Catchfence


May 28, 2009
Thursday
Toyota Motorsports, 2009 Autism Speaks 400, Heluva Good! 200 & AAA Insurance Weekend Notes & Quotes
Press Release
Advertisment

Toyota Motorsports Logo
Toyota Motorsports Logo
TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES
May 25 – 31, 2009

TOYOTA TALK:

• Reutimann Chasing Spot in Top-12
• Denny Discusses Dover
• Leffler Likes ‘Monster Mile’
• Malsam Leads in Raybestos Rookie Points

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: Toyota Camry drivers have combined for four wins (Kyle BuschLas Vegas, Bristol and Richmond; David Reutimann — Charlotte), 13 top-fives and 25 top-10 finishes through 12 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) races in 2009 … David Reutimann earned his first career NSCS victory and the first Cup Series win for Michael Waltrip Racing Sunday at Charlotte’s Lowe’s Motor Speedway … Camry drivers crossed the 5,000 laps led mark at Charlotte, after leading 219 of 227 laps of the rain-shortened event … Busch won the NSCS race at Dover last spring.

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

Will your win at Charlotte help motivate your team to get back into the top-12 in points?

“Our team’s pretty self-motivated. The win gets you closer to the pack to where you’re supposed to be. We’ve been inside the top-12 a good portion of the season, and then slipped back a ways. The only way you’re going to get back in the hunt is to run well and finish well. We’ve run well the last couple weeks. We just haven’t had the finishes to show for it. I’m glad the win got us closer to where we need to be, but we’ve got to get deeper inside that top-12 in order to kind of solidify ourselves. Where we are right now things can change so quickly because everybody is so close in the points — you have a bad race, you’re back to 15th again. You have to do all you can to avoid that.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What makes Dover different than other race tracks you compete at?

“It is the most physically demanding race track that we go to. You feel the speed more at that race track than you do at any other race track. Dover is my most-challenging race track and I think it is for most guys.”

BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team

Are you pleased with the changes to the pit road at Dover?

“I hadn’t heard that they have done something to pit road, but I’m glad if they did. That has always been a tight pit road, and tough to get in and out of your box. Qualifying is going to be very key so you can get a pit box down towards turn one to help you out. Either way, anything that can give us a little more room there is a plus.”

SCOTT SPEED, No. 82 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team

Was there something you liked about Dover that helped you win the Truck Series race there last spring?

“I’m not sure what it was about Dover that I liked. I think I just like the tracks with a lot of grip. The concrete surface provides a lot of grip and the banking is pretty symmetrical at Dover. We have been fast at a lot of different places, but there’s no rhyme or reason why. As I go to these places for the first or second time, I start to get the hang of them. Hopefully, we can be fast at Dover again this weekend.”

TY NORRIS, Vice President and General Manager, Michael Waltrip Racing

Are you excited to get back to your Delaware roots after the first Cup Series victory for Michael Waltrip Racing?

“I have had a bunch of phone calls and texts from people up in Delaware congratulating me on the win in Charlotte. I’m sure that we can plan something pretty big when we all get there this weekend. I love going up there and seeing some family and friends, and this week will be extra special because we’re coming off our first Cup win as an organization at Michael Waltrip Racing. Hopefully, we’ll be able get there and compete for another win on the race track.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: Toyota Camry drivers have recorded four wins (Busch — California, Texas and Richmond; Logano — Nashville), 16 top-fives and 37 top-10 finishes through 11 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) races in 2009 … Busch leads the NNS series point standings, holding a 73-point advantage over second-place Carl Edwards … Toyota swept the NNS events last year at Dover … Hamlin won the spring event and Busch was victorious in the fall … Jason Leffler has recorded six-consecutive top-10 finishes heading into Saturday’s race … Leffler will make his 200th-career NNS start at ‘The Monster Mile,’ where he earned his first career NASCAR victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2003.

JASON LEFFLER, No. 38 Great Clips Toyota Camry, Braun Racing

Why do you enjoy racing at Dover?

“Dover has been a pretty good track for me over the years. My first NASCAR win came at Dover in 2003 when I was racing in the Truck Series, so it’s a special place for me. Dover is a really fun race track. It’s similar to Bristol with the high banking, but it’s got the feel of a superspeedway. It’s easy to forget that it’s only a one mile-track because of the speeds you are carrying. It’s really narrow so there’s not a whole lot of room to negotiate. Being able to charge hard into the corners so you can keep up your momentum on the straight-aways is really important.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: In six NCWTS races in 2009, Toyota Tundra drivers have combined for four wins (Todd Bodine — Daytona; Busch — California and Atlanta; Mike Skinner — Kansas), 19 top-fives and 31 top-10 finishes … In addition, Tundra drivers have recorded two poles and led 450 laps … Tundra driver Tayler Malsam is leading the Raybestos Rookie of the Year points following his eighth-place finish at Lowe’s Motor Speedway … Skinner will run double duty at Dover, racing in both the NSCS and NCWTS races.

MIKE SKINNER, No. 5 Randy Moss Motorsports Toyota Tundra, Randy Moss Motorsports

This will be your sixth truck race at the Monster Mile, what do you like about racing at Dover?

“I just love the concrete race tracks. Dover is a man’s track — you separate the men from the boys when you go to Dover. It takes a lot of guts to dive off into turn one wide open at that place. I’m looking forward to competing for a race win and battling all those guys at the front.”

TODD BODINE, No. 30 Copart.com Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing

You’re a three-time winner in Dover, what are the track conditions throughout race weekend?

“Dover gains grip with more rubber to start with, then goes back the other way and loses grip. When we take my Tundra out to qualify, the track will be in fairly good shape, but when we go to race, the track is starting to lose grip at that point.”

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release


Article Tags: , , , , , , , , ,


Post a Comment


© 2011-2012 Catchfence. All rights reserved.

Catchfence.com is a member of the Citizen Journalist Media Corps created by NASCAR®.
NASCAR® is a registered trademark owned by National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc.
The Official NASCAR® website is NASCAR® ONLINE(sm) at www.nascar.com