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A 2010 Toyota Camry Hybrid will serve as pace car for NASCAR's upcoming Coca-Cola 600.




On May 24, the 2010 Toyota Camry Hybrid will become the first hybrid vehicle to serve as the pace car for an entire NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.


But it's also true that the first hybrid vehicle to serve as pace car for a NASCAR Cup race was a Ford Fusion Hybrid.


The distinction?


After serving as the pace car during the start of last November's Ford 400 NASCAR race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Ford's hybrid pulled off of the track and was replaced by a gas-powered Fusion vehicle. Toyota's hybrid will stick around to serve as the pace, or safety car, for the duration of the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowes Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.


So both hybrids can claim a bit of history.


(Not surprisingly, Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. have squared off in the past on green vehicle marketing issues.)


The Camry Hybrids (there will be two of them) serving as pace and safety cars during several upcoming NASCAR Cup races are described by company officials stock vehicles.


The Camry Hybrids were built at the Toyota manufacturing facility in Georgetown, Kentucky, and incorporate a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine that produces 187 horsepower (and 138 pound-feet of torque) and a 45-hp electric motor.
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Tags: Plug-ins and Electric, Toyota, Ford Fusion Hybrid, Ford Motor Co., NASCAR, Pace Car, Toyota Camry, Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., Toyota Prius

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Toyota Camry Hybrid Will Serve as Pace Car for Upcoming NASCAR Races was originally published by Green Car Advisor. Read the full story by clicking here.