Catchfence

TOYOTA TIDBITS — March 23-29, 2009
Here Are the Headlines:
• Busch Back in Victory Lane
• Denny to Defend in Home State
• Virginia Track Has Been Loving to Tundra Truck Program
• Tundra Team Members Tied to Martinsville-Area

BUSCH BEST AT BRISTOL:

Kyle Busch led 378 of 503 laps Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway to win his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race of the season in the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 18 Snickers Camry. It was the 14th NSCS victory of his career, and his 10th driving a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) since the beginning of the 2008 season. Other top-10 Toyota results at the Tennessee half-mile track were registered by Camry drivers Denny Hamlin (second) and Marcos  Ambrose (10th).

KYLE KEEPS CRUISING:

Busch’s win Sunday at Bristol was his 26th triumph driving a Toyota in 96 races across NASCAR’s top-three series — 10 in the NSCS, 11 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) victories and five in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) — winning 27 percent of races he has entered since 2008. The Bristol win gives Busch a Cup Series victory at each type of race track (short track, intermediate track, road course and superspeedway) in a Camry.

‘DENNY THE DEFENDER’:

Denny Hamlin, who drives the JGR No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, is the defending NSCS spring race-winner at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway. A year ago, Hamlin — who hails from Chesterfield, Va. — led 82 of 500 laps around the half-mile ‘paper clip.’ It was Hamlin’s first-ever points-race win in a Camry, and the first Cup win in his home state.

Hamlin finished fifth in the October 2008 event.

DIFFERENT DEBUTS:

A pair of Toyota Camry drivers will be making their NSCS debuts at Martinsville — Ambrose and Joey Logano. Ambrose, who drives the JTG-Daugherty No. 47 Little Debbie Camry, has made a pair of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) starts at the track (both in 2006) — including the first of his career. It will be Logano’s first-ever NASCAR start at the track.

TUNDRA TIME:

A Toyota Tundra driver was in victory lane the last time the NCWTS raced at Martinsville Speedway when 2008 series champion Johnny Benson recorded his fifth win of the season last October. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-native led 46 of 200 laps en route to victory lane, scoring Bill Davis Racing’s (BDR) final NCWTS win. Benson went on to hold off Ron Hornaday, Jr. in the championship chase by a mere seven points. In 10 races at the half-mile track, Tundra drivers have won five, including two in 2006 — David Starr and Jack Sprague — and a pair of wins for Mike Skinner in 2007, in addition to  Benson’s victory in 2008.

HAPPY HOMECOMINGS:

Timothy Peters, driver of the Premier Racing No. 17 Tundra, lives in Danville, Va., about 30 miles from Martinsville. Peters has won a Late Model race at Martinsville and has three top-10 finishes in six NCWTS starts. Jeff Hensley, crew chief on Brian Scott’s Xpress Motorsports No. 16 Albertson’s Toyota, grew up in nearby Ridgeway, Va. The veteran crew chief swept a pair of races at his home track in 2007 with Skinner. He also recorded five top-10 finishes in 10 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) races as a driver at Martinsville between 1982 and 1985. HT Motorsports, which fields the Nos. 24 (David Starr) and 25 (Terry Cook) Tundras in the NCWTS, is also based in Martinsville.

WEEKEND RACE SCHEDULE:

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series @ Martinsville Speedway, Sunday, March 29 @ 2:00 PM (ET) — Race 6 of 36
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series @ Martinsville Speedway, Saturday, March 23 @ 2:00 PM (ET) — Race 4 of 25

Toyota Motorsports, Press Release