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• ‘Chase’ Chances of Busch and Brian
• Waltrip Comments on Crew Chief Change
• Leffler Looking for Nationwide Triumph
• Malsam, Scott Ready to Tackle Iowa
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: Toyota Camry drivers have combined for eight wins (Kyle Busch — Las Vegas, Bristol-1, Richmond and Bristol-2; David Reutimann — Charlotte; Joey Logano — New Hampshire; Denny Hamlin — Pocono-2; and Brian Vickers — Michigan-2), 29 top-fives and 54 top-10 finishes through 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) races this season … Hamlin is fourth in the NSCS point standings with two races remaining before the ‘Chase for the Sprint Cup’ championship playoff begins … Camry drivers Busch (13th, -34 points from 12th), Vickers (14th, -39 points) and Reutimann (16th, -160 points) are still battling to earn a position among the top-12 drivers in the ‘Chase’ field … Vickers has scored the most points of any NSCS driver over the last seven races … Gene Nead takes over as crew chief for Michael Waltrip’s No. 55 Toyota this weekend … In Atlanta, Camrys will again display a special decal commemorating Toyota’s 20 millionth vehicle manufactured in North America.

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Pedigree Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What is your plan over the next two weeks to make the ‘Chase?’

“Win. We weren’t as good as we needed to be there this spring. We’ll try to work as hard as we can to make the car do what it needs to do. Richmond, we feel like we can go there and run strong. That’s a place where I don’t qualify well, sort of like Bristol, but when the race comes around we seem to run well. We can work our way steadily toward the front. We’ll do what we need to do. If we have a shot to go after it, we’ll go after it. I think my biggest concern is going to be Atlanta, just trying to get through Atlanta with a solid top-10 finish. If we can do that, I think we’ll be okay.”

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

What does your team need to do to make the ‘Chase?’

“All we need to do is keep doing what we’ve been doing. We accomplished our goal of reaching victory lane. We did that, and it was great — great for the whole team, Toyota and everybody at Red Bull Racing Team. Now, we just need to make the ‘Chase.’ I think we’re capable of it — as much or more capable of it than anybody that has an opportunity to make the ‘Chase’ as of right now. We’ve still got a lot of hard work ahead of us — there are no guarantees in this sport. The tides can turn in a matter of seconds.”

MICHAEL WALTRIP, No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

Why did you decide to make a crew chief change — replacing Robert ‘Bootie’ Barker with Gene Nead?

“Gene (Nead, crew chief) has always been a guy that I respected. He’s a guy that gets in there and tries to figure it all out and rolls his sleeves up and gets with it. He was someone that I always appreciated the way he went about things and we certainly have a lot of respect for ‘Bootie’ (Barker) and what he stands for and the way he goes about his business as well. I feel like the change of roles for him will make our whole team stronger. I think he’ll contribute to me and to the other cars as well. It’s just a way to add more depth and more quality people into the mix and help diversify ‘Bootie’s’ talents across all the teams and improve the performances on all our cars.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: Toyota Camry drivers have recorded 10 wins (Busch — California, Texas, Richmond, Nashville- 2, New Hampshire and St. Louis; Logano — Nashville-1, Kentucky, Chicagoland; and Ambrose — Watkins Glen), 46 top-fives and 87 top-10 finishes through 25 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) races this season … Busch leads the NNS point standings by 192 points over second-place Carl Edwards … Toyota is looking for its first NNS victory at Atlanta in its third trip to the 1.5-mile oval … Camry NNS teams will display a decal commemorating Toyota’s 20 millionth vehicle made in North America this weekend.

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

Do you look forward to racing at Atlanta?

“I always look forward to racing at Atlanta. It’s super fast and wide with multiple grooves that allows for a lot of side-by-side racing. You will have two and three-wide racing for most of the race, which makes it great for the fans. What I like the most about it is that you have your pick of lines to run, so if your car isn’t handling well in one groove you can move around and find a line that better suits the way your car is driving. Atlanta Motor Speedway provides some of the best racing of the season and that has been proven over and over by the exciting finishes we have seen there over the years.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Do you think you can win at Atlanta this weekend?

“We’ve proven that we can lead at this place. The last two times I’ve been here in the Nationwide car, we’ve led the most laps and still came up short. I don’t know what it is, but this is a fun, fast track and it’s a place where JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) has been really good at, historically. If we go out there on Saturday and race the way we are capable of and have some things fall our way, I’m sure that we can contend for a win.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: In 16 NCWTS races in 2009, Toyota Tundra drivers have combined for eight wins (Todd Bodine — Daytona and Texas; Busch — California, Atlanta, Bristol and Chicagoland; Mike Skinner — Kansas; and Brian Scott — Dover), 42 top-fives and 86 top-10 finishes … Tundra drivers will be making their NCWTS debut at Iowa Speedway this weekend … Toyota drivers in the top-10 in the championship point standings are Skinner (third), Scott (fourth), David Starr (fifth), Bodine (sixth) and Tayler Malsam (ninth) … Cory White, a mechanic and tire carrier on the Red Horse Racing No. 11 Tundra, hails from Vinton, Iowa … White is RHR’s longest-standing employee, starting in June of 2004 … Tundras will carry a commemorative decal for Toyota’s 20 millionth vehicle produced in North America.

TAYLER MALSAM, No. 81 One Eighty Tundra, Randy Moss Motorsports

Do you have experience racing at Iowa Speedway?

“We raced last year there in the ARCA car. I remember it being flat and small. I think the grooves have definitely changed since the last time I was there. We could only run one line when we were there and now you can run what seemed like three lines in the Nationwide race. It should be fun to go there because I hate tracks that are one-line tracks — so that one will be fun for us.”

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 16 Albertsons Tundra, Xpress Motorsports

How will you prepare for the truck race at Iowa Speedway?

“I paid a lot of attention during the Nationwide race there. I talked to people that have been there and done the tire test. For the most part, I know how the track is going to drive, but really how I prepare is no different. Just get ready to go into that weekend like a normal race, try to get my mind in the right place and try to get focused. I will spend time with our guys and have confidence and
faith in their abilities because every week they put together great Toyotas. Jeff (Hensley, crew chief) has been there and he’s got laps there with (Mike) Skinner and I think he’s going to have a really good starting set-up.”

JEFF HENSLEY, Crew Chief, No. 16 Albertsons Tundra, Xpress Motorsports

Is Iowa Speedway similar to any other race track?

“Iowa Speedway is very reminiscent of Richmond. That is how we attacked it when we went there to test, that it was just a bigger version of Richmond. Turn two has a little more room than turn two at Richmond. The things you do at Richmond, you have to be able to do at Iowa to be good, so it’s a race track that you can tell has had a lot of racers’ input. I am pretty excited to go there, and I think we should be good. It will provide us with a chance to bounce back from our run at Chicago.”

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release