TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES
September 10 – 16, 2012
TOYOTA TIDBITS RICHMOND REWIND: Clint Bowyer earned his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) win of the season in Saturday night’s rain-delayed race at Richmond International Raceway, the final event before the start of the 10-race ‘Chase for the Sprint Cup’ championship. Bowyer’s triumph also marked the third consecutive victory by a Toyota driver — after Denny Hamlin’s back-to-back wins at Bristol Motor Speedway (Aug. 25) and Atlanta Motor Speedway (Sept. 2). Bowyer led the final 88 laps (of 400) in the Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry en route to victory lane.
CAMRY CHASERS: This weekend’s race at Chicagoland Speedway will mark the first event in the 10-race ‘Chase for the Sprint Cup’ championship playoff. Three Camry drivers have earned spots in the 12-driver field. Hamlin will enter the Chase as the number one seed after a series-best four victories this season. Along with Hamlin, MWR teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Bowyer are both in the Chase field — the first Chase entries for MWR in the team’s six-year history. With two wins in the first 26 races of 2012, Bowyer enters the Chase sixth and Truex is 10th among the 12 Chase drivers.
TWO TROPHIES: Camry drivers have two wins in four NSCS races at Chicagoland Speedway since Toyota joined the series in 2007. Kyle Busch was victorious in 2008 after starting from the pole. After winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) event the previous day (in 2008), the driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 18 Camry led 165 laps (of 267) en route to victory lane. In 2010, David Reutimann was first to the finish line in his MWR No. 00 Camry.
TOP TOYOTAS AT CHICAGOLAND: Since Toyota joined the NNS in 2007, Camry drivers have collected a total of 14 top-five finishes and 21 top-10 results at Chicagoland Speedway. In 2010, Camry drivers swept the first five finishing positions at Chicagoland — Busch (first), Joey Logano (second), Brian Scott (third), Reutimann (fourth) and Jason Leffler (fifth) — the only time Camry drivers have accomplished that feat in Nationwide Series competition. Toyota NNS drivers have also earned four of the top-five finishing spots five times, including twice at Chicagoland (2008 and 2009), and once at Charlotte (2009), Darlington (2010) and Dover (2012).
CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER: Currently sitting atop the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) point standings, Tundra driver Timothy Peters is in the hunt for the 2012 NCWTS driver’s championship. Peters currently leads the NCWTS point standings over second-place James Buescher by six points. In 14 NCWTS races in 2012, Peters has tallied two wins, one pole position, eight top-five results, 10 top-10 finishes and has led 320 laps. The 32-year-old driver won the July race at Iowa Speedway and most recently led every lap to take the checkered flag at Bristol Motor Speedway. Peters has recorded at least one victory in each of the last three seasons and has improved his finish in the point standings yearly.
RACING FOR AWARENESS: Nine women affiliated with the Toyota Racing program are involved in ‘Racing For Awareness,’ a friendly competition that includes driver wives, girlfriends, mothers and sisters creating a T-shirt design in support of breast cancer awareness. The winning design will be selected by fan votes and will be announced during the Charlotte race weekend in October, with the winning T-shirt made available for purchase. Proceeds from the contest will be given to Charlotte-based charity, Carolina Breast Friends, and fans can visit www.toyotaracing.com/RacingForAwareness to see the designs, cast their vote and also enter to win weekly prizes through Oct. 4, 2012 at 12 PM (ET).
SOCIAL MEDIA & WEBSITE: Background and images about the Toyota NASCAR program are available at www.toyotaracingmedia.com, @ToyotaRacing, www.facebook.com/toyotaracing and www.youtube.com/toyotaracingusa.
NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS): Since the start of the 2012 season, Toyota drivers have combined for eight victories, 37 top-five results, 74 top-10 finishes and have led 2,559 laps … Nick Odell, front tire changer on the No. 18 Camry, calls Springfield, Ill., home … Toyota’s Ed Laukes, vice president of marketing communications and motorsports, graduated from Chicago’s DePaul University in 1992 and has served as corporate manager, motorsports since 2007 and has been with Toyota since 1989 … Toyota’s Les Unger, national motorsports manager, graduated from Northwestern University and is originally from Chicago … Unger has been part of the motorsports department since 1984.
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Will the lessons you learned during the 2010 Chase be beneficial this year? “What took us out of the championship in 2010 really were a lot of different circumstances. I won’t treat it any differently about the way I drive. I think I’ll be a little bit more aggressive on restarts and not give up those one or two points when they really, really count. That will change, but for the most part I think I’ll just be a lot more relaxed this time around. Obviously, our stuff is really good right now — as good as it was in 2010. I’m going to race week-to-week, and not think about a championship until I get to Homestead (Miami Speedway).”
CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing What would it mean to win the championship? “To win a championship — it would be pretty big. Jimmie (Johnson) seems like he has a blast doing it. I promise you I could throw a better party than him. Just to be able to compete in this series, in this sport, at the premiere level of this sport is a dream come true. I’m thankful to have the opportunity with a new home, a new sponsor, and a new manufacturer with Toyota. With everything new, never would have dreamed in a million years all this would have happened this quickly. Obviously, it’s the goal to win races and be in the Chase. Realistically, I knew what we were up against.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing How do you measure your odds in the Chase? “I’m going to be honest with you, the way our cars are running and as fast as we’ve been the last six or seven weeks, we’re dangerous. We’ve got the speed to do it each and every week. Our mile-and-a-half program is really strong. Man, I feel good. I know we’re kind of an underdog and not a lot of people expect us to do much. It’s a good position to be in. We just need to be smart — make good decisions and our NAPA Toyotas are strong enough to do this thing. Looking forward to going out and having some fun and hopefully we’ll put together 10 good races and be in the hunt.”
LEE WHITE, president and general manager, TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development) How pleased is Toyota to have three Camrys in the Chase? “We are happy to have three Camrys in the Chase this season, and that was a great win b y Clint (Bowyer) in Richmond to close the regular season. Although there were challenges we had to face this season, including the introduction of EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) and the repaving of several tracks, this has been a great year so far for Toyota, TRD and our race team partners. We’ve had a great year the first 26 races and look forward to making the Chase an exclamation point on our season. It’s exciting to have Denny (Hamlin) as the top seed going into the Chase and two Michael Waltrip Racing cars competing for this year’s championship. This marks the first time that MWR has been in the Chase. We’re eager to get to Chicago, because we think we’ve got a good chance to make some noise in these last 10 races.”
NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS): After 25 races, Mike Bliss ranks eighth in the series point standings … Joe Nemechek (ninth) and Brian Scott (10th) are also among the top-10 in the standings … This weekend’s NNS race at Chicagoland marks the 200th start for the Camry in the series since joining in 2007 … Camry drivers have won three out of the last six NNS races at Chicagoland Speedway … Kyle Busch has a pair of NNS victories at the 1.5-mile oval (2008 and 2010), and Joey Logano won the 2009 race … Joe Gibbs Racing team member Roger Purcell, No. 20 engine tuner, is from Decatur, Ill.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS): After 14 races, Timothy Peters continues to lead the series point standings and has a six-point advantage over James Buescher … Parker Kligerman (fourth) and Matt Crafton (seventh) are also in the top-10 in the standings … Red Horse Racing features three crew members from the ‘Hawkeye State’ — Ryan Mulder, the No. 11 tire changer, hails from Sioux City, while No. 17 mechanic Dennis Croxell is from Eagle Grove and front tire carrier Cory White is from Vinton … Two members of the Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) No. 18 Tundra team also hail from Iowa — truck chief Mitch Way is from Davenport and front tire changer Mike Janssen is from Sibley … Drew Herring will pilot the KBM No. 18 Tundra at Iowa … Through Oct. 1, the Kyle Busch Foundation will be raffling a custom motorcycle in conjunction with Deadwood Choppers at www.KBFChopperRaffle.com.
TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing What were the key factors that led to your Iowa win in July? “It really goes back to how good this team and Butch Hylton (crew chief) really are. Our Toyota Tundras have been fast all year, and they do whatever it takes to get the job done. It’s hard to do as well as we did at Iowa last time, and at Bristol, and win races like that, especially with the competitive field we race with today. I’m proud of what we have accomplished so far no matter what and we’re going to be just as aggressive this time around and hope for the same result.”
What are you looking forward to the most about returning to Iowa? “I’m looking forward to going back to Iowa because it’s a good short track and I really enjoy short track racing. It’s a track that really puts a lot on the driver because it’s fast, and you really have to have a good truck that handles well too. But the bar is set pretty high after our performance last time — when we go back it seems like we need to win and nothing else.”
TODD BODINE, No. 11 Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing What are the biggest challenges at Iowa? “Iowa is one of the tracks where you really need everything to go right. You have to have good track position, a truck that’ll handle well with big horsepower and good braking to get it to stop in the corner. The whole package like that is hard to get, that’s why every aspect of the game makes a difference.”
TOYOTA 2012 NASCAR STATISTICS
Series Races Starts Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Times Led Laps Led (Drivers) NSCS 26 316 (23) 8 37 74 9 150 2,559 NNS 25 280 (35) 7 30 59 6 102 1,160 NCWTS 14 142 (22) 5 30 49 2 42 618
TOYOTA DRIVER ROSTER – Chicagoland Speedway & Iowa Speedway NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Ground Camry Jason Leffler, No. 49 American Israel Racing Camry Clint Bowyer, No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Camry Mark Martin, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Camry Kyle Busch, No. 18 Doublemint Camry Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Camry Mike Bliss, No. 19 Plinker Tactical Camry Landon Cassill, No. 83 Burger King Camry Joey Logano, No. 20 Dollar General Camry Joe Nemechek, No. 87 AM/FM Energy Stoves Camry David Stremme, No. 30 Inception Motorsports Camry Reed Sorenson, No. 91 Plinker Tactical Camry Bobby Labonte, No. 47 Bubba Burger Camry Travis Kvapil, No. 93 Burger King Camry
NASCAR Nationwide Series Jeff Green, No. 10 Toyota Camry Derek White, No. 24 Toyota Camry Brian Scott, No. 11 Dollar General Camry Mike Bliss, No. 44 Toyota Camry Eric McClure, No. 14 Hefty/Reynolds Wrap Camry Kurt Busch, No. 54 Monster Energy Camry Joey Logano, No. 18 Dollar General Camry Joe Nemechek, No. 87 AM/FM Energy Stoves Camry Tayler Malsam, No. 19 G-Oil Camry Kenny Wallace, No. 99 Illinois Soybean Board Camry
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Parker Kligerman, No. 7 Red Horse Racing Tundra Johnny Sauter, No. 13 Hot Honeys/Curb Records Tundra Johnny Chapman, No. 07 Wear Your Gear Tundra Timothy Peters, No. 17 Red Horse Racing Tundra Ross Chastain, No. 08 Magnuson Hotel Tundra Drew Herring, No. 18 Dollar General Tundra John Wes Townley, No. 09 Zaxby’s Tundra Matt Crafton, No. 88 Menard’s Tundra Todd Bodine, No. 11 Toyota Care Tundra
WEEKEND RACE SCHEDULE Sat., September 15 — NNS @ Chicagoland Speedway — 3:30 PM (ET), ESPN2 — Race 26 of 33 Sat., September 15 — NCWTS @ Iowa Speedway — 8:30 PM (ET), SPEED — Race 15 of 22 Sun., September 16 — NSCS @ Chicagoland Speedway — 2:00 PM (ET), ESPN — Race 27 of 36
