Toyota NASCAR Notes & Quotes Charlotte/Iowa May 2015

TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES
May 11 – 17, 2015

TOYOTA TIDBITS

CATCHING UP ON KANSAS:  Camry driver Matt Kenseth recorded a sixth-place result – his sixth top-10 this season – in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Kansas Speedway. Tundra driver Matt Crafton captured the checkered flag in Friday night’s Toyota Tundra 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Kansas to notch his second win of the year and added to his early-season points lead.

KYLE’S COMEBACK:  Camry driver Kyle Busch will return to the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Camry this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It marks his first NSCS appearance since being sidelined following an accident at Daytona International Speedway in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race on February 21. Though he’s never won the All-Star event, Busch finished as the runner-up in 2011 and has held the pole position three times (2008, 2011 and 2012).

TUNDRA TALLY:  Tundra drivers have won 26 of the last 33 NCWTS races going into this Friday night’s event at Charlotte Motor Speedway following Crafton’s win at Kansas. Six different Toyota drivers have visited victory lane since the NCWTS visited Chicagoland Speedway in Sept. 2013 – the first Toyota win in the streak – including Busch (nine wins), Darrell Wallace Jr. (five), Crafton (four), Erik Jones (four), Timothy Peters (two) and Johnny Sauter (two).  Busch, who will not compete in the NCWTS race on Friday, won four of the last five Truck races at Charlotte.

AMERICA’S HEARTLAND: While the NSCS and NCWTS will enjoy a weekend at home in Charlotte, the NXS heads to Iowa Speedway for the first standalone race of the season. Toyota drivers have two Iowa XFINITY Series wins with Busch winning in 2010 and last year’s triumph by Sam Hornish Jr.

NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS):  Camry driver Matt Kenseth (seventh) currently ranks in the top-10 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) point standings … Denny Hamlin (15th) and Clint Bowyer (16th) are also in the top-20 in the driver standings … Bowyer won the 2014 Showdown event, as did Martin Truex Jr. (2010) and AJ Allmendinger (2008) while driving Camry race cars … All four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers – Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Hamlin and Kenseth – will compete in the All-Star race, while both Michael Waltrip Racing drivers – Bowyer and David Ragan – will need a Showdown win to transfer in order to compete in the main event.

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Red Nose Day Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What has been the process to get back into the race car?

“I was cleared to get out of the boot a couple weeks ago and was cleared to test my Late Model. That test went really well. I was able to come back and test again last week at Hickory (Motor Speedway). My medical team was there with me and declared I was cleared to get back in the car again for the All‑Star Race in the Sprint Cup Series. I think it’s a great race to come back to. For one it’s shorter – it’s a non‑points event, there’s mandatory cautions after every 25 laps and whatnot –

so it gives you an opportunity to take a breather, take a rest. That will allow me to make adjustments to myself as well as being behind the wheel of the 2015 Camry for the first time because I haven’t had an opportunity to race at all in this aero package.”

What have you missed the most while being out of the race car?

“I think the biggest thing I missed is being able to hold up trophies – being in Victory Lane. That’s probably the biggest thing. I know my teammate Denny Hamlin has won, my teammate Matt Kenseth has won. Besides those races that they’ve won, it may look like we’ve struggled a little bit as an organization. I’m excited to be able to get back behind the wheel of my No. 18 M&M Camry and being able to work with Adam Stevens (crew chief), who this whole year was supposed to be him and I teaming up, getting ready, getting used to each other, which now we’re 10 or 11 weeks behind schedule. Really missed my team, just the guys there, being able to be with them each and every weekend, of course, spending the weekend in the motorhome, being there with Samantha (Busch, wife) and everything else.”

MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How much confidence does your pit crew give you?

“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. They’ve been really good. That’s helped a lot when we’ve been off a little bit to make up spots on pit road. To qualify well is important because it’s tough to pass.”

How do you approach the All-Star race?

“You always try to bring your best car and you hope they give you more power. You want to go there and win – it pays a lot of money. It’s a fun race. You want to win it as bad as you want to win any other race. It is only practicing for the 600, so you try to run the best stuff you can and hopefully figure something out for the 600. It’s the only night time with actual conditions you get before you run the 600.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 Cherry 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

Are you looking forward to Charlotte race weeks?

“These are always a fun two weeks. The teams get to be home for the most part. The All-Star race is a great way to kick it off. It’s under the lights. You’re going for a million dollars and you don’t have to worry about points. That can sometimes create a little drama on the track – guys doing things they maybe wouldn’t normally do if points were on the line. Bummed we aren’t already in the show but we managed to race our way in last year, hoping we can do it again this year.”

NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS):  Camry drivers Daniel Suarez (ninth), David Starr (12th) and JJ Yeley (13th) currently rank in the top-15 in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) point standings … Erik Jones will compete in both the NXS race in Iowa and the NCWTS event in Charlotte … Jones was victorious in last year’s NCWTS race at Iowa … Boris Said will make his first start at Iowa Speedway while driving the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 Camry … Daniel Suarez finished third in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Iowa in 2013 for his best result in seven starts at the 0.875-mile race track.

DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 18 ARRIS Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Are you looking forward to racing at Iowa Speedway?

“It’s going to be a very positive weekend for the No. 18 ARRIS Toyota Camry team, especially because it’s a track we did a Goodyear tire test at last week and a place I’ve run at the past few seasons in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. I really like Iowa Speedway and I’m looking forward to this weekend’s activities. It’s been a good season for us so far, but we have to keep working hard and striving for good results. I’m really lucky to be part of a team that continues to improve every week. I feel like we understand each other more every time we get on the track and I believe it’s only going to continue as the season goes on.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS):  Tundra driver Matt Crafton leads the series point standings by 17 points after four races … Erik Jones (third), Johnny Sauter (fourth), Cameron Hayley (fifth), Timothy Peters (seventh) and Justin Boston (eighth) also currently rank in the top-10 for Toyota in the NCWTS point standings … Crafton (first), Sauter (third) and Hayley (fifth) all posted top-five results at Kansas, marking the first time three ThorSport Racing teammates have finished together in the top-five … Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers have collected four wins, two poles, five top-five finishes and 286 laps led at Charlotte … The team will be represented at Charlotte by Justin Boston, Jones and Matt Tifft.