[kendirt]

Originally Posted by Frank Reiner The dominant engines 20 years ago were the W9RP Mopars (such as Mr. Day is using so well), Dugan headed Fontanas, and a few Ford and Chevy headed versions on various blocks. Then, a certain large auto manufacturer (whose name starts with "T"), which has had an ongoing presence in international motorsport, elected to spin off a cylinder head from one of the NASCAR divisions, and to throw their financial weight behind development of a Midget engine. That financial heft also went behind the promotion of that engine, making it available to certain selected teams/drivers. By so doing, they created a "gotta have" urge among many car owners that had the effect of putting the heretofore dominant engines in the shadows. The most accomplished teams and drivers will always run up front; whatever hardware that they are using gets excellent product placement. Those "20-year old engines" did not degrade; they simply became less visible.

Yeah and it would get ugly if TRD money didn't prop up the whole series.