TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES
TOYOTA TIDBITS
DOUBLE DIPPING AT DOVER: Camry driver Martin Truex Jr. was victorious at Delaware’s Dover International Speedway on Sunday to claim another victory in the first round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Truex led a race-high 187 laps (of 400) to capture his second win in the ‘Round of 16’, and his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) triumph in the last five races. The victory was the fourth for Truex this season, who entered this year with just three NSCS wins in his career. Truex leads all NSCS drivers with 1,594 laps led in 2016, including a series leading 817 circuits on 1.5-mile tracks – with 392 of those coming in his victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. Truex has led more than three times as many laps on intermediate tracks (817) as his next-closest rival this year (261 by Kevin Harvick). In addition to Truex’s win in Delaware, Camry driver Daniel Suarez tallied his second NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) victory of the season at Dover in the second event of the NXS Chase for the Championship on Sunday morning.
SURVIVED AND ADVANCED: All five Camry Chase contenders – Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Truex – advanced into the ‘Round of 12’ following the cutoff race at Dover, and all Cup Chase contestants sit even with 3,000 points entering the second elimination round. The 2016 season marks the second time Toyota has had five Camry drivers competing in the Chase, and the first time Toyota has advanced five drivers into the ‘Round of 12.’ In the NXS, two Camry drivers – Suarez (first) and Erik Jones (10th) – are competing in the inaugural NXS Chase, while four Tundra drivers – William Byron (first), Christopher Bell (second), Matt Crafton (third) and Timothy Peters (fifth) – are competing in the first-ever NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) Chase for the Championship. With victories in the first rounds of their Chases, both Byron and Suarez will automatically advance to the second round of the NCWTS and NXS Chases, respectively.
CHARLOTTE’S CHASE PLACE: With the NSCS moving to Charlotte for the fourth race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, championship frontrunner Truex will look to continue his winning ways on a track he dominated in May. Truex led 588 miles in the Coca-Cola 600, the most miles led by any driver in a single NASCAR race. The Charlotte race is the first event in the ‘Round of 12,’ the second of three eliminator rounds in the NSCS Chase. In the NXS Chase, the Charlotte event marks the cutoff race before the ‘Round of 8.’ Suarez will automatically advance to NXS’ second round by virtue of his Dover win, but his Toyota teammate, Jones, sits 10th in the standings and four points behind the eighth-place cutoff.
TOYOTA 2016 TOTALS: Toyota drivers have combined to win more than 50 percent of the races across the NSCS, NXS and NCWTS in 2016, and have led more than 50 percent of the laps in each series. Toyota drivers have won 15-of-29 NSCS races, 16-of-28 events in the NXS and 12-of-18 NCWTS contests. Toyota’s 15 NSCS wins mark the most triumphs by the manufacturer in the Cup Series in a single season, and the Toyota is approaching its record total of 20 NXS victories set in 2008. Camry drivers have led nearly 57 percent of all laps run (4,751 of 8,345) in the NSCS and more than 62 percent in the NXS (2,847 or 4,579), while Tundra drivers have led more nearly 67 percent of all NCWTS laps contested (1,818 of 2714).
NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS): Camry drivers Martin Truex Jr. (first), Kyle Busch (third), Matt Kenseth (fourth), Denny Hamlin (ninth) and Carl Edwards (10th) are in the 12-driver field competing in the NSCS Chase for the Sprint Cup … Toyota currently leads the NSCS manufacturer point standings by 35 marks over Chevrolet with 1,201 points … Truex has three consecutive top-five results at Charlotte Motor Speedway … Truex has led more than 100 laps in three events on 1.5-mile tracks this year … Truex led 142 laps (of 334) at Texas Motor Speedway in April, 172 circuits (of 267) at Kansas Speedway in May, and 392 laps (of 400) in his Charlotte win … The Toyota Camry XSE is the official pace car at Charlotte.
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Has winning a championship changed how you approach the Chase?
“I certainly think you’ve got a different or a better mindset of being able to race for a championship after once accomplishing one because you knew what it took to accomplish that and last year it was not all that stressful. We just kind of let it play out and be as it was and we we’re going to be happy with the results no matter what, so you’ve kind of got to do the same thing this time around and let fate be with you.”
MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What is your outlook starting the ‘Round of 12’?
“Charlotte has been a tough track for us when it comes to this race weekend in the Chase for the last few years and it’s certainly a track that we need to work on in order to make sure that we qualify well and keep our track position. I feel that overall Charlotte has been a pretty good track for us. We just haven’t been able to get some of the finishes there when we’ve needed them. Track position is always so important at Charlotte and it’s been one of the hardest tracks to pass at recently, especially at night. It’s just very difficult to get around other cars at Charlotte even if you’re a lot faster than a car ahead of you. It’s important to put a lot of emphasis on qualifying, pit stops and restarts heading into this weekend.”
MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How will your results in the first round of the Chase set you up for continued success?
“It’s been a fairytale type of season so far, but no matter how well we have raced lately the bottom line is that 12 drivers – all capable of winning the championship – start the second round of the Chase with the same amount of points. It would be nonproductive to look in the rearview mirror or look past this weekend’s race.”
What has led to your recent strength at Charlotte Motor Speedway?
“Charlotte was never one of my best tracks until recently. We hit on something last year and things got so much better. We’re hoping that our setup will continue to be as good this weekend. I am confident it will be since we have plenty of history and data for the track. The biggest challenge is finding the right combination for our Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota since we practice during the day and race at night.”
NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS): Camry drivers Daniel Suarez (first) and Erik Jones (10th) are in the 12-driver field competing in the inaugural NXS Chase for the Championship … Toyota currently leads the NXS manufacturer point standings by 16 marks over Chevrolet with 1,156 points … Suarez’s Dover victory marked the 125th triumph for the Camry in the NXS.
DANIEL SUAREZ, No. 19 Juniper Networks Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How does it feel to head to Charlotte Motor Speedway with a Chase win?
“I absolutely can’t wait to get back on the track this weekend at Charlotte and race under the lights in front of our family and friends. Last weekend was really special for our whole team and I’m really excited that we were able to get a win and lock ourselves into the ‘Round of 8.’ We had an amazing Interstate Batteries Camry in Dover with a lot of speed, so hopefully we can duplicate that effort on Friday night. Scott (Graves, crew chief) and the guys continue to work hard and bring the best Camrys to the track each week. Charlotte is a really good track for us and our mile-and-half program has been strong all year, so I’m really excited to get on the track and see how our Juniper Networks Toyota performs.”
ERIK JONES, No. 20 GameStop NBA 2K17 Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What kind of pressure are you facing in this elimination race?
“We have a good team. We just have to do it right. I know this 20 team builds fast cars and I know this weekend at Charlotte will be no different. We just need to go out and execute and hopefully get into the next round. A lot of work and a lot of pressure, but I think we can do it.”
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS): Tundra drivers William Byron (first), Christopher Bell (second), Matt Crafton (third) and Timothy Peters (fifth) are in the eight-driver field competing in the inaugural NCWTS Chase for the Championship … Toyota currently leads the NCWTS manufacturer point standings by 51 marks over Chevrolet with 623 points … The NCWTS has two weekends off before racing at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, Oct. 22.
TOYOTA DRIVER ROSTER – Charlotte Motor Speedway (NSCS & NXS)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
> Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Camry
>
> Kyle Busch, No. 18 Camry
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> Carl Edwards, No. 19 Camry
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> Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Camry
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> David Ragan, No. 23 Camry
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> Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Camry
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> Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Camry
NASCAR XFINITY Series
> Matt DiBenedetto, No. 10 Camry
>
> Jeff Green, No. 14 Camry
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> Kyle Busch, No. 18 Camry
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> Daniel Suarez, No. 19 Camry
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> Erik Jones, No. 20 Camry
>
> Dakoda Armstrong, No. 28 Camry
>
> Timmy Hill, No. 40 Camry
>
> JJ Yeley, No. 44 Camry
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