You know, I kept hearing that, when the Toyotas first came in. It is a stupid thought. Toyota was the only car made in the USA. The Fords, Chevys, and Dodges were all made in either Canada or Mexico. It was more of an issue for me, that none of the cars resembeled the street versions. All the "race" cars were rear wheel drive, and I think all of the street versions were front wheel drive.
Back in the old days, the race cars were just modified street cars. Hell in the "real" old days, some of the cars were actually driven to the race track. Even the "drag" cars about 75 % were driven to the track. I remember some years ago, a Porsche dealer in Orlando Fl. modified a new Porsche, drove it to Daytona. Raced it in the 24 hours of Daytona, Completed the race, drove the car back to the dealership, and sold it at a nice profit, due to it's collectable status.