Catchfence

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• Final Race Before Chase
• Hamlin Homecoming
• Skinner Scores No. 60
• Tundra Triumphs at Gateway

FINAL RACE BEFORE CHASE: Richmond International Raceway marks the final race before the start of the 10-race ‘Chase for the Sprint Cup’ championship playoff featuring the top 12 drivers in the point standings. Three Camry drivers have been near the transfer position — the 12th spot in the standings — for several weeks and hope a strong performance at Richmond will secure a place
in the finals. Denny Hamlin is fourth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) point standings and clinched a spot in the Chase. However, Camry drivers Brian Vickers (13th), Kyle Busch (14th) and David Reutimann (15th) are battling for a spot in the top-12.
Vickers is currently 20 points out of 12th-place, and Busch ( -37 points) and Reutimann (-132 points) are also trailing in points.

BIRTHDAY BOY: In May, Busch made the most of his birthday weekend at Richmond International Raceway by winning Friday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race and Saturday’s NSCS race. He became the second driver in Sprint Cup history to win a race on his birthday since Cale Yarborough (1977 and 1983).

HAMLIN’S HOMECOMING: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver Hamlin grew up just outside Richmond in Chesterfield, Va. He was a successful kart driver as a youngster around the Richmond-area, winning his first race at seven. The 28-year-old racer has made seven NSCS starts at Richmond and has recorded three top-three finishes and four top-10 results, including a runner-up finish in his first NSCS start there (2006). Hamlin has also made eight NNS starts at Richmond and has one win (May 2008), one pole (Sept. 2007), two top-five finishes and five top-10 results.

NUMBER 60 TO SKINNER: Mike Skinner dominated the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Iowa Speedway Saturday night, earning Toyota its 60th NCWTS victory since joining the series in 2004. Skinner led 180 (of 200) laps in the race after starting from the pole to record his second win of 2009 and the 27th triumph of his NCWTS career. In addition, it was Skinner’s 33rd pole in a Tundra and the 65th for Toyota.

WINNING WAYS: Toyota drivers have a pair of NCWTS wins at Gateway International Raceway outside St. Louis. Todd Bodine was victorious at the 1.25-mile Illinois oval in his 2006 championship season, leading 66 of 160 laps. The following year, former Toyota driver Johnny Benson drove his Tundra to victory lane. This year, Bodine looks to score his second Gateway win in the Germain Racing No. 30 Ventrilo Tundra during the sixth trip to the track for Toyota since joining the series in 2004.

WEEKEND RACE SCHEDULE:

• NASCAR Sprint Cup Series @ Richmond International Raceway, Saturday, September 12 @ 7:30 PM (ET), ABC — Race 26 of 36

• NASCAR Nationwide Series @ Richmond International Raceway, Friday, September 11 @ 8:00 PM (ET), ESPN2 – Race 25 of 35

• NASCAR Camping World Truck Series @ Gateway Int’l Raceway, Saturday, September 12 @ 2:30 PM (ET), SPEED – Race 16 of 25

TOYOTA TALK:

• Chase Chances for Brian and Busch
• Hamlin Happy and Hopeful
• Mike Talks Momentum

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: Toyota Camry drivers have combined for eight wins, 30 top-fives and 57 top-10 finishes through 25 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) races this season … Hamlin is fourth in the point standings with one race remaining before the ‘Chase for the Sprint Cup’ championship playoff begins … Vickers earned the pole at Richmond earlier this season and Busch claimed the race win … Seven Camry drivers will compete in Wednesday night’s ‘Prelude to the Dream’ dirt late model race at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway — Marcos Ambrose, Dave Blaney, Busch, Robby Gordon, Hamlin, Logano, Reutimann and Vickers.

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

What will be your strategy for Saturday night’s Richmond race?

“I think our strategy is going to be to gain the most points as possible and we can’t get tied up on what everybody else is doing. I think I would be lying if I said we weren’t going to stay on top of it and be aware of it. No different than at Atlanta — when I was racing with Matt (Kenseth) and Kyle (Busch), I knew that I was also racing those guys for a spot in the Chase. The best thing that we can do, and the most important thing we can do, is not make a mistake and have a bad finish. We have to have a good one. We went out there earlier this year and sat on the pole, so hopefully we can do that again, lead a lap and get five bonus points and then try to win the race to collect as many points as possible. My focus is just going to remain on passing whoever is in front of me and if we’re leading, then trying to stay in the lead.”

Are you worried about Richmond being the track where you need to have a strong finish?

“It’s been an up and down track for us. I have two poles there, but I haven’t won a race there. I like Richmond — it’s a good race track and a I enjoy racing there. I would like to have the average finish there to be the average that I have at some tracks going into this race for the Chase. We just need to go there and repeat the same thing we did earlier this year, which was get the pole and then find a race package that works for us.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How do you handle the pressure of being on the bubble to get into the Chase?

“The pressure is on for sure. We just have to do what we need to do. It’s not these two races — Atlanta or this race coming up at Richmond that is going to put us in the Chase. It’s more of the season that we’ve had that has kept us out of it. We’ve struggled a little
bit this year and haven’t been as good as we’ve needed to be and unfortunately we’re in this predicament. Last year, we were one of the
best cars all season long and were solidly locked in the Chase. Things can change in a year. We’re trying to get ourselves back in position to get into the Chase and run hard, run strong and try to come out of Richmond with a good finish.”

What will your strategy be entering the Richmond race?

“Our strategy is just going to be the same as it’s been the whole year — we just go out there and try to run the best we can. Fortunately, we won the Richmond race in the spring so we feel like we can go back there and do well this time. I run well there about every time I’ve been, so that’s good. If we have another good, solid run like a top-10 or top-five run, then we really don’t need to change anything. We’ll have to do everything we can to try to win the race.”

Will you watch the other drivers near the bubble spot during the race?

“No. There’s nothing you can do to change what they’re doing. You can’t make race calls for those guys and tell them that they need to pit or whatever so there’s really no point in going through that frustration and trying to figure out where those guys are. You just see what it boils down to at the end of the day.”

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

What does it mean for you to make the Chase again this year?

“It’s great for our whole FedEx team. It’s a pretty good accomplishment to make it four years in a row — every year that we’ve tried. I just can’t say enough for this team. If we keep running the next 11 (races) like we have this last 10, they’re going to have to watch out for us.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: Toyota Camry drivers have recorded 10 wins, 47 top-fives and 89 top-10 finishes through 26 NNS races this season … Busch leads the NNS point standings by 221 points over second-place driver Carl Edwards … Busch (May 2009) and Hamlin (May 2008) have both earned NNS wins for Toyota at Richmond … Toyota is currently leading the NNS manufacturer point standings by 16 points with nine races remaining in the season.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: In 17 NCWTS races in 2009, Toyota Tundra drivers have combined for nine wins, 44 top-fives and 92 top-10 finishes … Toyota drivers in the top-10 in the championship point standings are Skinner (third), Scott (fourth), Bodine (fifth), David Starr (seventh), Timothy Peters (ninth) and Terry Cook (10th) … Toyota is currently leading the NCWTS manufacturer point standings by 12 points with eight races remaining in the season.

MIKE SKINNER, No. 5 PC Miner Navigator Toyota Tundra, Randy Moss Motorsports

What type of momentum did the race win at Iowa Speedway give you and your team?

“It’s been great to be a part of throwing this team together in the middle of January and coming out and winning a couple races is way past the expectations that I really had for this year. We could have probably run into the back of (Ron) Hornaday those two weeks that we finished second right on his bumper and possibly won those races. We’re trying to figure out how we’re going to go racing next year and get sponsorship, support from Toyota and there’s just a lot of work in progress right now. I think running up front and winning races is a formula to try to get some help.”

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release