TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES July 9 – 15, 2012
TOYOTA TIDBITS
DISSECTING DAYTONA: In the two NASCAR races last weekend, Camry driver Joey Logano recorded a pair of top- five finishes. Logano earned a fourth-place result in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race when he was able to avoid an accident on the final restart to claim his second top-five finish of the season. Logano scored a fifth-place result in Friday evening’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race. He ran among the leaders throughout the 101-lap race, leading six times for a total of 12 laps.
JOY FOR JOEY: Three years ago, 22-year-old Logano earned his first career NSCS win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) in just his 20th career series start. The Middletown, Conn.-native became the youngest race-winner in series history at 19 years, one month and four days. His former crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, kept the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 20 Home Depot Camry on the track when others pitted — before persistent rain forced NASCAR to call the race after 273 (of 301 scheduled) laps were complete. This season, Logano has one win (Pocono), six top-10 results and one pole (Pocono) in NSCS competition. Logano has also experienced tremendous success on the NNS circuit this year, scoring five wins, nine top-10 finishes and three poles in only 12 starts this season with JGR.
MEMORABLE MOMENT: In June of 2008, Dave Blaney earned the inaugural NSCS pole position for Toyota at New Hampshire. The pole came in Toyota’s 17th NSCS race and was the second of Blaney’s career. Since that historic accomplishment, Toyota drivers have earned 36 more NSCS poles. Camry drivers who have also earned poles include Brian Vickers (seven), Kyle Busch (six), Denny Hamlin (five), Logano (four), David Reutimann (four), Kasey Kahne (three), Mark Martin (three), Martin Truex Jr. (three) and Michael Waltrip (one).
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Ryan Truex will make his first NHMS NNS start this weekend. The 20-year-old Truex has earned two wins at the one-mile oval racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series (NKNPS) (June 2010 and Sept. 2010). Ryan is not the first member of the Truex family to make his way to victory lane at NHMS — his father, Martin won the NASCAR Busch North Series race in 1994 and his older brother, Martin Truex Jr. has one NNS victory (2005) and two NKNPS wins (2000 and 2003) at the speedway. On Saturday, the youngest Truex will make his sixth NNS start, and fourth of the year with JGR. In his first three starts of the season he has earned two top-10 results, one pole (Dover) and led 44 laps.
MILESTONE MOMENT: In last June’s NNS race at NHMS, Busch accomplished two impressive milestones in his NASCAR career. First, by winning the race, he claimed his 100th NASCAR victory. Since that record day, Busch has claimed additional wins to bring his total to 105 victories — 24 NSCS, 51 NNS and 30 NCWTS — and 83 have been earned while piloting a Toyota. Busch’s 49th career NNS win at NHMS last year also tied him for the most victories in NNS history with Mark Martin. He has since surpassed that number and holds the record at 51 wins.
TITLE DEFENSE: Tundra driver Matt Crafton returns to Iowa Speedway to defend his victory in the 2011 NCWTS event. Crafton led 39 laps (of 200) — including the final 12 circuits — to take the checkered flag on the 0.875-mile track in Iowa. The California-native has the best average finish at Iowa Speedway (3.3) among drivers with more than one NCWTS start at the track. Crafton and his team, ThorSport Racing, began utilizing Toyota Tundras at the start of the 2012 season. Through seven 2012 races, Crafton has two top-five results, three top-10 finishes and has led 48 laps.
NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS): After 18 races, Denny Hamlin is seventh in the series point standings, trailing leader Matt Kenseth by 92 points … Martin Truex Jr. (eighth) and Clint Bowyer (10th) also rank in the top-10 in the standings … Brian Vickers will be back behind the wheel of the Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) No. 55 Camry for the NSCS race at New Hampshire … The 28-year-old competed in his first race with MWR in April at Bristol Motor Speedway where he finished fifth and earned another top-five result when he competed at the road course at Sonoma, Calif., securing a fourth-place result … Vickers most recent NSCS start at NHMS resulted in a fifth-place finish in September 2011 … Dave Rogers, crew chief of the No. 18 Camry for Busch is from Marshfield, Vt. … Shaun Peet, jackman for the No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Camry, attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., and played on the school’s Divisio n I ice hockey team … Toyota is giving fans a chance to win a Toyota Racing decaled, heavy-duty Radio Flyer wagon to help tow their gear on race weekends with the ‘Tag Your Wag’ contest … Fans can enter at www.toyotaracing.com/tagyourwag from July 10 to 24 … Five winners will be randomly awarded brand new wagons filled with Toyota Racing merchandise.
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Do you approach New Hampshire as if it’s a speedway or a short track? “It’s definitely a short track race for sure — a lot like Phoenix. A lot of speed down the straightaways, but a lot of braking getting into the corners and making it through those tight paperclip corners.”
What’s the plan for a shorter race like New Hampshire? “Essentially, at Loudon you look at how good your fuel mileage is and when you can make your last pit stop where you don’t have to pit again. You just want to get in there and get your tires and fuel and everything and then stay out the rest of the way and keep your track position. It’s almost run like a road course — it’s a challenging race because it is so hard to pass there. You can’t be two-tenths faster and pass him because everybody typically runs the same speed.”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Do you enjoy racing at New Hampshire? “New Hampshire is one of my favorite race tracks. We’ve run well there. When you go to certain race tracks as a racer, there’s just certain places you take to better than others. That’s certainly been one of the places for me. We probably should have won a lot more races than just two Cup races there. I mean, we’ve dominated a few Truck races and some Nationwide races, but just never could get everything to fall our way. That being said, it’s hard to get things to go your way 100 percent. It’s one of the biggest races of the year for us..”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Do you think it will be difficult for drivers currently outside the top-10 to make the Chase? “It would make it difficult if you were outside the top-10 to get a Chase position because it looks like you are going to have to be in the top-13 or 14 in points to do it. You’re basically going to have the 12 best drivers in there anyway. Luckily we’re in a decent position where we have a little bit of a gap over 11th-place. With all of those different winners, it just tells you that the drivers and the cars are all so equal now, that it’s all about who gets out front and can go. Right now, I think anyone who puts themselves in the right strategy has a chance to win as long as you’ve got a car with decent speed. That’s why I think you’ve seen so many different winners.” N ASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS): After 16 races, Mike Bliss ranks eighth in the series point standings … Tayler Malsam (10th) is also among the top-10 in the standings … Joe Gibbs Racing Camrys have won the last four consecutive NNS race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway — Kyle Busch (2009, 2010 and 2011) and former Toyota driver Tony Stewart (2008) … Travis Pastrana will be back behind the wheel of the No. 99 Camry at New Hampshire … Driving a family-owned Xpress Motorsports truck, Brian Scott’s first Camping World Truck Series start and first start in a NASCAR-sanctioned series came at New Hampshire in September 2007 … Two team members on the JGR No. 11 Camry are from Maine — Derek Kneeland, the team’s spotter is from Windham and rear-end mechanic Ben Chase is from York Harbor.
RYAN TRUEX, No. 18 Grime Boss Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing How do you prepare for your first NNS race at New Hampshire? “New Hampshire is my favorite track that we come to. My family has had a lot of success here over the years. I’m confident coming into this weekend, especially knowing the strong history Matt Lucas (crew chief), the 18 car and the JGR crew have here. I look at this weekend as I do every race — be patient early on and make sure I’m in contention at the end to win. At Dover, everything clicked from practice, to qualifying , to the race. We just need to finish one spot better and it’ll be perfect.” NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS): After eight races, Timothy Peters currently leads the series point standings, sitting four points ahead of Justin Lofton … Matt Crafton (sixth) is also in the top-10 in the standings … Peters and his wife Sara are expecting their first child on December 17 … Ryan Mulder, tire changer on the Red Horse Racing (RHR) No. 11 Tundra is from Sioux City, Iowa … The RHR No. 17 Tundra team features two Iowa natives — Dennis Croxell, a mechanic from Eagle Grove and Cory White, a front tire carrier from Vinton … Todd Bodine will host the third annual ‘Onion Slice Open’ golf tournament at Blue Ridge Trail Golf Course in Mountaintop, Pa., on Thurs., Aug. 2 .
TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing Why do you enjoy racing at Iowa? “I love going back to a short track. That’s what I grew up on, so I’m more in my element when I go to short tracks. I love all the races, but the tough door handle-to-door handle, bumper-to-bumper, beating and banging — it doesn’t get any better than that. The fans out in Iowa are great. Looking forward to getting out there.”
JOHNNY SAUTER, No. 13 Hot Honey’s Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing Are you enthusiastic about the upcoming race at Iowa? “I don’t think we’ve finished outside the top-five there in the couple years prior. It’s cool — it reminds me a lot of Richmond (International Raceway) and Richmond is probably my favorite race track. Iowa is obviously a little bit bigger, but where we are now with suspension and things, I feel really good going back. We’re going to be better than we’ve ever been.”
TOYOTA 2012 NASCAR STATISTICS
Series Races Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Times Led Laps Led (Drivers) NSCS 18 218 (20) 5 26 51 6 94 1,408 NNS 16 177 (30) 6 24 40 5 85 941 NCWTS 8 82 (16) 3 16 27 1 20 183
TOYOTA DRIVER ROSTER – New Hampshire Motor Speedway & Iowa Speedway NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Freight Camry J.J. Yeley, No. 49 JPO Absorbents Camry Clint Bowyer, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Camry Brian Vickers, No. 55 MyClassicGarage.com Camry Kyle Busch, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Camry Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Camry Mike Bliss, No. 19 Humphrey Smith Racing Camry Landon Cassill, No. 83 Burger King Camry Joey Logano, No. 20 Home Depot Camry Joe Nemechek, No. 87 AM/FM Energy Stoves Camry David Stremme, No. 30 Inception Motorsports Camry Travis Kvapil, No. 93 Burger King Camry Bobby Labonte, No. 47 Luke & Associates Camry
NASCAR Nationwide Series Jeff Green, No. 10 Toyota Camry Mike Bliss, No. 44 Toyota 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 Ryan Truex, No. 18 Grime Boss Camry Joe Nemechek, No. 87 AM/FM Energy Wood Camry Tayler Malsam, No. 19 G-Oil/Ryobi Camry Travis Pastrana, No. 99 Boost Mobile Camry
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Ross Chastain, No. 08 Watermelon Assoc. Tundra Timothy Peters, No. 17 Red Horse Racing Tundra John Wes Townley, No. 09 Toyota Tundra Jason Leffler, No. 18 Shore Lodge Tundra Todd Bodine, No. 11 Toyota Care Tundra David Starr, No. 81 ZACHRY Tundra Johnny Sauter, No. 13 Hot Honeys/Curb Records Tundra Matt Crafton, No. 88 Menard’s Tundra Todd Schafer, No. 15 thunderexhaust.com Tundra Dakoda Armstrong, No. 98 EverFi.com Tundra
WEEKEND RACE SCHEDULE Sat., July 14 — NCWTS @ Iowa Speedway — 8:30 PM (EST), SPEED — Race 9 of 22 Sat., July 14 — NNS @ New Hampshire Motor Speedway — 3:30 PM (EST), ESPN — Race 17 of 33 Sun., July 15 — NSCS @ New Hampshire Motor Speedway — 1:00 PM (EST), TNT – Race 19 of 36
