President of Toyota Drives New Camry With Kyle Busch, Says Danica Patrick Might Change His Driving Habits

by Ben Watanabe on Sun, Feb 26, 2012 at 8:51AM

Do they have GoDaddy commercials in Japan, too?

Toyota president Akio Toyoda was one of two people, along with NASCAR driver Kyle Busch, to drive a stripe-camoflaged 2013 Camry on Saturday before the final practice for the Daytona 500. Busch is known for his overly aggressive driving, which might have made the Japanese businessman a little uneasy on the track, but Toyoda seemed more concerned with a different stock car driver.

If he had driven 10 laps with Danica Patrick instead of Busch, the jaunt around the track might have gone differently, Toyoda told The Associated Press.

"I think it's really great for NASCAR's sake to have a female driver like her and be so actively successful and be supported by so many people," Toyoda said. "But I'm glad that it was Busch that I rode with today. If it had been her riding with me, I may have driven differently."

Patrick will make her first start as a full-time NASCAR driver Sunday after beginning her career in IndyCar. If this stock car thing doesn't work out for her, it sounds like she'll always have a place at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Jillian Michaels' attendance would be optional.

Photo of the day

"There, that guy in the suit. He's the one who's been following me around all day bragging about his dependable, affordable, American-built cars. Doesn't he realize there's no place for those things in NASCAR?"

Quote of the day

"I've gotten away from the 'hate' stuff. I played with that last year and it wasn't me."
– LeBron James, talking. What a surprise.

Tweet of the day

Where's that dang "dislike" button when you need it?

@NESN go Canucks go. Boston Bruins are the most hated team.

— Jon Rogers (@canucksN5) February 26, 2012

Video of the day

This is not good. Once kittens figure out how to use ladders, the logical next steps are learning how to speak, operate heavy machinery, program computers and taking over the world, one cute Internet video at a time.