Toyota NASCAR Notes & Quotes Charlotte May 2012

[media-credit id=3 align=”alignright” width=”195″][/media-credit]TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES May 21 – 27, 2012

TOYOTA TIDBITS

2013 CAMRY REVEAL:  Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) and TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) formally introduced the new 2013 Toyota Camry that will compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) at TRD’s Salisbury, N.C. facility on Tuesday.  The introduction of the new 2013 Camry for NASCAR competition marked the culmination of an aggressive redesign to provide the 2013 Camry with an updated and more-unique identity.  TRD worked together with Calty Design, part of Toyota’s global network design team, to create an on-track Camry that incorporates design elements which give America’s best-selling car its distinct character.  The new 2013 Toyota Camry will make its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut at Daytona International Speedway’s ‘Speedweeks’ in February.

FIRST FOR TWO IS 600:  Two current Camry drivers captured their first career NSCS victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway — Bobby Labonte and David Reutimann. Labonte, the 2000 NSCS champion, captured his first checkered flag in the 1995 edition of the race, leading 85 laps to best his brother Terry who finished second.  Reutimann became a first-time winner when he and crew chief Rodney Childers outwitted the field in a rain-shortened 600 in 2009, leading the final five laps en route to the win.  Reutimann’s win marked the first NSCS victory for a TRD-built engine.

SOCIAL MEDIA & WEBSITE:  Follow Toyota Racing on Twitter (@ToyotaRacing) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/toyotaracing).  Background and images about the Toyota NASCAR program are available at www.toyotaracingmedia.com.

NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS):  Through the first 11 races of 2012, Denny Hamlin is fourth in the series point standings, trailing leader Greg Biffle by 17 points … Martin Truex Jr. (sixth) and Kyle Busch (ninth) also rank in the top-10 in the standings … Joey Logano has the best average finish (10.2) at Charlotte Motor Speedway among active drivers … Mark Martin has the most lead lap finishes (29) in Charlotte track history and the veteran driver has the third most starts at CMS (54) among active competitors … Since entering NSCS competition in 2007, Toyota has had a driver finish fifth or better in each Coca-Cola 600, including David Reutimann’s win in the 2009 race.

CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing What do you think of the 2013 NASCAR Camry? “I think it looks awesome.  It looks sexy.  I think it is far superior to where we were when the ‘Car of Tomorrow’ was unveiled.  I think it’s so important, everything that we’ve done here as of late with Electronic Fuel Injection and everything, I think that redesigning the cars so they look more like production models needed to be done even before that.  The look and feel the a car has been so important to NASCAR since the very start and I think we got away from that quite a bit in the last five or six years, so to see the return of a production look to the Camry is extremely important.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What makes this 600 mile race so difficult? “Of course, attrition is always a part of it  — whether it be engine or car or driver or things like that.  I don’t think there’s any more difficult, but it’s just tough to keep your focus and keep you patience for a 600 mile race.  There are a lot of winners from the 600 that have gone a lap down at some point or another because the track goes through such a change from daytime to the night.  It’s about being patient with your car and your competition for the first really 400 miles.”

Are the last 100 miles of the Coca-Cola 600 any different? “I don’t notice it being that much different, but just it gives everyone more time to work on their car and get it better.  The last 100 miles physically you’re splitting hairs — the difference between 400 to 500 and then 500 to 600.  For us, it’s more patience than anything.  I don’t think it’s a whole lot more physically demanding.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Are you able to feel the extra 100 miles in the Coca-Cola 600? “You can definitely tell.  I can remember nights where my car was off in the 600 and they would say, ‘You’re coming to halfway or you’re 10 laps to halfway.’  I remember thinking, ‘There is no way this race is only half over — it feels like we’ve been out here forever.’  It definitely feels like a longer race. Obviously, the worse your car is, the longer it feels — the better it is, the shorter it feels.  Regardless of what’s going on, it definitely feels like a longer race even though it’s only 100 miles.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS):  After nine races, Mike Bliss ranks eighth in the series point standings … Joe Nemechek (ninth) is also among the top-10 in the standings … Two Camry drivers — Kyle Busch (6.6) and Joey Logano (10.0) — have the best average finishes among active drivers in Charlotte … Busch is tied with Mark Martin for the most wins in the NNS at Charlotte with six … Busch also trails Martin for the most NNS laps led in track history, having paced 901 laps to Martin’s 1,257 circuits.

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Do you enjoy racing at Charlotte? “I really enjoy racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  It’s a fast track and always makes for an exciting race. We were really strong there in both races last year, so we have high expectations for Saturday.  We finished eighth in the spring and fifth in the fall.  JGR’s (Joe Gibbs Racing) mile-and-a-half program is strong, and I think with all that we learned there last year, we will have a good shot at bringing home a top-five finish this weekend.”

TRAVIS PASTRANA, No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota Camry, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard Are you prepared to race on a mile-and-a-half race track? “I am ready for Charlotte.  This will be the biggest track I have ever raced on.  I am ready to go fast.  I know I am going to have a lot to learn this weekend.  I have never raced anything like Charlotte.  Matt Crafton (driver coach) is going to be my security blanket this weekend.  He knows how to go fast at Charlotte. I need to log all the laps and learn as much as possible.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS):  After four races, Timothy Peters ranks second in the series point standings … Todd Bodine (ninth) is also in the top-10 in the standings … The NCWTS will enjoy a weekend off before returning to action next Friday, June 1 at Delaware’s Dover International Speedway.

TOYOTA 2012 NASCAR STATISTICS

Series Races Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Times Led Laps Led (Drivers) NSCS 11 134 (19) 3 16 32 4 58 947 NNS 10 110 (22) 4 13 23 3 62 656 NCWTS 5 53 (15) 1 11 17 0 10 84

TOYOTA DRIVER ROSTER – Charlotte Motor Speedway NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Ground Camry Clint Bowyer, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Camry Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M’s Red-White-Blue Camry Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Camry Mike Bliss, No. 19 Humphrey Smith Racing, LLC Camry David Reutimann, No. 73 Burger King Camry Joey Logano, No. 20 Dollar General Camry Landon Cassill, No. 83 Burger King/Dr. Pepper Camry David Stremme, No. 30 Inception Motorsports Camry Joe Nemechek, No. 87 AM/FM Energy Stoves Camry Bobby Labonte, No. 47 Kingsford Camry Travis Kvapil, No. 93 Burger King/Dr. Pepper Camry J.J. Yeley, No. 49 JPO Absorbents Camry Mark Martin, No. 55 Aaron’s Armed Forces Foundation Camry

NASCAR Nationwide Series Jeff Green, No. 10 Camry Mike Bliss, No. 44 Camry Brian Scott, No. 11 Dollar General Camry Kyle 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 GameStop Camry

WEEKEND RACE SCHEDULE Sat., May 26 — NNS @ Charlotte Motor Speedway — 2:45 PM (ET), ABC — Race 11 of 33 Sun., May 27 — NSCS @ Charlotte Motor Speedway — 6:00 PM (ET), FOX — Race 12 of 36