Toyota NASCAR Notes & Quotes Dover May 2015

TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES
May 25 – 31, 2015

TOYOTA TIDBITS

CARL CATCHES 300:  Toyota driver Carl Edwards earned his first victory in a Camry in Sunday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a triumph that also marked the 300th combined victory for Toyota across NASCAR’s three national touring series. The combined 300 NASCAR points wins include 68 Sprint Cup victories, 100 NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) triumphs and 132 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) first-place trophies. The victory also came in the Toyota Camry’s 300th NSCS points race start since joining the series in 2007.

CAMRY CHASERS:  Three Camry drivers have secured spots in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. With Edwards’ Charlotte victory, he joins Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammates Matt Kenseth (Bristol) and Denny Hamlin (Martinsville) who also have wins this season. Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) drivers Clint Bowyer (17th) and David Ragan (24th) are also within reach of obtaining one of the top-16 Chase spots with 14 races left until the Chase cut-off. Kyle Busch, who finished 11th in his first race back following his Daytona injuries, could also make the championship playoff if he gets a win and makes it within the top-30 in points.

MONSTER SHOWING: Toyota drivers have combined for 17 NASCAR victories at the one-mile concrete Dover International Speedway. Kyle Busch is responsible for 10 combined Dover wins for Toyota, including two NSCS victories (May 2008 and May 2010). Camry drivers also have an eight-pack of Dover first-place finishes in the NXS – Busch with five (Sept. 2008, both 2010 races and both 2014 races), Joey Logano with a pair (both 2012 events) and Hamlin has one (May 2008). Tundra drivers have won the last seven NCWTS races at Dover – three by Busch (2011, 2013 and 2014), Scott Speed (2008), Brian Scott (2009), Aric Almirola (2010) and Todd Bodine (2012). Toyota drivers have swept all three NASCAR races at Dover in a single weekend twice – 2008 and 2010.

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 … Kyle Busch has led 1,011 career laps at Dover and ranks fourth among active drivers at the one-mile concrete race track … Kenseth has completed 12,254 of 12,804 (95.7 percent) career laps at the Monster Mile … David Ragan (Michael Waltrip Racing), Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Jeb Burton (BK Racing) were among those who tested at Dover on May 13.

What does it mean to achieve your first win with JGR and Toyota’s 300th NASCAR victory?

“It’s great. I had the opportunity to go to Georgetown, Kentucky, about a week‑and‑a‑half ago to the plant where they build the Camrys. I got to meet a lot of folks that are building these cars that are in Kentucky. I’ve had the chance to go out to California and go to Toyota’s headquarters and to TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and see how much work goes into this, and it’s really a true partnership, and Toyota has been behind me 100 percent, and it really feels good to get them the 300th win. This is the first step to delivering them a championship trophy at the end of the year. It’s cool to be a part of this Toyota team.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Skittles Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What does it take to be successful at Dover?

“Dover, being a concrete track, is challenging. They are all a challenge, but Dover is especially so because of the way you have to run around that place. The way tires sometimes wear out. The way the rubber gets put down there. You’ve got to be fast through the corner. Two-thirds of your lap time is through the turn rather than down the straightaway, so you definitely have to make sure you have a good-handling racecar – one that’s good in the beginning of the run on low air pressures and one that’s good at the end of the run on high air pressures and even through traffic too. Some of the most challenging times are when you’re trying to get through traffic with guys. We had good races there the last couple of years, but haven’t been able to finish them off, so I hope we can keep the momentum going there again this weekend and get a win with our Skittles Camry.”

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

Do you look forward to racing at Dover?

“Dover has always been one of my favorite tracks to race at, so I’m really looking forward to this weekend. A big focus of having a good car at Dover is to make sure you have your corner balance just right in order to get your car to turn how you need it to and still be able to pass. Traffic has been really hard there depending on the tire and how much rubber builds up on the track. It’s so important though to have that corner balance in clean air and dirty air which is difficult to do.”

NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS):  Camry drivers Daniel Suarez (ninth), David Starr (12th) and JJ Yeley (14th) currently rank in the top-15 in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) point standings … Toyota driver Erik Jones will celebrate his 19th birthday on Saturday, May 30 by racing in both the NXS and NCWTS races at Dover.

ERIK JONES, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What are your expectations for this weekend’s XFINITY Series event at Dover, another new track for you?

“Well I’ll have the advantage of running laps there in the Truck Series, so hopefully track time in both will speed up my learning curve. As long as Chris (Gayle, crew chief) and I can build a good base in practice, I think we’ll get this Monster Energy Toyota tuned in. I have Kyle (Busch) to lean on too – he always gives me good pointers as I approach these tracks I’m learning. I look forward to seeing what I can do on Friday and Saturday. This No. 54 team has been close the past few weeks, so hopefully together we can give the Monster Energy folks a trip to victory lane.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS):  Tundra driver Matt Crafton leads the series point standings by 16 points after five races … Erik Jones (second), Johnny Sauter (fourth), Timothy Peters (sixth), Cameron Hayley (seventh) and Justin Boston (eighth) also currently rank in the top-10 for Toyota in the NCWTS point standings … Crafton has the most top-10 finishes (eight) among active drivers at Dover … Baltimore-native Justin Boston will drive for Kyle Busch Motorsports at Dover … Boston has earned three top-10 finishes in his last three NCWTS races.

MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Rip It Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing

How do you handle the racing at Dover?

“There is a tremendous elevation change at Dover from the straightaway to the bottom of the corner. It’s definitely one of my top-three favorite race tracks to go to each and every year. The groove moves around a lot, the place lays down a lot of rubber and it’s always great racing.”

JUSTIN BOSTON, No. 54 ROK Mobile Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports

Does your previous experience at Dover give you extra confidence going into such a tough track?

“Dover is definitely a special place for me. It’s the race track that sparked my career in stock car racing and growing up near there I consider Dover my home track. I have been there a few times before and I think that will definitely help, especially with running an XFINITY race there in 2014. I feel very confident that we will be contending for the win in the ROK Mobile Tundra.”