TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES
April 27 – May 3, 2015
RICHMOND RECAP: Camry driver Matt Kenseth (seventh) was the top-finishing Toyota driver in the Sunday’s rain-delayed Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia. In addition to Kenseth’s finish, Camry driver Clint Bowyer (ninth) also finished in the top-10 on the 0.75-mile track.
NUMBER 100 IN NASCAR XFINITY: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) regular Denny Hamlin claimed Toyota’s 100th Camry victory in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) last Friday night at Richmond. Hamlin started from the pole and led 248 laps (of 250) en route to the historic victory for Toyota since joining the NXS in 2007. The victory was the seventh for Hamlin in a Camry in the NXS. Other Camry drivers to register NXS wins in a Camry include: Kyle Busch (59); Joey Logano (18); Tony Stewart (5); Kenseth (3); Marcos Ambrose (2); Kurt Busch (1); Sam Hornish Jr. (1); Erik Jones (1); Leffler (1); David Reutimann (1); and Elliott Sadler (1).
SUPERSPEEDWAY STANDOUTS: Among active drivers with more than three starts at Talladega Superspeedway, Bowyer has the best average finish at the 2.66-mile track (14.4), while his Toyota teammate David Ragan ranks fifth (16.5). Bowyer has two Talladega victories (2010 and 2011) and 10 top-10 results in 18 starts at the track. Ragan, a native of neighboring Georgia, has one win (2013) and seven top-10 finishes in 16 starts at Talladega.
DENNY DEFENDING: Hamlin was victorious in last April’s NSCS race at Talladega where the Virginia native started 34th and led 12 laps (of 188) to take the checkered flag. Hamlin quickly moved to the front of the field in the event and took the lead on lap 32 for three circuits, but didn’t take the point again until lap 162 when Hamlin, Brian Vickers and Kevin Harvick traded the lead 11 combined times with Hamlin leading the final two circuits to the checkered flag.
NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS): Camry drivers Matt Kenseth (seventh), Denny Hamlin (12th) and Clint Bowyer (14th) currently rank in the top-15 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) point standings … Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) team owner Michael Waltrip will be behind the wheel of the No. 55 Camry this weekend at Talladega … Waltrip won the fall 2003 race at the 2.66-mile superspeedway and finished fourth at the track in May 2013 … In 57 career Talladega starts, Waltrip has earned one win, eight top-five finishes and 16 top-10 results … David Ragan will pilot the No. 18 Camry for the ninth-and-final time this week before moving to the No. 55 Camry for the remainder of the 2015 season.
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Do things change year-to-year in superspeedway racing?
“I think there are certain things you learn and certain situations you remember. Things actually do change just a little bit even though the rules haven’t really changed for a while, but it doesn’t change a lot. The biggest thing every time you go back is you get in practice and you get around other cars and you see who is fast and who is slow, who your car goes fast with and who it doesn’t, and you always want to be with your teammates or with your manufacturer, but your sometimes your car just won’t go fast with theirs, so you have to figure that out and try to get yourself in the right position during the race.”
How impressed are you with your pit crew?
“They’ve been one of the best on pit road all year. The 19 (Carl Edwards) has been unbelievably fast and our guys have been right there with them, so they’ve been really good. That’s helped a lot when we’ve been off a little to get spots on pit road.”
MICHAEL WALTRIP, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Are you excited to have David Ragan join Michael Waltrip Racing after Talladega?
“It feels good to have David Ragan aboard. His experience, his knowledge about the cars, his competitiveness this year in 2015 driving the 18 Camry in a tough situation has really been admirable with what he’s been able to accomplish. I know he’s going to come here and be able to support Clint (Bowyer, teammate), share information, bounce things off Clint back and forth to improve our cars and continue to make progress as we race toward the Chase. It puts us in a position where the Aaron’s car and the 55 Toyota team become a realistic Chase contender now and we’ve got our direction, our future and we’re looking forward to watching David get immersed into all the activities that go on here at Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR). Not only is he a really talented, experienced, winning race car driver, he’s also just a great person and I know he’s going to do a wonderful job representing Aaron’s and he’s a Georgia boy just like Aaron’s is from Georgia – they have some synergy there – and he’s looking forward to wearing the Aaron’s colors and being a part of their family as well. We want to thank Brett Moffitt for the great job he did filing in for (Brian) Vickers and we’re looking forward to watching Brett’s continued development as well – he’s still part of the MWR family and we’re looking forward to him getting some more experience and developing his career as well.”
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Does starting position at Talladega dictate how you approach the race?
“It will for sure. I think that if we are able to get a good qualifying spot it will allow me to try to stay up front, but if we get mauled in the center to back of the pack for qualifying, it will probably set the tone for how we run the first part of the race or at least until the first pit stop where we can kind of shuffle ourselves to the front through pit strategy or getting on and off pit road pretty quick and getting up to the front. I think that’s the one thing that will dictate for qualifying for us is our early race strategy.”
NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS): Camry drivers Daniel Suarez (10th), David Starr (12th) and JJ Yeley (14th) currently rank in the top-15 in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) point standings … Erik Jones finished fourth at Richmond to tally his fifth-consecutive top-five result in the NXS … The No. 20 Camry team has recorded four-straight pole positions in the NXS, with Jones earning three (California, Texas and Bristol) and Hamlin taking the most-recent pole in Richmond … Boris Said will pilot the No. 54 Camry at Talladega for his first of seven scheduled starts with Joe Gibbs Racing.
DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 18 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How do you feel returning to a superspeedway?
“Well, definitely on those big race tracks, we have a lot to learn. We have to do our homework – watch some videos, ask some questions to my teammates and try to be better. We made a lot of mistakes in our first race of 2015 and I’m just looking forward to that race to try to do better and finish the race. That’s the most important thing – survive on those superspeedways.”
BORIS SAID, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Are you excited to jump in the Joe Gibbs Racing Camry?
“Obviously, the No. 54 Monster Energy group is used to running up front and going for the win. We’ll have to tone the expectations down a little for the ovals, but I’m hoping to run in the top-ten throughout the day. I’m excited to get in the Monster Energy Toyota and get racing, but actually I’m excited to get to Talladega – that place is wild, as you never know what could happen there.”
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS): Tundra driver Matt Crafton, the two-time defending NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) champion, leads the series point standings after three races … Erik Jones (third), Johnny Sauter (fourth), Cameron Hayley (ninth) and Ben Kennedy (10th) also currently rank in the top-10 in the NCWTS point standings … The NCWTS takes another weekend off before returning to action at Kansas Speedway for the Toyota Tundra 250 on May 8.
TOYOTA 2015 NASCAR STATISTICS
Series Races Starts (Drivers) Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Times Led Laps Led
NSCS 8 77 (14) 2 7 13 1 36 385
NXS 8 85 (18) 2 9 14 4 22 421
NCWTS 3 29 (12) 1 7 16 1 15 232
TOYOTA DRIVER ROSTER – Talladega Superspeedway (NSCS and NXS)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Camry
Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Camry
David Ragan, No. 18 Camry
Carl Edwards, No. 19 Camry
Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Camry
JJ Yeley, No. 23 Camry
Jeb Burton, No. 26 Camry
Michael Waltrip, No. 55 Camry
Matt Dibenedetto, No. 83 Camry
NASCAR XFINITY Series
Blake Koch, No. 8 Camry
Jeff Green, No. 10 Camry
Cale Conley, No. 14 Camry
Daniel Suarez, No. 18 Camry
Mike Bliss, No. 19 Camry
Erik Jones, No. 20 Camry
Eric McClure, No. 24 Camry
Mike Wallace, No. 26 Camry
JJ Yeley, No. 28 Camry
David Starr, No. 44 Camry
Boris Said, No. 54 Camry
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