TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES
March 7 – 13, 2016
TOYOTA TIDBITS
KYLE CONTINUES CAMRY LEAD: Toyota driver Kyle Busch leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) point standings by six points over second-place Jimmie Johnson after three races this season. Busch is the only driver in the series to earn three consecutive top-five finishes this year, and is on a current streak of seven straight top-fives dating back to last season. The Las Vegas native has recorded 13 top-10 finishes in 21 career NSCS starts at Phoenix International Raceway, where the series heads this weekend.
BUSCH BEST IN XFINITY TOO: In NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) action, Busch is coming off two-straight wins and returns to Phoenix where he has earned eight NXS wins, including four of the last five races he’s competed in at the one-mile Arizona oval. In 19 career NXS starts at Phoenix, the 2015 NSCS champion has registered 12 top-fives, 15 top-10 finishes and eight pole positions.
QUICK STUDY AT PHOENIX: Camry driver Erik Jones has also experienced quite a bit of success at Phoenix in his short NASCAR career. Jones has tallied three top-10 finishes in three NXS starts at the Arizona oval, including a third-place result in November. The 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) champion won his first NASCAR national series race at Phoenix in Nov. 2013 to become the youngest winner in NCWTS history at the time in just his fifth career series start at 17 years of age. In NCWTS action at Phoenix, Jones has two wins, two poles and three top-10 finishes in three starts.
NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS): Camry drivers Kyle Busch (first), Carl Edwards (seventh), Denny Hamlin (eighth) and Martin Truex Jr. (ninth) currently rank in the top-10 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) point standings … Toyota drivers have two NSCS victories at Phoenix International Raceway, including Hamlin in March 2012 and Kasey Kahne in Nov. 2011 … Edwards is one of only five active drivers to visit victory lane at Phoenix more than once in his career … The Missouri-native has accumulated two wins, seven top-five results and 12 top-10 finishes in his 23 starts at the Arizona track.
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Skittles Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Have you been pleased with the start of your season and your top-five streak dating back to last year?
“The guys have been doing a great job. As a company, we have a little bit to go to get better with this new package, but I think we have the right people and the right resources to get that done. Last weekend, we were off in practice and qualifying and we finally hit on something the last part of final practice that we could race with. So I’m proud of Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and all the guys for digging and getting us better. Phoenix is a bit of a different deal than the other two races on the West Coast, but we ran better there last fall and I’m hoping we have something to be competitive with on Sunday in our Skittles Camry.”
What does it take to be successful at Phoenix?
“You’ve got to have a good car, but you’ve got to have good brakes. You’ve got to have a good-turning car, and you’ve got to have a good car that can accelerate off of turn two and go fast down the backstretch. There’s a lot involved at Phoenix, but heading there with our Skittles Toyota Camry without any testing there will be interesting to see how the race plays out.”
CARL EDWARDS, No. 19 Stanley Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What does it take to be successful at Phoenix?
“I like Phoenix. It’s a very unique race track. It’s got two completely different corners and then that back straightaway is unlike anything we’ve got in this sport. You get to dive down on the apron. You just have to decide whether it’s worth it to slam your race car down on the ground. At least there are options there. We’ll go out there and have a good time.”
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How do you think the new aero package will affect the racing at Phoenix?
“With Phoenix being a shorter track, I’m not sure how big of a difference this new aero package is going to make this weekend. Phoenix is a fun race track since it’s such a different configuration than anywhere else we go, and it’s a place where passing is a little more difficult. I feel though that this package is going to help out with passing everywhere, so I’m interested to see how it all plays out this weekend. As the track surface continues to age in Phoenix, the groove moves around, the pace slows up a little bit, and I always feel that the racing just continues to get better.”
NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS): Camry drivers Daniel Suarez (first) and Erik Jones (seventh) currently rank in the top-10 in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) point standings … Suarez has registered three-consecutive top-10 finishes to start the 2016 season, including a runner-up finish to Kyle Busch in Las Vegas last week to tie his career-best finish … Camry drivers have earned eight NXS wins at Phoenix.
DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 19 Juniper Networks Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How good does it feel to be the new NXS points leader?
“I think it’s too early. We are just three races into the season. With the new Chase format, anything can happen. You need to win a race to be safe and lock yourself into the Chase. At the same time, we can win the race and if we don’t have the shot to win the race, we need to keep working with the consistency. It’s something we need to keep working to find more speed and try to win a race to be even more comfortable.”
ERIK JONES, No. 20 Reser’s Fine Foods Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Are you looking forward to returning to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend?
“This week is definitely a race I circled on the calendar. Phoenix is one of my favorite tracks we compete on and has proved to be a track I run well on and have seen success at in the Truck Series with getting my first NASCAR win back in 2013 and another win in 2014. On the XFINITY side, we’ve run well and had good finishes at Phoenix, but I’m ready to get that first win at the track and of the season and I think Phoenix could be the place.”
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS): Tundra drivers Timothy Peters (fourth), Ryan Truex (sixth) and Ben Rhodes (eighth) currently rank in the top-10 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) point standings … The NCWTS takes the next several weeks off, returning to action at Martinsville Speedway on April 2.
TOYOTA 2016 NASCAR STATISTICS
Series
Races
Starts (Drivers)
Wins
Top-5s
Top-10s
Poles
Times Led
Laps Led
NSCS
3
23 (9)
1
7
8
0
26
300
NXS
3
26 (13)
2
5
7
2
5
320
NCWTS
2
26 (15)
0
3
7
1
16
160
TOYOTA DRIVER ROSTER – Phoenix International Raceway (NSCS and NXS)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Camry
Kyle Busch, No. 18 Camry
Carl Edwards, No. 19 Camry
Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Camry
David Ragan, No. 23 Camry
Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Camry
Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Camry
NASCAR XFINITY Series
Jeff Green, No. 10 Camry
Benny Gordon, No. 14 Camry
Kyle Busch, No. 18 Camry
Daniel Suarez, No. 19 Camry
Erik Jones, No. 20 Camry
Corey LaJoie, No. 24 Camry
Dakoda Armstrong, No. 28 Camry
Carl Long, No. 40 Camry
David Starr, No. 44 Camry
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