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Toyota Motorsports

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: This year, Toyota drivers have combined for seven wins, 19 top-five results, 37 top-10 finishes and four poles after 17 of 36 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) races … Five Camry drivers are currently in the top-20 in the NSCS point standings — Kyle Busch (third), Denny Hamlin (fourth), Joey Logano (16th), Martin Truex Jr. (18th) and David Reutimann (19th) … Reutimann, who currently has nine consecutive top-20 finishes in NSCS action, is from Zephyrhills, Fla. … Marcos Ambrose has posted three straight top-15 results for Toyota.

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

Are there differences in the superspeedway races at Daytona and Talladega? “Really, I don’t even consider Daytona very much a superspeedway anymore — it’s gotten so rough. Handling is such a big thing. It’s almost like Talladega is its own beast. It’s much harder to get your setup right at Daytona versus Talladega. You go into the Talladega weekend and you pretty much consider it a weekend off for the crew guys. They never do much work on the cars. The driver is like, ‘The car is handling fine.’ At Daytona, it’s more thrashing.”

How do you think the racing will change once Daytona is repaved? “I think you’ll see a better race with it repaved. You’re going to see a race similar to what you did at Talladega. You’ll see guys dicing it up. Daytona, over the last 10 years, you’ve really gotten strung out over the course of the race. I definitely think when they repave it you’re not going to see that anymore — you’re going to see everyone back in a tight pack.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Does your approach at Daytona change from the 500 to the 400? “Your strategy doesn’t change a whole lot — 40 laps is the distance change. It’s not a lot, just one pit stop, so you have a little bit shorter time there. The other thing that you deal with is just the track conditions being the way they are and the summertime with it being so hot and slick. It tends to have the races kind of run a little bit more strung out than what’s typical in February. This is the last race on that surface of the race track in Daytona — I will miss it. Hopefully, some of the other drivers will too. We’ve got to make the racing surface right so we don’t have another problem like we did in the 500. I’m looking forward to it and hopefully be able to win one final one before they repave it and turn it into Talladega.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

Will you miss the current surface at Daytona? “I will probably miss this surface. It’s going to go back to everybody running wide open like Talladega — three and maybe four- wide all day long in the race. It will be a good race for the fans, it will be exciting for sure. It’s going to be wild and crazy and lots of wrecks — all the stuff that we hate. I like the old surface and I think it’s just a lot more challenging as a driver. When you get the new surface, the only thing challenging is staying out of wrecks. We’ll have to see.”

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

What is it like to race at Daytona in July? “We all know as hot as it is in Florida, being born and raised down there and racing a lot — that place just gets really, really slick. The surface is worn out and you slide around a lot so your car just has to handle. Just like any other race track you go to, with the exception of Talladega, the race car has to handle all day. You have to be able to keep the car to the point where you can run it almost wide open all the way around. Talladega — it’s a no brainer to do. At Daytona, after a couple laps you start sliding around and guys are lifting like they would on a mile-and-a-half.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: This year, Toyota drivers have combined for eight wins, 31 top-five results, 67 top-10 finishes and seven poles after 16 of 35 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) races … Kyle Busch earned the 50th win for Joe Gibbs Racing last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway … Camry drivers Busch (fourth), Brendan Gaughan (seventh), Steve Wallace (eighth), Joey Logano (ninth) and Trevor Bayne (10th) are currently in the top-10 in the NNS point standings … Gaughan comes into Daytona with three straight top-10 finishes in NNS action … The new Nationwide Series Camry will make its debut this weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

TREVOR BAYNE, No. 99 Out! Pet Care Toyota Camry, Diamond-Waltrip Racing

What do you think of the Nationwide Series new car that will debut at Daytona? “We recently tested at the Milwaukee Mile and they are a driver’s race car. They’re just as quick as the old Nationwide car and I thought they were going to be about a half-a-second off when we were there testing, but they were actually just as fast. They were a lot of fun through the center of the corner and they turn really well. The complaints of the new Cup car when it first came out were how tight, so they took that, they fixed it for the Nationwide car now and it’s pretty unbelievable. I think the Daytona race is going to be a lot of crazy stuff happening just because they are so free. They’re fun to drive and I think it’s going to go back to making the cars handle rather than just go fast, even at those superspeedways. They’re easy to adjust , so I think it’s going to be good racing.”

BRENDAN GAUGHAN, No. 62 AB Circle Pro, Rusty Wallace Racing

Do you like the looks of the Nationwide Series new cars? “I think the looks are neat. That’s the one thing that I think the manufacturers really got a hold of is they want to make them look a little more sporty, a little more like the actual car. The Camry nose is very flat — we get rental Camrys all of the time. It looks like one of the Camrys. It’s boxier on the roof, but of course it’s a race car. I think this is really cool for the sport and it’s good for all of the fans to see the different makes and I like the fact that all makes, even our Toyotas, look different than the Cup Camrys. They have a more stock look. We’re still in the business to sell cars. Everybody has got to remember we’re racing, we’re doing our jobs, but in the end the manufacturers are here to try to sell on Monday.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: This year, Tundra drivers have combined for six wins, 25 top-five results, 48 top-10 finishes and three poles after the first nine NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) races … The NCWTS will return to action next weekend at Iowa Speedway, July 11.

MIKE SKINNER, No. 5 International Trucks/Monaco RV Tundra, Randy Moss Motorsports

Are you excited to participate in the Goodwood Festival of Speed for the second straight year? “We’re going back to Goodwood Festival of Speed again this year to drive the Red Bull Camry up the historic course. I really wish that we could have taken a Toyota Tundra over there. My real motivation and desire to go was to have the chance to drive a truck and show the fans what the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is all about while representing Toyota in their Tundra. We will definitely have a lot of fun while we’re there — Lord March and his family are great people and very accommodating to all the participants. Angie (wife) and I will also have the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Gordon and Lori Ulsh. Gordon is the current CEO of Exide and will be making the trip with us. We will have a lot of fun and a chance to check out a cool venue. The Goodwood Festival of Speed is really a unique opportunity for a car enthusiast or a gear head of any kind.”

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release