TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES
Week of September 26 – October 2, 2011 TOYOTA TIDBITS
LOUDON LOOK BACK: In Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS), Brian Vickers (fifth) recorded his sixth top-10 result of the season in another race that came down to fuel mileage strategy. On Saturday, Kyle Busch earned his 30th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) win, and his third straight victory at the one-mile race track.
CHASE RACE TWO: Sunday’s NSCS race at NHMS marked the second of 10 playoff races in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Camry drivers Busch and Denny Hamlin are both competing in this year’s Chase. Busch fought a tight race car most of last Sunday, but was able to secure an 11th-place finish and move up to sixth-place in the NSCS point standings. Hamlin was running in the top-10 with five laps remaining when his Camry ran out of gas and he was forced to pit. A 29th-place result leaves Hamlin 12th in the point standings.
DOVER TAKE TWO: Toyota driver Buschhas two victories in his NSCS career at Delaware’s Dover International Speedway. In May 2008, he led 158 laps (of 400) in his Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 18 Camry to take his first ‘Monster Mile’ victory. The Las Vegas-native visited victory lane again in May 2010, this time leading 131 laps (of 400). Camry drivers also have two pole positions at Dover — David Reutimann (June 2009) and Martin Truex Jr. (May 2010).
MARTIN AT ‘MONSTER MILE’: Mayetta, N.J. native Truex, driver of the No. 56 NAPA Camry, earned his first career NSCS win in the spring of 2007 at Dover — leading 216 laps (of 400) en route to victory lane. In 11 starts at Dover, Truex has recorded one win, four top-10 finishes and one pole (May 2010). Truex also has two NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) victories at the one-mile concrete oval — in Sept. 2004 and June 2005. Since joining Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) last year, Truex won the NSCS Sprint All-Star Shootout race and has 14 top-10 finishes, including seven so far in 2011.
SCORE FOUR: Camry drivers have visited victory lane at Dover four times in nine NNS races at the one-mile concrete oval. Buschhas three NNS wins in a Camry at Dover — Sept. 2008, May 2010 and Sept. 2010. Hamlinwon the May 2008 race in a Toyota and also won the Sept. 2007 event. Camry drivers also have five poles at Dover — three by Busch (Sept. 2008, Sept. 2009 and May 2010) and two by Joey Logano (May 2009 and Sept. 2010).
TUNDRAS TAKE TROPHIES: Tundra drivers have won four of the last five NCWTS races at Kentucky Speedway, and two Toyota winners have gone on to capture the year-end NCWTS title. Todd Bodine won at Kentucky in 2010 and went on to win the championship that year, and Johnny Benson did the same in 2008. In 2007, Mike Skinner won the Kentucky event in a Tundra. Busch visited victory lane at Kentucky Speedway in the most recent running in July. Busch started eighth and led twice for 61 laps (of 152). Tundra drivers Brendan Gaughan (third) and Bodine (fourth) also earned top-five finishes in July.
PETERS PREPARED: Competing for a championship in his third full season in the NCWTS, and third year in a Tundra, Timothy Petersreturns to Kentucky Speedway with two top-10 finishes in his last three races at the 1.5-mile track. Peters guided his Tundra to a fourth-place showing in 2009 and finished sixth last year. Peters currently sits fourth in the driver championship point standings, 25 behind leader Austin Dillon with six races remaining this season.
EAST SERIES ENDING: The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) will end the 2011 season this Friday at Dover. Five Toyota drivers have won the first 10 races of the season and the top-six positions in the points are held by Camry drivers. JGR development driver Max Gresham leads the standings with two wins followed by MWR development driver Brett Moffitt (second) and Revolution Racing driver Darrell Wallace Jr. (third).
NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS NASCARSprintCupSeries(NSCS): Since the start of the 2011 season, Toyota drivers have combined for five victories, 30 top-five results, 58 top-10 finishes and have led 2,134 laps … After 28 races, Kyle Busch is sixth in the series points standings following the second race in the Chase and Denny Hamlin is in 12th-place … The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation (MTJF) will host the fourth annual MTJF Golf Tournament presented by NAPA Auto Parts at Sea Oaks Country Club in Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J., on Thursday … Truex will also host the second annual MTJF fan event at the Holiday Inn in Manahawkin, N.J. on Wednesday … For more information visit www.martintruexjrfoundation.com … MWR’s Ty Norris, who holds the title of vice president and general manager with the team, grew up in Smyrna, Del., and graduated Delaware State University … MWR co-owner Rob Kauffman will race in the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta this weekend.
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Do you need to take chances to win races in the Chase? “I think we’re going to play it out as we have all year. We haven’t changed anything. We’re just going out there to do the best we can to run the hardest we can, the smartest we can and let the results take care of themselves. If we finish enough times in the top-five or the top-10, or win a couple, then the results will take care of themselves. For us, we’re not pressured. We’re 20 points back or whatever it is and there’s another guy that’s right in front of us that’s the same amount back. We just have to know that there’s still eight more weeks and there’s still a lot more miles left in racing.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What is it like for a driver during the closing laps of a fuel mileage race? “First, you look at your surroundings and try to figure out who’s behind you, who’s in front of you, who’s coming, who’s going — and you’re constantly thinking about the risk versus reward. If there’s no chance of anyone in front of or behind you catching you, then you go into even more conservative mode late in the race — three, four, five laps to go. You start clutching it more, you start shutting the car off more and things like that. It’s a complete different ball game. It’s not racing by any means. It’s just a strategy move and it’s how guys are getting good finishes nowadays.”
BRIAN VICKERS,No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team? Are you looking forward to racing at Dover? “I like Dover. We had a good car there last time and a good run. Hopefully, we can back it up. It’s the Monster Mile — it’s fast, it’s fun. Everything happens so quick there, so you really have to be on your toes.”
NASCARNationwideSeries(NNS): During the 2011 season, Toyota drivers have combined for 10 wins, 33 top-five results, 73 top-10 finishes and have led 1,578 laps … Kenny Wallace (seventh) is the top Toyota driver in the NNS point standings … Steve Wallace (eighth), Brian Scott (ninth) and Michael Annett (10th) are also in the top-10 … Annett will make his 100th career NNS start this weekend at Dover … Scott recorded his first career NASCAR victory in the 2009 NCWTS race … K. Wallace has made more Dover starts (30) than any other driver and has nine top-10 finishes, including a seventh-place in May … Mayetta, N.J. native Ryan Truex will drive his fourth race in the JGR No. 20 Camry this weekend at Dover.
BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Do you enjoy racing at Dover? “I was fortunate enough, and good enough , to get a Truck win at Dover. I really love that race track. To come off a third- place finish at Chicagoland and go to another track I like — I’m looking forward to it. This team, we have good enough notes from the first Dover race, so we’ll go back and we’ll be better and we’ll have a good run there.”
MICHAEL ANNETT,No. 62 Pilot Flying J Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing What are your goals for the remainder of the season? “The off-week was great for us to get a good mindset for these final races in 2011, but I’m really excited to get back to the race track this weekend. We’ve only got six races left in the season, and we’ve really got a chance to prove ourselves in these final events. I’m really excited to give back to Pilot Flying J both on and off the race track in the coming weeks.”
NASCARCampingWorldTruckSeries(NCWTS): Since the start of the 2011 NCWTS season, Tundra drivers have registered nine wins, 30 top-five results, 57 top-10 finishes and have led 1,000 laps … After 19 races, Timothy Peters (fourth) is the top Toyota driver in the NCWTS points standings … Tundra drivers Todd Bodine (10th), David Starr (11th), Brendan Gaughan (13th) and Miguel Paludo (14th) are also in the top-15 in the points … Former NCWTS driver Terry Cook serves as director of competition at Red Horse Racing … Cook is a native of Sylvania, Ohio, and competed in the NCWTS for 14 years and has six series victories … Germain Racing was established in 2004 by Germain brothers Bob, Steve and Rick … The Germain family has been affiliated with Toyota for over 40 years as Germain Motor Company based in Columbus, Ohio … Brian Ickler will be behind the wheel of the No. 18 Tundra at Kentucky.
TODD BODINE, No. 30 Valvoline Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing Are you looking forward to racing at Kentucky this weekend? “Kentucky is a perfect track for our team to race this weekend. We’ve had some struggles, but we’ve definitely seen some progress and Kentucky is a great track for us to really get the chance to see what we’ve learned and have a good weekend. The track is a good track for me, personally, and it’s been a great track for the team. I think it holds a special place for our team because two of our sponsors, Valvoline and Georgia Boot, are both located near the track.”
BRENDAN GAUGHAN, No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing How do you approach racing at Kentucky after competing there earlier this year? “Normally that’s a great thing — you take the notebook, you have a lot of stuff. We’re still hunting and pecking pretty big trying to find a balance that I like. I don’t know what we’re going to go back there with yet, but we’re probably going to take the truck we raced at Chicagoland. That truck seems to be our 1.5-mile truck that we seem to like the most. It seems to have the most down force for me that I like. I think this is what we’ll stick with and try to keep on improving in little bits.”
TOYOTA 2011 NASCAR STATISTICS Series Races Starts (Drivers) Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Times Led Laps Led NSCS 28 331 (18) 5 30 58 6 198 2,134 NNS 28 217 (22) 10 33 73 5 94 1,578 NCWTS 19 207 (29) 9 30 57 3 50 1,000
TOYOTA DRIVER ROSTER – Dover International Speedway/Kentucky Speedway NASCAR Sprint Cup Series David Reutimann, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Camry Kasey Kahne, No. 4 Red Bull Camry Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Camry Casey Mears, No. 13 GEICO Camry Kyle Busch, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Camry Joey Logano, No. 20 Home Depot Camry Bobby Labonte, No. 47 Grilling.com Camry Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Camry Michael McDowell, No. 66 HP Racing, LLC Camry Brian Vickers, No. 83 Red Bull Camry Joe Nemechek, No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Camry NASCAR Nationwide Series Kenny Wallace, No. 09 Federated Auto Parts Camry Brian Scott, No. 11 Shore Lodge Camry Joey Logano, No. 18 SportClips Camry Ryan Truex, No. 20 Heinz Camry Michael Annett, No. 62 Pilot Flying J Camry Steve Wallace, No. 66 5-Hour Energy Camry Joe Nemechek, No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Camry NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Todd Bodine, No. 5 International Truck Tundra Miguel Paludo, No. 7 Stemco Duroline Tundra John King, No. 07 Greenlight Tundra Max Papis, No. 9 GEICO Tundra Timothy Peters, No. 17 Big O Tires Tundra Brian Ickler, No. 18 Toyota Tundra Josh Richards, No. 51 Joy Mining Machinery Tundra Brendan Gaughan, No. 62 South Point Hotel Casino Tundra David Starr, No. 81 Allegro Marinades Tundra
WEEKEND RACE SCHEDULE Sat., Sept. 24 — NCWTS @ Kentucky Speedway – 8:00 PM (ET), SPEED — Race 20 of 25 Sat., Oct. 1 — NNS @ Dover International Speedway – 3:30 PM (ET), ESPN2 — Race 29 of 34 Sun., Oct. 2 — NSCS @ Dover International Speedway – 2:00 PM (ET), ESPN — Race 29 of 36
