In the beginning, teams received little support from the car companies themselves, but by the mid-1960s, teams began creating partnerships with American manufacturers to provide factory support.
Chrysler,
Ford and
General Motors were the primary, if not only, competitors for much of NASCAR's history.
Plymouth achieved some success during the 1960s, but abandoned the sport in 1977. In the next decade, Ford's Mercury brand left, as did Chrysler's remaining brand in Dodge. General Motors had been using four different brands in NASCAR up to 1991, but within three years, Buick and Oldsmobile were no longer represented on the grid. Pontiac survived until 2004, leaving only Chevrolet as the lone General Motors division. In 2007 when Japanese manufacturer Toyota joined, it became the first new manufacturer since 1971. Chrysler's Dodge brand returned after a 15-year hiatus in 2001, but departed after 2012, leaving just Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota. == Cup Series ==