Yahoo Autos Shrunken Toyota GR Supra roadster helps young drivers get a start in drag racing
The Toyota GR Supra funny car has always looked a bit, well, funny. But shrink it down to about half its regular size, as Gazoo Racing has done for its latest drag racer, and it looks so tremendously weird that it's almost cute again. It's just as well, since the GR Supra Jr. Roadster is meant to introduce young drivers to the sport of drag racing.
The NHRA already has a Jr. Dragster series that's been around since 1992. The series races at over 130 tracks across the country in cars that resemble pint-size Top Fuel dragsters. Many pro NHRA drivers have used it as a stepping stone to the big leagues. With the mini GR Supra, Toyota is working on a Jr. Roadster class that will be even more accessible to beginners.
One of the ways the Supra Jr. Roadster lowers the entry bar is its size. It has a much shorter wheelbase than a Jr. Dragster car, and engineers at TRD USA made sure it could fit in the bed of a Tundra. This should ease the task of getting to and from events because teams would no longer require an additional trailer for the race car.
