking nine in '05. It was obvious from early last year that Toyota was the class of the field. Ford won eight races. Roush Racing star Mark Martin won six. Chevrolet won five races, and Dodge didn't come close. As for Toyota, six of its full-schedule drivers won poles, and five won races. Ironically, the only driver without a pole or a win was '05 series champion Ted Musgrave.

The odds heavily favor defending champion Todd Bodine to repeat and help Toyota win another manufacturers' title. He and crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. return to the Stephen Germaine-owned team, where they won a pole and three races last year and took the title by 127 points.

Johnny Benson, '06 runner-up, returns to Bill Davis Racing. New crew chief Trip Bruce replaces Rick Ren, who helped Benson win a pole and five races last year. They were title contenders until a late-season swoon cost them any chance of snatching the title. Bruce is the only unknown for this solid Tundra team.

David Reutimann, winless but third in '06 points with Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, moves to a full-schedule Cup ride with Michael Waltrip ...