TOYOTA TIME IN CAMRY HOME: In the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Kentucky Speedway, Camry drivers Kyle Busch and David Reutimann recorded a one-two finish in the state where the Camry is built approximately 50 miles from the race track. Busch crossed the finish line first and Reutimann registered a runner-up result in the 267 lap race at the 1.5-mile oval. Busch led the field six times for a total of 125 laps en route to his third NSCS win of 2011, and the fourth victory for Toyota this year. The win enabled Busch to take over the lead in the NSCS point standings by four points over Carl Edwards.
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TUNDRA ON TOP: Busch earned the sixth victory of the season for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) in Thursday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Kentucky Speedway, and the seventh win for a Tundra in 2011. Busch had to start from the rear of the field in the race after being late to the mandatory pre-race driver’s meeting, but that presented few problems for him. After 61 laps (of 152), Busch moved to the front of the field. He would lead 42 laps midway through the race and then regained the lead for the final 19 circuits en route to victory lane. The KBM team has finished no worse than sixth (Kansas) in the season’s first 10 races, including six victories (Phoenix, Darlington, Nashville, Dover, Charlotte and Kentucky) and one second-place result (Martinsville)
ONLY ONE TO 100: By scoring two wins at Kentucky Speedway, Busch is now only one win away from securing 100 career NASCAR victories across all three national touring series. When Busch took the checkered flag first in Saturday’s NSCS race, he claimed third-place on the all-time win list with 99 career NASCAR victories. He trails Richard Petty (200 wins) and David Pearson (105 wins) on the all-time NASCAR win list. The 26-year-old, Las Vegas native has earned 22 NSCS wins, 48 NASCAR Nationwide Series victories and 29 NCWTS trophies in his nine-year NASCAR career. Of his 99 wins, 78 have come behind the wheel of a Toyota.
HOME COOKING FOR CREW CHIEFS: Two crew chiefs from the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) team really enjoy heading to New Hampshire Motor Speedway twice a year. Dave Rogers, crew chief of the No. 18 Camry for Busch, is from Marshfield, Vt., and Greg Zipadelli, crew chief of the No. 20 Camry for Joey Logano, is from Berlin, C onn. Rogers joined JGR in July 1998 and tutored under Zipadelli from 1999 until the end of 2005, when he became crew chief for JGR’s No. 20 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) team. Rogers took on crew chief duties for the No. 18 NSCS team in November 2009. Rogers and Busch have earned five NSCS wins together. Zipadelli began his crew chief career in 1999 working with JGR and Tony Stewart. The Zipadelli-Stewart combination won two NSCS championships (2002 and 2005).
MEMORABLE MOMENT: In June of 2008, Dave Blaney earned the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole position for Toyota at New Hampshire. The pole came in Toyota’s 17th NSCS race and was the second of Blaney’s career. Since that historic accomplishment, Toyota drivers have earned 25 more NSCS poles (for a total of 26). Camry drivers who have earned poles include Brian Vickers (seven), Busch (five), Denny Hamlin (four), Reutimann (three), Kasey Kahne (two), Logano (two), Martin Truex Jr. (one) and Michael Waltrip (one).
BRIAN IS BACK: Brian Ickler will race the Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) No. 18 Tundra at Iowa Speedway. The San Diego-native has five top-five finishes and nine top-10 results in 19 series starts, including a fourth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this year. Ickler won the NCWTS pole at Michigan in 2009 and earned a career best third-place finish in the race. He has two NCWTS starts at Iowa, finishing 18th in 2009 and 13th in 2010. The 25-year-old also has a NASCAR K&N Pro Series West victory at Iowa in 2008. Prior to beginning his NCWTS career in 2009, Ickler spent three years racing in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (2008) and West (2006-07), where he recorded six wins and sat on the pole for the 2006 Toyota All-Star Showdown.
NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS):
Since the start of the 2011 season, Toyota drivers have combined for four victories, 21 top-five results, 40 top-10 finishes and have led 1,739 laps … After 18 races, Kyle Busch leads the series point standings following his win at Kentucky Speedway and is four points ahead of second-place Carl Edwards … Denny Hamlin (11th), Kasey Kahne (17th) and Joey Logano (20th) are also in the top-20 in the standings … Middletown, Conn.-native Logano earned the only win for Toyota at the one-mile New Hampshire oval in the rain-shortened race in June 2009 … Toyota is giving fans a chance to enter to win a Toyota Racing decaled, heavy-duty Radio Flyer wagon to help tow their gear on race weekends with the ‘Tag Your Wag’ contest … Fans can enter at www.toyotaracing.com/tagyourwag beginning July 14 to July 31 then 10 winners will be randomly awarded brand new wagons.
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What does it mean getting close to your 100th NASCAR victory? “To have won 99 (races) is certainly cool. Getting to 100 is definitely one of my goals. Whether it’s an important one or not, to me it’s something that I want to do, it’s something that Dave (Rogers, crew chief) is passionate about in helping me do, and Joe Gibbs (team owner) and all of Joe Gibbs Racing, as well. We’re working as hard as we can to get as many as we can, whether it’s Sprint Cup, Nationwide or Camping World Trucks. It feels a lot better when they’re Sprint Cup wins.
Certainly whenever the next one is, I’ll be cherishing it just as much as I did the last one.”
DAVE ROGERS, crew chief, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What does it mean to race near where you grew up? “It’s a thrill every time. I grew up in the Northeast and spent the first 22 years of my life up there and saw my first Sprint Cup race there, my first Nationwide race there, and have lots of family and lots of friends who go to the race track every time NASCAR is there. It’s a special time to go up and race in New England.”
What are your favorite memories of New Hampshire Speedway? “My fondest memory of New Hampshire was the Nationwide race when Joe Nemechek and Dale Earnhardt Sr. raced side- by-side (Aug. 1992). That was one of the best races ever, of all time in my opinion. And Joe beat Dale and that really got the New England crowd excited to see that door-to-door racing. And, then I remember going to New Hampsh ire and unfortunately it was the last time Davey Allison raced (July 1993). We tried to sneak down to the pits and the number one goal was to meet Davey Allison and then shortly after that we lost him. Some good memories and some bad memories, but it’s always a special place to race at.”
JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Are you happy to be back in the top-20 in the point standings? “Being 20th in the points, it’s good. We’re excited that we’re back into the top-20 in points. We need to be a lot better than that. When we first started here we talked about how we need to get this momentum and keep it going like we did at the end of last year, now is the time to keep it going and move ourselves up there in points. Once you start consistently running good again, those wins come. You’ve just got to be patient with it and not do anything stupid in the meantime”
NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS):
During the 2011 season, Toyota drivers have combined for seven wins, 21 top-five results, 47 top-10 finishes and have led 1,163 laps … Kenny Wallace (seventh) is the top Toyota driver in the NNS point standings … Steve Wallace (eighth), Michael Annett (ninth), Brian Scott (10th) and Joe Nemechek (15th) are also in the top- 15 in the standings … Camry drivers have won the last three races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with Kyle Busch sweeping the last two years and former Camry driver Tony Stewart winning in 2008 … Annett earned his third consecutive top-10 finish in Friday’s NNS race at Kentucky when he crossed the line seventh … Annett also finished seventh at the Road America road course in Wisconsin and sixth at Daytona two weeks ago … Scott Zipadelli, crew chief for the No. 09 Camry for driver Kenny Wallace is from Berlin, Conn. and is the brother of NSCS crew chief Greg Zipadelli on the No. 20 Camry for Joey Logano.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS):
Since the start of the 2011 NCWTS season, Tundra drivers have registered seven wins, 17 top-five results, 32 top-10 finishes and have led 705 laps … Timothy Peters (seventh) is the top Toyota driver in the NCWTS points standings after 10 races … Brendan Gaughan (10th), Todd Bodine (11th) and Max Papis (12th) are also in the top-15 in the point standings … KBM crew chief Eric Phillips is three race wins away from tying team general manager and former crew chief Rick Ren for the most NCWTS wins by a crew chief with 27 … Several Toyota team members are from Iowa … Dennis Croxell, interior specialist for the No. 17 Tundra driven by Peters, is originally from Eagle Grove … Cory White, who is called ‘Coco’ by his teammates, hails from Vinton, and is the front tire carrier for the No. 17 Tundra … Ryan Mulder, rear tire changer for the No. 7 Tundra driven by Miguel Paludo, calls Sioux Center home … Davenport, Iowa-native Mitch Way is the front tire carrier and truck chief for the KBM No. 18 Tundra.
BRIAN ICKLER, No. 18 Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Do you feel added pressure to run well driving the No. 18 Tundra? “No matter what car or truck you’re driving, you always want to run well. Any time you get the chance to get behind the wheel of the KBM No. 18 Toyota Tundra, everyone expects you to run well. I’ve been filling in for Kyle (Busch, team owner) in the non-companion events the last two years, so I’ve gotten use to those expectations. He wins almost every race in the same equipment, so there is a lot of pressure to run up front. I’ve been around KBM the last two years and Eric Phillips (crew chief) and the No. 18 crew probably don’t get as much credit as they deserve. Kyle is one of the best drivers in all of NASCAR, so everyone overlooks all the hard work the team puts in to providing him with a fast truck.”
- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release
