Toyota NASCAR Notes & Quotes Darlington May 2012

[media-credit name=”darlingtonraceway.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES May 7 – 13, 2012

TOYOTA TIDBITS 200TH TRIUMPH:  Camry driver Joey Logano’s win in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race (NNS) at Talladega Superspeedway was a milestone moment for Toyota in NASCAR — the victory was Toyota’s 200th in NASCAR national series competition.  Logano timed a last-lap pass perfectly to edge his Toyota teammate Kyle Busch to the finish line for the historic win.  Toyota drivers have recorded 42 victories in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS), 67 triumphs in the NNS and 91 wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS).  Toyota began competing with the Tundra in NCWTS competition in 2004, and entered the Camry in the NSCS and NNS in 2007.

DOWN IN ‘DEGA:  In Sunday’s NSCS race at Talladega Superspeedway, Kyle Busch finished second and was the top- finishing Camry driver on the 2.66-mile track.  Busch pushed eventual race-winner Brad Keselowski to the lead in the final laps, but Keselowski pulled away on the final lap and Busch was unable to reel him in before the finish line.  Busch led one lap (of 194) in the race en route to his third consecutive top-10 finish.  Clint Bowyer followed up his fall win at the Alabama track with a sixth-place showing, extending Bowyer’s streak of top-10 Talladega finishes to five races.

DENNY’S DARLINGTON DOMINANCE:  Denny Hamlin has had consistent success at ‘The Lady in Black,’ including four wins in 12 combined NSCS and NNS starts.  Hamlin has the highest average finish at Darlington in both the NSCS (6.5) and NNS (3.3) among drivers with three or more starts.  In six NSCS starts, Hamlin has one win and five-top-10 finishes.  In the NNS at Darlington, he has three victories and three pole positions in six races, and has finished eighth or better in each.

HISTORIC NO. 11:  At Darlington Raceway, Hamlin’s No. 11 Camry will feature a Cale Yarborough-inspired paint scheme to honor Yarborough’s induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Both Hamlin and Yarborough have helped the No. 11 car number to become the winningest vehicle number in NASCAR history, with 199-total victories.  Yarborough claimed 55 wins in the No. 11, the most of any driver, and Hamlin ranks fourth with 19, also behind Ned Jarrett (49) and Darrell Waltrip (43).  Hamlin has one NSCS win and a runner-up result in Darlington and should be a frontrunner to get a second South Carolina win this weekend — which would give the No. 11 its historic 200th victory.

PASTRANA PART DUEX:  Action sports star Travis Pastrana will make his second-ever NNS start at Darlington and looks to improve on a 22nd-place showing in his debut at Richmond. The 11-time ‘X Games’ gold medalist appeared poised for a top-15 finish on the Virginia short track, but a late-race speeding penalty on pit road relegated Pastrana to a 22nd-place finish.  As he continues to make a full-time transition to NASCAR racing, Pastrana will compete in select NNS and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races, in addition to the Global RallyCross Championship, during the 2012 season.

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NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS):  Through the first 10 races of 2012, Denny Hamlin is fourth in the series point standings, trailing leader Greg Biffle by 27 points … Martin Truex Jr. (sixth), Kyle Busch (ninth) and Clint Bowyer (10th) also rank in the top-10 in the standings … The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation will host the third annual ‘Catwalk for a Cause’ fashion show in Mooresville, N.C., on May 16 …  Truex will visit Cayce, S.C., on Wednesday to help repair the vehicle of a South Carolina National Guardsman that served in Afghanistan … Truex will supervise the ‘pit stop’ for the vehicle of Blair Raines, a resident of Leesville, S.C., at Love Automotive as part of the “NAPA Knows How to Care” Program.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What has made you so successful at Darlington? “I just strive on harder race tracks to try to figure out — the Poconos, the Martinsvilles — tracks that some people love and hate.  It seems like we have adapted to it and found a way to get around the track.  I was there (at Darlington) not too long ago and it’s amazing to see how much the surface has aged just since last year.  The surface was white as snow and basically that’s the rock starting to come up through the asphalt again, which I think is great for that race track.  You’ll see a little bit more tire wear than what we had in the past.  Whatever they paved that race track with seems to be pretty good stuff.  I think you’ll see great racing there again.  I just have a way of getting around the place.”

Do you feel as though you have momentum entering the middle of the season? “We’ve got some really good tracks coming up for us these next months or so that I feel we have ample opportunities to win multiple races.  We’re looking more towards in the future the Charlottes and Darlingtons as tracks where we could pick up wins, so it’s good to have the momentum going.” – more –

TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES – May 7 – 13, 2012 — Page 2

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Wrigley Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Are drivers intentionally being more careful during races? “I would doubt it, seriously.  There’s not a guy running out there that’ s running in 10th that doesn’t wish he was leading the race trying to win the thing.  The lack of cautions is just due to — you’ve got 43 of the best NASCAR stock car drivers in the world that are racing every single weekend.  I think the driver talent today is a lot higher than maybe what it was in years past.  Sure, you had the greats at one point on the race track, but there was probably five, eight, 10 of them at a time, where now you’ve got — there’s legitimately 22 to 25 drivers that can win every week and there’s probably 30 teams that can win every week.  It’s just all relative to how it all goes together — doesn’t mean it’s because we’re all scared to wreck one another.  It’s because we’re all pretty good at what we do and know how to race without wrecking one another.”

RODNEY CHILDERS, crew chief, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing How do you prepare for Darlington? “Darlington is real easy to tear something up in a heartbeat just because the way the race track is laid out, but it’s a lot of  fun going there and it’s kind of fun for the drivers, especially somebody like Mark (Martin) that has that much experience there. The car’s got to turn really good, but on the other hand it has to be really stable, because if it’s not stable in the rear, you just end up chasing it all night and worry to death you’re going to knock the back of it off up against the wall.  It’s just got to be really balanced and stay really balanced during the race and not change.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS):  After eight races, Tayler Malsam ranks eighth in the series point standings … Mike Bliss (ninth) and Joe Nemechek (10th) also rank among the top-10 in the standings … Camry driver Eric McClure was released from the UAB Medical Center in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday … McClure was airlifted to the hospital following an accident at Talladega Superspeedway during Saturday’s NNS race … With his win in Talladega, Logano now has an average result of 2.0 at the superspeedway — the best average finish in NNS history at the track … Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) has won back-to-back NNS races at Darlington … Denny Hamlin won the 2010 NNS race and Kyle Busch claimed a follow- up victory in the 2011 event for JGR … Hamlin’s 2010 win was the first victory for JGR crew chief Kevin Kidd … Kidd has three NNS wins as a crew chief and is in his second season sitting on the pit box for Brian Scott and the No. 11 Camry … Kurt Busch will pilot the Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) No. 54 Camry at Darlington … Kurt Busch claimed the first NNS win for KBM at Richmond in April … Travis Pastrana will make his second NNS start at Darlington … NCWTS driver Matt Crafton serves as a driver coach for Pastrana … Crafton, who has 276 starts in the NCWTS, joins Pastrana at the track to translate NASCAR terminology and to help explain what Pastrana is feeling in the car.

TRAVIS  PASTRANA, No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota Camry, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard Is your biggest challenge proving you belong in NASCAR? “Without a doubt.  As a racer, I’ve always felt like a racer.  I’m going to go out, I’m going to try my hardest and there’s going to be a lot of people that understand what you’re doing and there’s going to be a lot of people who don’t.  For me, obviously the mullet and everything it looks like fun and games on the outside, but everyone that has ever been to the top of any sport knows how much work it takes to get there and I’m willing to put in that work and it’s not going to be over night. I’m going to figure out how to get to the top of this sport and that’s where I want to go.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS):  After four races, Timothy Peters leads the series point standings … John King (eighth) and Matt Crafton (10th) also are in the top-10 in the standings … The NCWTS is in the third of three straight off-weeks and will return to action at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday, May 18.

MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing How has Travis Pastrana been able to improve so quickly? “He (Travis Pastrana) doesn’t have a lot of years experience and he doesn’t know about the race car quite as much, but it is very impressive to see how far he’s come.  I would always explain to him about something I’m feeling in the race car and then explain to him what he felt in that race car, and it’s really amazing how he just keeps taking all this information and he’s remembering so much of it.  Everything I tell him, he’s picking it up.   But, that’s what’s so cool about working with him is he wants it so bad.  That is what I am so impressed with.”

Is it rewarding to see Travis Pastrana progress with your coaching? “Oh yeah, it’s very gratifying to sit there and see how much he’s (Travis Pastrana) came along.  You’re never going to find anybody in any of these garages from the Truck to the Cup garage that’s going to appreciate the help more than Travis is. Every time these guys make a change, he’ll thank them.  If they’re 30th on the board, he’s going to thank them after a change.  I always tell him he’s going to have to learn the NASCAR language — you’re going to have to start yelling at these guys every once in a while.  He’s so grateful for everything you do for him and you’re never going to find anybody that’s going to want to help you as much as you help him.” – more –

TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES – May 7 – 13, 2012 — Page 3

TOYOTA 2012 NASCAR STATISTICS

Series Races Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Times Led Laps Led (Drivers) NSCS 10 120 (18) 3 13 28 4 46 821 NNS 8 88 (20) 3 9 16 3 51 544 NCWTS 4 43 (15) 1 9 14 0 9 67

TOYOTA DRIVER ROSTER – Darlington Raceway NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Sport Clips Camry J.J. Yeley, No. 49 JPO Absorbents Camry Clint Bowyer, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Camry Mike Skinner, No. 52 CrusaderStaffing.com Camry Kyle Busch, No. 18 Wrigley Camry Mark Martin, No. 55 Aaron’s Color Your Way Camry Mike Bliss, No. 19 Humphrey Smith Racing, LLC Camry Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Camry Joey Logano, No. 20 Home Depot Camry Landon Cassill, No. 83 Burger King/Dr. Pepper Camry Scott Riggs., No. 23 North TX Pipe Camry Joe Nemechek, No. 87 AM/FM Energy Stoves Camry David Stremme, No. 30 Inception Motorsports Camry Travis Kvapil, No. 93 Burger King/Dr. Pepper Camry Bobby Labonte, No. 47 Scott Products Camry

NASCAR Nationwide Series Jeff Green, No. 10 Camry Mike Bliss, No. 44 Camry Brian Scott, No. 11 Dollar General Camry Kurt Busch, No. 54 Monster Energy Camry Eric McClure, No. 14 Hefty/Reynolds Wrap Camry Jason Bowles, No. 81 American Majority Camry Denny Hamlin, No. 18 Sport Clips Camry Joe Nemechek, No. 87 SWM International Camry Tayler Malsam, No. 19 G-Oil/NOYS Camry Travis Pastrana, No. 99 Boost Mobile Camry Joey Logano, No. 20 Dollar General Camry

WEEKEND RACE SCHEDULE Sat., May 12 — NNS @ Darlington Raceway — 6:30 PM (ET), ESPN2 — Race 9 of 33 Sun., May 13 — NSCS @ Darlington Raceway — 6:30 PM (ET), FOX — Race 11 of 36