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Homestead-Miami Speedway – November 19, 2011

- Denny Hamlin (fifth) was the highest finishing Toyota driver in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

- Camry drivers Brian Scott (ninth) and Joey Logano (10th) also earned top-10 finishes in the 200-lap event.

- Other Toyota drivers in the field included Joe Nemechek (16th), Michael Annett (19th), Kevin Conway (26th), Kenny Wallace (33rd) and Steve Wallace (34th).

- Four Camry drivers finished among the top-10 in the unofficial NNS driver point standings — K. Wallace (seventh), Scott (eighth), Annett (ninth), and S. Wallace (10th).

- Camry drivers earned 10 wins and five pole positions during the 2011 season. Toyota has recorded 64 victories and 54 poles since joining the series in 2007.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

How was your race?

“We struggled with our race car all day long and we had very limited practice time with the rain. Just didn’t have it today. It looked like all of the Roush cars were extremely strong. We just didn’t have the car that could hang with them in the end.”

How happy were you with your pit crew in tonight’s race?

“Yeah, this pit crew gave us a shot at it, no doubt about it. They were just an amazing pit crew. When you can gain us three spots and a clutch position like that, they deserve a lot of credit. They’re the ones who gave us a shot at it anyway.”

How are you feeling going into the Sprint Cup race on Sunday after two races so far this weekend?

“Good. I feel like we’re making strides. We just have got to keep digging. We’re a little off right now. As an organization I feel like we need to be better. Obviously, we’ve got a ways to go, but just have to thank everyone from Z- Line Designs for putting me in the car and obviously this whole 18 team for putting me in. Jim and Monica (Sexton, Z- Line Design owners) have done a lot for this program. FedEx, Toyota, Coca-Cola, Gillette and Wiley X. Couldn’t do it without everyone.”

Did you think you had a chance to beat the 60 car tonight to give Joe Gibbs Racing the owner’s championship?

“Carl (Edwards) had an extremely strong car. It looked like all of their cars were really good today. We just struggled with our Z-Line Designs Toyota. We felt like for the most part we had a fifth to seventh-place car for most of the day. It’s kind of where we ended up. The pit crew did an amazing job at least giving me a shot at it there at the end. We just couldn’t hang on. We just didn’t have the car for it today.”

Were you unhappy with the way your car handled during the race?

“I wish we had some more practice time. We were banking on that second practice. We just didn’t get enough track time with this car this weekend. We struggled. We struggled all day and just could not get the speed out of it that we needed. We ended up fifth.”

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

Are you happy finishing the year with a top-10?

“I’ll take a top-10 to end the year. We fought hard ever since Daytona. We didn’t have the performance or the results that we wanted until about the middle of the year. This team — we flipped the switch. Kevin (Kidd, crew chief) and I really got on the same page and we started having good runs. We were a pretty good team the second half of the year. Definitely performed the last quarter of the year with some top-five finishes, and got a pole at Chicago. We’re going to focus really on the last part of the year and continue to build and do the things that we started doing at the middle of the year that will make us better to come back in 2012 and be even stronger.

I don’t see any reason why this team can’t make the progress through the off-season and come back with the yellow and black Dollar General car and have a team good enough to run for the championship. I feel like Kevin Kidd (crew chief) and I have a relationship that is on really good terms. We’re really communicating well. We’re going to continue to work through the off-season just as hard — if not harder — than we worked all year. Come back and be a really strong team.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 GameStop Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 97 AM / FM Energy Pellet & Wood Stoves Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports

Finishing Position: 16th

MICHAEL ANNETT, No. 62 Pilot Flying J Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 19th

How would you look back at the 2011 season?

“Someone asked me the grade that I’d give this season — and I’d probably say a C+ — just because we started off so slow and behind. We made up a lot of ground throughout the summer and fell back behind it, and then made more gains. We know there are places we can make a lot of improvement in our program — mile-and-a-half tracks especially. So, that’s something we’re really going to work on in the off-season and come back on board with Rusty Wallace Racing and the No. 62. Hopefully, some more partners will come on board and help Steven’s (Wallace) car a little bit and that way can have a strong two car effort after the off-season.”

KEVIN CONWAY, No. 87 Extenze Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports

Finishing Position: 25th

KENNY WALLACE, No. 09 Federated Auto Parts Toyota Camry, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard

Finishing Position: 33rd

STEVE WALLACE, No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 34th

- Toyota Motorsports Press Release

No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T

· This Week’s Challenger… Brad Keselowski and the Penske Racing Discount Tire Dodge Challenger team will use chassis PRS-222during Saturday’s Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS). Keselowski last drove this chassis to a victory at Kansas Speedway last month.

· The No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger in 2011… After 33 events, Keselowski and the reigning NNS champion No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger team are ranked fifth in the 2011NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)owner point standings. The team is coming off a second-place finish in the Wypall 200 last week at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR).

· Keselowski Climbing the Charts… By taking the checkered flag in last month’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway, Keselowski entered into a tie for 15th place with Jeff Green and Joe Nemechek on the NNS all-time wins list with 16 victories. Keselowski is now four wins away from tying Greg Biffle for 14th place on the all-time list.

· Approaching 350… The victory by Sam Hornish Jr in the NASCAR Nationwide Series event at PIR last Saturday gave Penske Racing 349 all-time race victories. One of the most-successful teams in professional sports, Penske Racing will attempt to grab win No. 350 this weekend at HMS.

· Congrats to the New Champion… This weekend’s race at HMS will be the final event for Keselowski as the reigning NNS champion. He will go into the history books as the last series champion that was allowed to compete for both the Nationwide and Cup Series titles in the same season.

· Keselowski Speedway Stats… In 100 speedway starts in the Nationwide Series, Keselowski has accumulated eight wins, 44 top-five finishes, 63 top-10 results and five pole awards. In addition, he has led the field for 1,577 laps at tracks between one and two miles in length.

· Follow Brad on Twitter… Fans can follow Keselowski on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/keselowski. Followers can get a glimpse inside his everyday life while keeping up-to-date on the latest Cup Series and Nationwide Series news for the Penske Racing driver.

· RubyTuesdayRacing.com… When Brad wins, you win. Visit www.rubytuesdayracing.com following any of his wins, either in the Cup Series or the Nationwide Series, to register for a delicious Ruby Tuesday hamburger of your choice, compliments of Ruby Tuesday and Brad.

Brad Keselowski Driver of the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T - Photo Credit: Brad Keselowski Racing

“Championships are very special and winning the 2010 Nationwide Series title will definitely go down as one of the highlights of my racing career. It was the culmination of a dream. The fact that it was the first NASCAR championship for Penske Racing just adds another layer to it. I think we’ve built a very formidable Nationwide Series team at Penske Racing over the last couple of years. I think we showed that last weekend at Phoenix where Sam and I ran one-two. It’s a series that really means a lot to me. That’s why I will always race, though maybe not full-time, in the Nationwide Series and I was proud to represent it as its champion this year. Congratulations to the new champion this season, whoever it ends up being.”

Crew chief Todd Gordon on his first season at Penske Racing

“After taking over a program that, from the outside had a lot of continuity, but internally had a lot of new faces, including myself, we have seasoned into a team that is capable of winning every week and we have developed the chemistry necessary to compete for an owners championship. Five DNF’s in the first 14 events put us out of contention for this year, but the focus all of the Discount Tire/Ruby Tuesday guys have kept since then has shown the strength of this group and potential going forward. We want to end the season on a positive note and Homestead would be a good place to do that. I really look forward to getting to another intermediate banked track that is similar in ways to a group of tracks(Chicago, Kansas, Kentucky) that we have had a lot of success on this year. The progressive banking should lead to great racing.”

- Penske Racing Press Release

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Phoenix International Raceway – November 12, 2011

- Joey Logano (fourth) was the highest finishing Toyota driver in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Phoenix International Raceway.

- Camry drivers Ryan Truex (eighth) and Michael Annett (10th) also earned top-10 finishes in the 200 lap event.

- Truex was also the highest finishing rookie in the race.

- Other Toyota drivers in the field included Joe Nemechek (12th), Kenny Wallace (17th), Steve Wallace (29th), and Brian Scott (41st).

- Four Camry drivers are among the top-10 in the unofficial NNS driver point standings — K. Wallace (seventh), Annett (eighth), Scott (ninth) and S. Wallace (10th).

- Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Camry team currently leads the unofficial NNS owner point standings by one point after 33 of 34 races.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 18 GameStop Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

How was your race car today?

“We had a fast car. We had a pretty good GameStop Toyota. We just didn’t take off during restarts. The first 10 laps we were just junk — and we’d lose all the track position we had — and then we’d get going and be fast. It just took us too long. Once we got going we were all about the same speed too anyway. That’s awesome for Sam (Hornish). He’s a great guy. Awesome to see him win. Much rather have the old GameStop Toyota in victory lane. I felt like I had a car that can do it. Just had to work on our front side speed.”

How much did the track change during the race?

“Not as much as I thought, but it did change some for sure. Actually, the top side over in (turns) three and four actually starting working it self in pretty good. Just hard to figure out what you think the track is going to go in a certain direction — you adjust to it towards that and then it doesn’t do that. Then it’s really just an educated guessing game out there. It just didn’t change as much as I thought it would.”

Did you take advantage of the apron?

“Yeah. That’s a good way to pass cars. It’s really weird though. You go down there and I swear it about knocks your helmet off. It’s such a hard hit when you go down there. It’s such a shorter distance. You can drive right underneath a car doing it that way. It’s kind of weird. I don’t know if they’ll change anything about that to stop us from doing that. That’s one way we were passing cars, for sure. It was really weird.”

Why were drivers using the apron?

“It’s such a shorter distance. It feels like you’re cutting a quarter-mile off the track doing it that way.”

Do you expect to see drivers using the apron Sunday?

“Probably be a little bit harder in a Cup car, but I think people will do it.”

Did you learn anything that will help you Sunday?

“I learned quite a bit. This is one of those races that you’re glad you’re running double duty.”

RYAN TRUEX, No. 20 Martin Truex Jr. Foundation Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 8th

How was your race?

“It was good. I think we had a better car than where we finished. We started off there and just dropped back a little bit. Our car was too loose at the start of the run. We knew that was going to happen on the green flag. The track was just notin good shape at all. Pretty much everyone on the outside went backwards. We just worked on it and got it pretty good there on the long run, we were just a little too loose on the start of a run to stay up there with those guys. After about five laps we’d get really good, but those five laps we’d lose spots just because we were so free. It was a good day I guess, can’t complain about an eight-place finish with all the wrecked cars we have out here, so I’m happy about it.”

Did you use the dog leg to get around the track?

“Yes, very useful. We weren’t sure about it coming here. You look at it and it looks like there was so much room. If those guys were racing in front of you and you drive way down there, you can just blow by all of them. I don’t know how NASCAR feels about it, but it’s a pretty good way to pass some cars.”

What do you think about your chance to be series ‘Rookie of the Year’ this year?

“I don’t know if this is enough to take the lead or win it or what. I gave it my best and we’ll see what happens.”

How does it feel to be ‘Rookie of the Race’ in your final event of the year?

“I wasn’t worried about it in the race, I knew we had a good car and I knew we had all six races I’ve been in this car. It was a crazy race to say the least. The way you could pass people in the dog leg and drive way down like that was wild. There were a few guys out there that tried to get respect and I guess I have to earn it being a rookie. It was a good race. I think we should have finished better, we probably adjusted out of it a little bit in the end. I had fun and hopefully we can get ‘Rookie of the Year’.

MICHAEL ANNETT, No. 62 Pilot Flying J Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

How was your race?

“Eventful, we didn’t start off with a top-10 car. We were disappointed because we did have holes in practice, so I guess with the sun beating down on the track all day, we just kind of got behind a little bit and were really free for three-quarters of the race and then the last 50 laps we got the car happy enough to where I felt comfortable actually driving it hard. We were smart, we knew the car we had and we knew we couldn’t run up through the field. We let them make their mistakes and we’ll be ready to jump on it and we did and came out of Phoenix with a top-10.”

What did you think of the new track after racing on it?

“It’s pretty crazy. It’s just hard for the spotters to say ‘inside.’ Really, I did more just watching the mirror and trying to see how much track was between myself and the car in the inside because as far as he is inside, but he might be four car lengths down there. If they say ‘three-wide,’ you just really don’t know. I said to my spotter, ‘what they need to do is put a big patch of triangle grass out there to keep everybody from going down there’ just because this place is hard enough for spotters to spot where they do from the corner, they don’t need that added complication.”

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 AM / FM Energy Pellet & Wood Stoves Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports

Finishing Position: 12th

KENNY WALLACE, No. 09 Toyota Camry, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard

Finishing Position: 17th

STEVE WALLACE, No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 29th

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 41st

- Toyota Motorsports Press Release

No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T

· This Week’s Challenger… Brad Keselowski and the Penske Racing Discount Tire Dodge Challenger team will use chassis PRS-221 during Saturday’s Wypall 200 at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). Keselowski last drove this chassis to a second-place finish at Dover International Speedway last month

· The No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger in 2011… After 32 events, Keselowski and the reigning NNS champion No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger team are ranked sixth in the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) owner point standings. The team is coming off a fifth-place finish in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge last week at Texas Motor Speedway.

· Keselowski Climbing the Charts… By taking the checkered flag in last month’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway, Keselowski entered into a tie for 15th place with Jeff Green and Joe Nemechek on the NNS all-time wins list with 16 victories. Keselowski is now four wins away from tying Greg Biffle for 14th place on the all-time list.

· “Home” Field Advantage… Team sponsor, Discount Tire, is headquartered in nearby Scottsdale, Ariz. Employees of the corporation will make up a large contingent of Keselowski fans on Saturday afternoon.

· Keselowski Speedway Stats… In 99 speedway starts in the Nationwide Series, Keselowski has accumulated eight wins, 43 top-five finishes, 62 top-10 results and five pole awards. In addition, he has led the field for 1,577 laps at tracks between one and two miles in length.

· Follow Brad on Twitter… Fans can follow Keselowski on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/keselowski. Followers can get a glimpse inside his everyday life while keeping up-to-date on the latest Cup Series and Nationwide Series news for the Penske Racing driver.

· RubyTuesdayRacing.com… When Brad wins, you win. Visit www.rubytuesdayracing.com following any of his wins, either in the Cup Series or the Nationwide Series, to register for a delicious Ruby Tuesday hamburger of your choice, compliments of Ruby Tuesday and Brad.

Brad Keselowski Driver of the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T - Photo Credit: Brad Keselowski Racing

“I’ve always looked forward to going out to PIR to race. I love the fact that Phoenix is its own unique venue and the community really embraces us twice a year. It’s been made even more unique with the new surface. We didn’t get a chance to test the Nationwide cars there yet, but I did take part in the Cup Series test there last month. They’ve built a great racetrack, one that will promote good racing once the surface ages a little. That process shouldn’t take long when the desert elements get a hold of it. We have a lot of support from Discount Tire and winning in their backyard would be a great way to show them how much we appreciate what they do for Penske Racing.”

Crew chief Todd Gordon on the new Phoenix International Raceway

“There are a lot of unknowns heading into this weekend’s race at Phoenix with the new surface and configuration. The test session on Thursday will be very important for us to get a feel of what we’re dealing with. We haven’t seen the track yet. The Cup guys had a test session last month and we were able to take a lot of information from those two teams to put together what we think is a good package for the Discount Tire Dodge. One thing is for sure, you will need to qualify well. Passing should be difficult over the first few races on the new surface so if you can start up front, you should be able to maintain your position.”

- Penske Racing Press Release

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Texas Motor Speedway – November 5, 2011

- Denny Hamlin (second) was the highest finishing Toyota driver in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Texas Motor Speedway.

- Camry driver Joey Logano (eighth) also earned a top-10 finish in the 350-mile event.

- Kenny Wallace (13th) set a NNS record by making his 520th-career series start in Saturday’s race.

- Other Toyota drivers in the field included Brian Scott (12th), Steve Wallace (18th), Michael Annett (20th) and Joe Nemechek (21st).

- Four Camry drivers are among the top-10 in the unofficial NNS driver point standings — K. Wallace (seventh), Scott (eighth), S. Wallace (ninth) and Annett (10th).

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

What happened on the final restart?

“Yeah, we didn’t get the best restart there and those guys on the outside line really had an advantage and they were able to
pull us and just took us that long to get back to them. Took a long time to get this car where I felt like I wanted it and at the
end we had a car that could contend for a win and that’s all you can ask for.”

What is it like jumping in a car for the first time on race day?

“It was a tough day. It’s very tough to get into someone’s car. Any of these drivers that have been in someone else’s car at one moment or time during testing and it’s just — when things don’t fit, you’re exactly right and we have such a different stature and size and everything like that and driving style, it’s hard to make it work. But, we worked through it and by the end of the day we had a car that was capable of winning. We’ll take that.”

When did you find out you were going to race in today’s event?

“This morning, you know last night, this morning it was — we figured something was going on. I just got in the car this morning just in case and got fitted for it and that was it.”

What is your reaction to NASCAR’s actions today?

“It’s a tough spot. I think we’ve seen stuff like that. If you read my Twitter account, I think that what happened last night happened a lot last week and it’s happened all year, but obviously the stakes are a little higher when you have a championship contender and speeds are up and it’s under caution. All those things I think formulated into it and I feel like NASCAR felt probably a little pressure from fans and things like that to make a decision and they made what they thought was correct. It’s tough for everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing because I know that the whole No. 18 team works extremely hard to get to the position that they’re in and to have a chance at a good finishing points position kind of taken away at the end, it’s
tough for them. It’s tough for everyone at Gibbs.”

Will you think twice before dumping somebody in the future?

“I don’t know really where the line is. Like I said, there’s not much different than what happened last week. There was a lot of incidents very, very similar that took guys out and things like that. I’m still — I don’t know where the line is. It’s not going to be a defined line — it’s going to be their judgment call and what they say goes. We’ve got to realize that if we make a decision, a bad decision and decide to retaliate it could be, our future could be in NASCAR’s hands. We have to realize that.”

Would you race more Nationwide Series races this year if asked?

“I’ll do whatever I need to do. Obviously running his truck last week and his car this week — I’ll do whatever it takes to fill in the gaps where need be. We’ll just go from here.”

How will not having Kyle Busch in Sunday’s race affect you?

“It changes the complexion for us because he’s one of the guys I use every weekend for information and help tune our race car. Obviously Michael (McDowell) is in a tough spot trying to just get in that race car and go racing and be competitive. We obviously rely a lot on the information that we get from our other two crew chiefs and drivers. With one kind of being a big variable now, you kind of have to take it with a grain of salt. We’ll have to figure things out and kind of do it on our own for the most part this week.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 GameStop Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 8th

How was your race today?

“Terrible. It sucked. We ran like crap. We were just sideways all day — really loose no matter what we did. Tried to make it better and as we tightened it up, we just killed the aero platform, which takes overall grip away, so even balanced right we were still slow. It was frustrating.”

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Shore Lodge Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 12th

How was your race today?

“I thought we had just an okay day. We ran just top-10 most the day — a little bit outside of it. We used pit stops to try to make our car better. We kind of went the wrong direction on one of them when we first put stickers on and we learned from it. We made some adjustment and I thought we were going to have a good day. Just so-so. (Elliott) Sadler moved up on us on the last pit stop and caved in our left front fender and we fell back a couple of positions and finished 12th, which should have been a top-10 day. Overall, just kind of nothing spectacular and nothing disastrous. Just had a day.”

KENNY WALLACE, No. 09 G-Oil Camry, RAB Racing

Finishing Position: 13th

How was your race today?

“It was a decent race. It wasn’t a bad race by any means. For my 520th start, you want to have a competitive race. You don’t want to embarrass yourself, so 13th was okay. You know we’re really working hard on staying seventh in the points racing Brian Scott and my nephew, Steven (Wallace). A lot of emotion was put in to that last restart to get my lap back. Took some chances and it worked out and 13th is okay. It’s not great, but it’s okay and move on to Phoenix now and end this year in the next couple of races.”

How do you feel about breaking the NNS starts record with 520 starts?

“Well, I’ve been consistent in all of my comments and I haven’t been ‘wishy-washy.’ I still am thankful for my 10 years in the Cup Series with 344 starts. I’m learning all these stats now. To have been able to make a living my whole life has been a dream come true. It’s no different than in the media center I see a lot of you here and I’ve seen y’all come and I’ve seen you go and I’ve very grateful to have come out of Arnold, Missouri and if you would have told me that you can make a living in NASCAR and that’s all you’re ever going to do — I mean, I’ve made a living driving a race car my whole life and it looks like I will retire racing cars for a living. That’s perspective that I can put it into. I’m thrilled to death. I’m grateful to all the car owners that have given me rides and I’m really excited about today’s race. We’ve got a points battle going on for the seventh spot and it’s been like that my whole career, all types of little races.”

STEVE WALLACE, No. 66 5-Hour Energy, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 18th

MICHAEL ANNETT, No. 62 Pilot Flying J Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 20th

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Camry, NEMCO Motorsports

Finishing Position: 21st

- Toyota Motorsports Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 6th

How was your car in qualifying? “It’s good. We were a little bit tight in turn four and it cost us some speed. We fought that a little bit in practice. Overall, it’s a decent lap, just not quite enough for what we wanted to do.”

KASEY KAHNE, No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 9th

How was your car in qualifying? “It was good. The guys did a good job. We’re just a little bit tight and I missed it a little bit, but we were really close and the car has felt great ever since we got here.”

What were you looking at on your car after your qualifying run? “I was looking all the skirts and kind of the travels and things to see where we were. Everything was really nice, we just needed a little bit more.”

How will you approach practice for Sunday’s race? “We’ll try to be as smart about it as we can when we practice compared to when we race and how we go into the night and how things change. We’re trying to be prepared and have some good adjustments in the car built in so we can keep up with the track on Sunday afternoon.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 17th

How was your qualifying lap? “The balance wasn’t bad on our M&M’s Camry. We just lacked a little bit of speed there on our lap. We were pretty happy with the car in race trim in practice earlier today, so we’ll work on it tomorrow morning in practice and hopefully have a good race car for Sunday.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 19th

How was your qualifying lap? “We were about like practice, just too loose.”

What do you need to do to get ready for Sunday’s race? “Well, tomorrow will be a whole different story. You know, we take the tape off and have to be good for a tire run and fuel run instead of just one lap. Hopefully that will go better tomorrow in our NAPA Toyota.”

BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 20th

How was your qualifying effort? “It was good. I was tight coming back to the line in turn four. I think that’s where I lost most of my time. I felt really good about one and two, just got too tight on three and four. I was hoping for a little bit better lap.”

Do you like qualifying on Friday and having more practice on Saturday? “I like the schedule we have here. If we’re going to run three-day shows, I think we should do a practice and qualifying and then two more practices on Saturday and then race on Sunday. The two practices, and then qualify on Saturday and race Sunday, we should just do two-day shows. If you really want to save the sport, do two-day shows instead of three-day shows and I think in that scenario I think two practices, qualify and race is good, but this year they started doing some of the racks did two on Friday, qualify on Saturday and race Sunday and Saturday just seems like a waste just to come in for two laps. I’m pretty happy with the Red Bull Toyota. It was good in practice. I liked to have been a little bit better in qualifying trim, but that’s alright.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 25th

How was your car in qualifying? “We’re struggling for speed right now. Even race trim, the car just doesn’t have a whole bunch of speed in it right now, so trying to find something. Working on stuff here and there. Going to be practice tomorrow. Hopefully we find something there.”

What do you need to do to get ready for Sunday’s race? “Well, tomorrow will be a whole different story. You know, we take the tape off and have to be good for a tire run and fuel run instead of just one lap. Hopefully that will go better tomorrow in our NAPA Toyota.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 28th

How was your car in qualifying? “We’re just struggling for speed. We are half-a-second off pretty much all day and just still can’t find where the speed is at. I’m driving the car pretty aggressively — it just doesn’t have any speed at the moment. It’s pretty typical for us in qualifying here.”

BOBBY LABONTE, No. 47 Wounded Warrior Project Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing Starting Position: 32nd

How was your qualifying lap? “We just kind of scratch our heads a little bit. It felt like it was going to be faster than that. We only made two qualifying runs during practice and the second one we made felt like it was going to be faster and never was and this one felt like it would be faster, too and wasn’t. I don’t know if we have something just not helping ourselves speed-wise or what. The car felt pretty good. I used a ton of throttle and no brake and free-rolled pretty good. I don’t know. I’m a little confused as to why we didn’t go any faster — at least a .10th or so.”

What do you need to do to prepare for Sunday’s race? “We just have a lot of things that we did this morning. We really concentrated on our race trim package a little bit and then we did our qualifying package. Tried three or four different big things and I think we have some ideas there that will be beneficial for us on Sunday.”

CASEY MEARS, No. 13 GEICO Toyota Camry, Germain Racing Starting Position: 33rd

How was your qualifying effort? “It was okay. It’s a new car for us, so it’s been a better weekend in general for us. Ended up a little bit tight right there in qualifying. Ended up just off the bottom, so we lost a good 10th just being off the bottom of the race track. It’s not bad. I’m looking forward to seeing what it has in race trim tomorrow.”

Did you damage the splitter? “No. I just wanted to see how hard the splitter hit and it didn’t hit that hard. Just too tight in general and we’ll just see where it goes from here.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 66 HP Racing, LLC Toyota Camry, Gunselman Motorsports Starting Position: 35th

How was your qualifying effort? “It’s so fast around here at Texas Motor Speedway. Turn one and two is actually kind of shaded right now, which we weren’t expecting, so a lot of grip in the race track. The HP Racing Toyota Camry is pretty good. Just hit the splitter a little bit in three and four, but I had a pretty good lap going. I was feeling pretty good getting into three and just drove it in a bit too far, but thankful to get in the race and we’ll be out there on Sunday.”

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 AM/FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Starting Position: 40th

How do you feel to be locked into the field? “Well, you know the crew chief is on the radio with me and talking and he’s like, ‘I’ll tell you if you’re locked in after your first lap,’ but he never said anything. That’s the time you’re going into turn one, so I just tried to get everything I could. He never said anything and just thank goodness I picked it up just a tick on my second lap and we’re in the show.”

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

Charlotte Motor Speedway – October 14, 2011

- Kyle Busch (second) was the highest finishing Toyota driver in Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

- Busch’s finish marked his 12th top-five result at Charlotte in 17 career NNS starts at the speedway.

- Camry driver Brian Scott also earned a top-five result with a fifth-place finish in the 200-lap race — his second top-five finish this season in the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 11 Camry.

- Camry drivers Steve Wallace (13th), Kenny Wallace (16th), Michael Annett (17th), Joey Logano (19th), Ryan Truex (34th), Kevin Conway (36th) and Joe Nemechek (37th) were also in the field at the mile-and-a-half oval.

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

How was your race car tonight?

“It was really good on long runs. Slow on short runs — didn’t have enough under the hood to keep up. Got out-motored on that last restart and finished second.”

JASON RATCLIFF, crew chief, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What did it mean to run strong at a mile-and-a-half track after struggling earlier this season?

“We were really excited to have the opportunity to be up there. Mile-and-a-half tracks have not been our greatest tracks this year, but we’ve come a long way. I’m really proud of this team — this Z-Line Designs team and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing. You know, we had a shot at it there and if we did everything right tonight the one thing that we struggled with a little bit is still the restarts. I think it’s just a product of horsepower, or you know whatever. And, those guys have been really good all year in that category. Kyle (Busch) did a great job all night. I don’t think he got beat there from a talent standpoint, obviously. He drove a phenomenal race. Just for us to be up there and be close and be in the fray is great. It was
a good night for us. Unfortunately, we came up one short. But, I’m really proud of Kyle and what he did and proud of this race team.”

What seems to be so tough at these mile-and-a-half tracks?

“It seems like we just always finish third at these mile-and-a-half tracks. These Dodges and Fords just seem really strong and they’ve got some of their set-ups figured out. We’ve been working hard on our set-up to get it better. I think we showed tonight that we did. I think at one point we had all three of our Joe Gibbs (Racing) cars in the top-seven and they were all three running strong. We just didn’t need to see the caution. Once we got the thing wound up and got it going, we could run with anybody, but we needed that clean air at the end and the 60 (Carl Edwards) got in front of us – it takes so much to get by him, especially on cold tires like that. If we had 10 more laps, who knows, maybe Kyle (Busch) drove up there and gave him
a little more run for his money. Just not enough laps left to get it done.”

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Doosan Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

How was your race tonight?

“We started off really not where we wanted to, but we were able to hang out right near the top-10. The pit crew did a great job always moving us forward on spots. Kevin (Kidd, crew chief) did good adjustments and that just kept us in the hunt until we could get our car right. Towards the end of the race we had our car pretty good and we were able to gain some more positions and have some more good pit stops. We just kept working towards the front from about the middle of the race on and we made it count at the end when it mattered. That was great and we were able to bring home a top-five for Doosan and it was great to have them on the car. They are such a terrific partner at Joe Gibbs Racing and our Camry was just fast when it counted. That’s all that matters.”

How much momentum does your team have following this run?

“We’ve had some really good runs lately. We’ve ran up there the last — seems like five races. We haven’t really finished up there a couple times — Kansas comes to mind and Dover comes to mind. We’re capable of running up there and now we’re getting more finishes up there. We’ve got a lot of strength with this team and we’re going to end this year really strong and we’re going to go into next year representing Dollar General and try to win them a championship.”

STEVE WALLACE, No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 13th

KENNY WALLACE, No. 09 Thank You Fans! Toyota Camry, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard

Finishing Position: 16th

MICHAEL ANNETT, No. 62 Pilot Flying J Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 17th

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 GameStop Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 19th

How was your race car tonight and what happened when you hit the wall?

“We had a solid, strong top-five car. We could run third at times, fourth at times and we got up to second there for a little bit. Carl (Edwards) was really fast there at the end. I was doing everything I could to hold him off — I was doing anything. Since he got to the outside of me and the 6 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) was following him and he just went in right on my door — right on my door. I just lost control of it and spun it out — well, I didn’t spin it out — I just put it in the wall. Unfortunately — we were better than that. We were making progress because we haven’t been this good lately. We’ll take it.”

What happened between you and Kyle Busch on a mid-race restart?

“I was wanting a one-two finish there and was trying to get him. At times I was better than Kyle (Busch) and then Kyle got pretty good throughout the race and got his car a little bit better than mine. We were pretty close to each other all day. I think our 20 team has made progress over the last few weeks here and making our car better. Obviously, I don’t have the finish to show it today, but I think we ran definitely a lot better than what we have been so we’ll take that.”

Do you think Kyle Busch was mad at you from that restart?

“I don’t think Kyle (Busch) is mad at me. The only thing that bummed him out was that he was leading the race and the caution came out that cost him the win. I didn’t want to wreck my car so it hurt me worse even. It’s a bummer that we lost a win for Joe Gibbs Racing, but we’re doing all we can do. Just trying hard.”

RYAN TRUEX, No. 99 Toyota Camry, Pastrana-Waltrip Racing

Finishing Position: 34th

What happened that took you out of the race?

“I just blew a tire — out of nowhere with no warning or anything. We just blew a right front. I hate it for these guys. They worked so hard to get this car built and now it’s wrecked. Frustrating night. We had a motor problem right from the start of the race. We were down on power. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if we broke a valve spring or what. We were way down on power so I would have to run the outside just to keep up with those guys. We were in for a long night either way and unfortunately we came up short.”

KEVIN CONWAY, No. 87 Extenze Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports

Finishing Position: 36th

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 97 AM / FM Energy Pellet & Wood Stove Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports

Finishing Position: 37th

- Toyota Motorsports Press Release

No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T

TV: ESPN2 at 7:30 PM ET Radio: PRN/Sirius 90 at 7:30 PM ET

No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger News and Notes

· This Week’s Challenger… Brad Keselowski and the Penske Racing Discount Tire Dodge Challenger team will use chassis PRS-211 during Friday’s Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Keselowski drove this chassis to a victory at Chicagoland Speedway last month.

· The No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger in 2011… After 30 events, Keselowski and the reigning NNS champion No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger team are ranked sixth in the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) owner point standings. The team is coming off a victory in the Kansas Lottery 300 last weekend at Kansas Speedway.

· Keselowski Climbing the Charts… By taking the checkered flag in last week’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway, Keselowski entered into a tie for 15th place with Jeff Green and Joe Nemechek on the NNS all-time wins list with 16 victories. He sits four wins away from tying Greg Biffle for 14th place on the all-time list.

· Keselowski Speedway Stats… In 97 speedway starts in the Nationwide Series, Keselowski has accumulated eight wins, 42 top-five finishes, 60 top-10 results and five pole awards. In addition, he has led the field for 1,458 laps at tracks between one and two miles in length.

· Perfect Driver Rating… With his win last weekend, Keselowski scored a perfect driver rating of 150.0. The Penske Racing driver led 173 of 200 laps to secure his 16th career NNS victory. It was the fourth perfect driver rating for Keselowski during his NNS career.

· Follow Brad on Twitter… Fans can follow Keselowski on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/keselowski. Followers can get a glimpse inside his everyday life while keeping up-to-date on the latest Cup Series and Nationwide Series news for the Penske Racing driver.

· RubyTuesdayRacing.com… When Brad wins, you win. Visit www.rubytuesdayracing.com following any of his wins, either in the Cup Series or the Nationwide Series, to register for a delicious Ruby Tuesday hamburger of your choice, compliments of Ruby Tuesday and Brad.

Brad Keselowski Driver of the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T - Photo Credit: Brad Keselowski Racing

“The Discount Tire Dodge Challengers have really been strong on the mile and a half tracks, especially over the last couple of months. To have a dominant car like we had at Kansas, even though they are two completely different intermediate tracks, gives me no reason to think we can’t have another strong run at Charlotte this weekend. Every driver wants to win at Charlotte and my win in this race last year is one of my proudest moments in racing. Charlotte usually has some very tough fields so you beat the best when you win a race there.”

Crew chief Todd Gordon on racing at Charlotte

“Charlotte is a very fast 1.5-mile track, probably one of the fastest places that we go. You need to get as much speed out of the car as possible without sacrificing the handling. Charlotte is very temperamental to changing track conditions. Most of our practice time is during the day, but we’ll race at night. That makes our final practice on Thursday very important as it is the closest we’ll be to race conditions. We like the intermediate package that we have developed over the course of the season. Hopefully it continues to perform like it has lately.”

- Penske Racing Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

Kansas Speedway – October 8, 2011

- Joey Logano (seventh) was the highest finishing Toyota driver in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Kansas Speedway.

- Logano has four top-10 finishes in as many starts at Kansas Speedway — including wins in 2009 and 2010.

- Camry driver Ryan Truex also earned a top-10 result with a 10th-place finish in the 200-lap race — his third top-10 finish in five starts in the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 20 Camry this season.

- Camry drivers Michael Annett (16th), Brian Scott (17th), Kenny Wallace (19th), Steve Wallace (20th) and Joe Nemechek (21st) were also in the field at the mile-and-a-half oval.

- Five Camry drivers are currently in the top-15 in the unofficial NNS point standings following 30 of 34 races in the 2011 season — K. Wallace (seventh), S. Wallace (eighth), Scott (ninth), Annett (10th), and Nemechek (14th).

JOEY LOGANO, No. 18 GameStop Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 7th

How was your race today?

“It wasn’t quite good enough. At times we were decent. If we had the car decent — we could run up to third-place. But, as good as we could get it — balanced just right — we were just as good as the top-three cars. We were never as good as the 22 (Brad Keselowski) really, now that I think about it. We could hang with the 60 (Carl Edwards) and the 33 (Paul Menard) and the 2 (Elliott Sadler), when our car was good. With us, we were trying to fix a little bit tight in the center and we got too loose. And, then at the end we ran out of tires. We had to put ‘scuffs’ on and it cost us quite a bit of grip at the end. We couldn’t keep up with a lot of those guys. Trying to hold on for what I had — just hanging on there. I had a good time working with Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and the 18 guys — they do a really good job. Learned a lot about the way they work and the way they do things, and things we can bring over to my team. Proud of what we learned. Just not the finish we wanted.”

RYAN TRUEX, No. 20 Schick Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

How did you manage a top-10 finish after some issues early in the race?

“It seems like every race I’ve got to work my way from the back at some point. I don’t know. We came in and took fuel only and we went back out and we were just wicked loose. I thought we had a flat — a right rear flat — because the car was just evil. It was out of control and we dropped like a rock. We had to pit under green and get tires. And, then we just fell back from there. We got the wave-arounds. We got the ‘Lucky Dog.’ At the end there we were able to put tires on and run back up through the field. A top-10 is good after running — after being as far back as 25th or whatever. We had a top-five car again. I need to stop making mistakes pretty much so we can have a shot at these things.”

MICHAEL ANNETT, No. 62 Pilot Flying J Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 16th

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 17th

What happened between you and Aric Almirola after today’s race?

“Really, it’s an issue that’s been building all year. He’s (Aric Almirola) run into the back of me on restarts, he wrecked me at Richmond, he walls me at Chicago. He races like it’s the last lap every time he’s around me, and I’ve had enough of it. He’s cost me a car and he continues to race like that, so I went and told him, and I just told him how I felt. I told him that Iowed him one and I told him if he’s going to continue to race like that I’m probably going to slip up and wreck him.”

What happened on the race track that led you to confront Aric Almirola?

“He (Aric Almirola) just races like, I don’t know any other better word for it than a jack you know what. He runs you tight — tighter than anybody. He tried to pass us on pit road and tried to block me from getting into my pits. It’s just an every week thing and I’m sick of it. I’m not going to put up with it anymore and that’s what I told him. Right there, he was blocking me from getting into the pits and his pit stall is way down there. He obviously has an issue with me and now I have a pretty big issue with him.”

KENNY WALLACE, No. 09 Family Farmers Toyota Camry, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard

Finishing Position: 19th

STEVE WALLACE, No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 20th

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 NEMCO Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports

Finishing Position: 21st

- Toyota Motorsports Press Release

Date: Sept. 9, 2011

Event: Virginia 529 College Savings 250 (Round 27 of 34)

Series: NASCAR Nationwide Series

Location: Richmond (Va.) International Raceway (.75-mile oval)

Start / Finish: 3rd/1st (Running, completed 250 of 250 laps)

Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Z-Line Designs Toyota, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Nationwide Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway on September 9, 2011 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)

The driver of the No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) scored his 51st win in the series, adding to his own record for career victories in the division.

“I can’t say enough about this Z-Line Designs Toyota team,” Busch said. “Jason Ratcliff (crew chief) and all the guys made great calls all night and they did a tremendous job. To win on 9/11 weekend – this is for those people and also for their families and all the men and women serving across the country. It certainly means a lot to have the freedom to come out here and have fun and celebrate this win.”

After starting third, Busch remained in the top-three for nearly the entire 250-lap race around the .75-mile oval where he spent much of the night battling with Carl Edwards for the lead. But it was the pit stops performed by the Z-Line Designs team that made the difference.

Under caution on lap 141, Busch entered pit road in third place, and the Z-Line Designs crew put him out in first place. The green flag came back out on lap 145 and after two quick yellow flags, Busch remained in the lead. However, he was feeling the pressure from Edwards, who wound up leading five times for a race-high 160 laps.

Following a restart on lap 170 after a third caution, Edwards finally got around Busch’s Toyota on lap 176 and it appeared Busch might have to settle for second. But Busch and the Z-Line Designs team had one more chance after a caution came out on lap 212, just 38 laps from the finish. Edwards, Busch and the rest of the leaders headed to pit road on lap 216 and once again, the No. 18 team put Busch out in front following a pit stop for four tires, fuel and a track bar and wedge adjustment.

The time Busch held onto the lead on the lap-221 restart and never looked back, leading the final 34 laps to score his fourth Nationwide Series victory at Richmond.

“When it started out as rough as it did tonight, I wasn’t sure that we were going to be able to get anything but a third- or fourth-place finish,” said Busch, who led four times for 74 laps. “Jason (Ratcliff) has got the smarts on him – he and Dave Rogers (Busch’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series crew chief) work together so much and they really, really help me a lot. I wouldn’t be here without the work of great people all around me. The pit crew was awesome again tonight and they were just flawless. They got us out front every time.”

Busch has a series-best eight victories in 2011, and it marks the fourth consecutive season the Z-Line Designs driver has scored at least eight wins. He also added to his impressive overall win total in NASCAR’s top three divisions, as he now has 103 victories (Sprint Cup – 23, Nationwide – 51, Camping World Truck – 29).

Busch’s JGR teammates – rookie Ryan Truex, driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry and Brian Scott, driver of the No. 11 Toyota Camry – finished fourth and 32nd, respectively.

Edwards finished .696 of a second behind Busch, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Truex and Kenny Wallace rounded out the top-five. Elliott Sadler, Aric Almirola, Reed Sorenson, Justin Allgaier and Joe Nemechek comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were six caution periods for 48 laps with 15 drivers failing to finish the 187.5-mile race.

The next event on the Nationwide Series schedule is the Sept. 17 Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ESPN2 beginning with its pre-race show at 3 p.m.

- True Speed Communication Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

Richmond International Raceway – September 9, 2011

- Kyle Busch earned his eighth win of the season in Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at
Richmond International Raceway.

- Busch led four times for 74 laps (of 250) to record his 51st career victory and extended his all-time NNS wins record.

- Ryan Truex (fourth) and Kenny Wallace (fifth) also earned top-five results for Toyota. It marked a career-best finish for Truex, and Wallace’s first top -five behind the wheel of a Camry.

- Camry drivers Joe Nemechek (10th), Michael Annett (11th), Steve Wallace (16th) and Brian Scott were also in the field at Richmond.

- Five Camry drivers are currently in the top-15 in the unofficial NNS point standings following 27 of 34 races in the 2011 season — K. Wallace (seventh), S. Wallace (eighth), Annett (ninth), Scott (10th) and Nemechek (13th).

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

Did you think you had a race-winning car tonight?

“Carl (Edwards) was certainly really good there. I thought at first we were probably a third or fourth-place car and then we kind of worked on it and made it a second or third-place car and then there at the end we were keeping up with Carl and thought it was about a second-place car and that final pit stop my guys really put the pressure on them knowing how quick they’ve been on pit road all night and they did it once again. We were able to get off first and I think Carl came off fourth.

When we had the restart there he got mired back in traffic a little bit and kind of gave us some time and some room to get out and then when he and Ricky (Stenhouse) started racing there a little bit obviously it took them a little bit to get by and we kind of stretched it out somewhat but not a lot. These cars are all pretty equal. It’s certainly hard to have an advantage but any time you can get out-front and stay out-front certainly I felt like that helped. Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and these guys made some awesome adjustments all night making the car better for us and just making it a little more drivable. Every run we got closer and then there at the last run we just had track position and a good car.”

Did you have to be patient in tonight’s race?

“Yeah, Jason Ratcliff (crew chief) and these guys — that’s why we just keep digging and we just kept trying to do what we can with these Z-Line Designs Camrys. I can’t say enough about this team and the guys on pit road, Jason making all the adjustments tonight — what a polish job — and again Z-Line is on here with us and having fun and NOS Energy Drink, Toyota, Nationwide Insurance and my wife is around here somewhere, I think. She didn’t want to get wet. Thank Pizza Ranch, Gillette and the fans, too and all of those that we lost on 9/11 weekend. This is for those people and also for their families and all the men and women serving across the country, certainly it means a lot to give us our freedom to come out here to have fun and enjoy it and to celebrate like this in times when its good for us and may not be so great for others.”

How much confidence do you have in Jason Ratcliff as your crew chief?

“When it started out as rough as it did tonight I wasn’t sure that we were going to be able to get anything but a third or fourth place finish. Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) has got the smarts on him. Him and Dave Rogers (NSCS crew chief) both those guys work together so much and they really help me a lot. I wouldn’t be here without the work of great people all around me. It’s cool to have guys like that and to come out here and celebrate another win — win number 51 for Rowdy.”

Why was Carl Edwards able to beat you throughout much of the race?

“We were certainly working on that through the whole night and trying to get our car better. I think it was just we were too loose up off the corner. The first run of the race I was really loose all the way through and then we’d get tight and then I’d start loosing ground in the center. There at the end of the race I was actually really good and could put the power down off the corners and sort of got my gap that I had. But the last eight or five laps there Carl (Edwards) was catching me there again I think and just getting a little bit tight in the center of the corner so not being able to roll it as good as we wanted to. Our car didn’t stay as consistent throughout a run as theirs did, but certainly there at the end the track position mattered and just being able to get out there and get a little bit of a gap helped us.”

JASON RATCLIFF, crew chief, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Were you the car to beat at the race’s midpoint?

“No, we weren’t. Big thanks to the Z-Line Designs team tonight on pit road. These guys did a whale of a job. I mean good pit stops. Kyle (Busch) hung in there and kept communicating well. We probably had a third-place car to start the night. We just kept getting better and kept getting better and, man, the pit crew did what they needed to do in the end and, of course, Kyle Busch did what he did when he needed to do it there at the end. Of course, we’ve got to remember all of our military and all of our armed service people that give us the freedom to come out here and do this, especially on this weekend as we think about all the great people that we miss and then all the great people that suit up and were very courageous to do what they did and they continue to do it today. And that’s the freedom that we have to come out here and race and I’m very thankful for that.”

How much did the track change tonight?

“Usually you kind of get a feel for what it’s going to be in the morning. Nationwide cars always practice in the morning and then the Cup cars go out there and you pretty much run a full race out there on the race track so it’s always different, but you kind of anticipate what it’s going to be — how much to adjust your car — from the previous notes we had from this race track. Tonight, I anticipated that forward drive would be a big deal tonight and we made some adjustments for that, but it was a much bigger deal when the race started than I thought it would be. That was the main thing that we had to work on all night and I didn’t feel like it would be. The center would be what I thought we would need to work on all night. It kind of caught me off guard and went a little further than I anticipated on losing drive off from practice to race. Some of it can just be this new car. We don’t have a lot of laps on this new car — just our third event here on this new car.We’re still learning with it, but the track went further tonight than I anticipated.”

RYAN TRUEX, No. 20 Schick Xtreme 3 Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

How was your race?

“It was crazy. I just can’t thank these guys enough for giving me such a good car. It’s just so cool to be here. This is my first top-five and to have Schick Xtreme 3 onboard and everybody here it’s pretty cool. I’m having a lot of fun out here and being able to run good is pretty cool so I’ve got to thank these guys and just thank everybody for sticking behind me.”

What does this top-five finish mean to you?

“What a pleasure to drive this car. It’s so cool to be able to run this good and have such a good crew and team and everyone behind me. To have Schick Xtreme 3 on the car and just everybody that’s behind me has put a lot into this to have me out here running and it’s really, really cool. To get a reward like this is just really nice.”

How did your car handle during race?

“Those long runs were hard. Our car was loose, but I just had to really be easy on the right-rear tire and try to conserve tires so I could be there at the end. We did that and were able to pass guys longer in the run so it was cool.”

How were you able to recover and have a career-best night?

“It helps when you’ve got a good car. These guys at Joe Gibbs Racing just work so hard and they build such great race cars. It’s just a pleasure to be able to drive them and be out there racing with these guys. We started off and I had to from 42nd and I just took my time. I was patient. I made my way up to the front. Like I said, we had an awesome car. I can’t thank these guys enough. Schick Xtreme3 — I’ve got to thank them for being on the car. Our car looked awesome and it’s just a good night. I’m happy.”

What were you able to learn in tonight’s race?

“I think it helped me a lot with just tire strategy and being able to save my stuff. In the long runs, we were really good and it was just from me saving the right rear the whole beginning of the run. We weren’t the fastest car in the short runs, but as we would run and keep going and making laps, we would start catching those guys and they would all come back to us. Can’t thanks these guys enough and just happy to be here.”

KENNY WALLACE, No. 09 Federated Auto Parts Toyota Camry, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard

Finishing Position: 5th

How was your race car tonight?

“I’m just mentally happy to be back in the top-10. That was my top-five. Eleven top-10s this year. Mentally, that’s exciting to me after three years of misery. We had a really fast race car. I’m up there racing Penske, Roush, Gibbs and they just outrun me up off the corner. I could get in through the middle and they’d pull me up off the corner. That was a really good run for our team. Our pit stops weren’t where we needed them, but I want to thank Federated Auto Parts for sponsoring myrace car. They mean a lot to us so if you find a Federated Auto Parts go and by some parts from .”

Are you excited to get a top-five finish?

“It was a good night for the Federated Auto Parts Toyota Camry. It’s nice to have a top-five and my 11th top-10 of the year. It means a lot to me. We put a lot of effort into this year to come back. This top-five means a lot. We’ve given away about three or four this year so I’m really excited.”

How hard did you fight for this top-five tonight?

“I drove every lap as hard as I could drive. When you’re racing Penske, Gibbs and Roush, they’re just good teams. They beat us out of the pits every time and I just had to really muscle my way past the cars that are beating me out of the pits. We made a couple of changes to the car, but it was mostly air pressure. We worked really hard. This is the same car that ran top- three all night here last time.”

How were you able to post your first top-five since 2008?

“Hard work and perseverance. I want to thank Federated Auto Parts and my Toyota Camry. That’s the key to it — a team determined like me losing weight and getting physically fit. Mentally this is a big comeback for me. I’m excited.”

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 NEMCO Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports

Finishing Position: 10th

MICHAEL ANNETT, No. 62 Freightliner Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 11th

STEVE WALLACE, No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 16th

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 32nd

What happened to take you out of the race?

“I just got turned by the 88 (Aric Almirola) getting into turn 3. We were having a rough night. We didn’t have our No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota where we wanted it. The guys were doing an awesome job in the pits, gaining me position and keeping us in the game. We were making adjustments and it was going to be a night we had to battle. Kevin (Kidd, crew chief) was making good adjustments, we were starting to hit on it and unfortunately we’re not going to see how our night goes.”

Are you upset with Aric Almirola after the contact?

“Yeah. He’s (Aric Almirola) ran into the back of me a couple of times on restarts. Bristol comes to mind. I don’t know what it is, but when you turn somebody before you get into the corner, you hit the outside wall pretty hard. It was a tough hit. Killed our car. We weren’t having the night that we wanted with our No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota. Guys were doing an awesome job on pit road keeping us in the game. Kevin (Kidd, crew chief) was making good adjustments. We were starting to hit on it, but now we’re not going to see how our night ends.”

- Toyota Motorsports Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

Atlanta Motor Speedway – September 3, 2011

- Camry driver Kyle Busch (second) was the top finishing Toyota driver in Saturday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

-Busch’s finish was his fourth runner-up finish at the 1.5-mile oval and third consecutive second-place finish in the NNS at the Georgia speedway.

- Camry drivers Ryan Truex (11th), Brian Scott (12th), Steve Wallace (13th), Joe Nemechek (18th), Kenny Wallace (19th) and Michael Annett (20th) were also in the field.

- Five Camry drivers are currently in the top-15 in the unofficial NNS point standings following 26 of 34 races in the 2011 season — K. Wallace (seventh), S. Wallace (eighth), Scott (ninth), Annett (10th) and Nemechek (14th).

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

Did you have anything for Carl Edwards at the end of the race?

“No. That’s it. We were all kind of stuck on the bottom tonight. Wish we would have spread out and moved around and never did. Now can’t say enough about these guys from Joe Gibbs Racing, all the guys here on this Z-Line Designs Furniture Toyota Camry. Good car, jut not good enough. We knew that it would be a race against the Fords. They got great under the hoods. Just hated that we didn’t have enough under the hood to run with them a little bit better, but even in the long haul we got real loose an those guys seem to be better. We would equal out. Then I would be better. Then he would be better. It was all about how you could get to the bottom of the race track and how you could run the bottom. Overall, thank Z-Line,
NOS Energy Drink, Pizza Ranch, Toyota, everybody. Thanks again.”

Were you ‘dirt tracking’ around Atlanta?

“That’s all it is here anymore. I hated that the track didn’t spread out more. I thought that this place would get to its normal self and we would be able to run the middle, run the top, but it never did. We were all kind if stuck around the bottom, so anytime you could get within three or four car lengths of the guy in front of you, you kind of stalled out and couldn’t get by them unless they would slip on the bottom or get caught up in lap traffic or something. We had a great car. I can’t say enough about the guys from Joe Gibbs Racing. They did a great job here on this Z-Line Designs Furniture Camry. Just hate it that we didn’t have enough to go for the win and enough to race with the Fords there under the hood down the
straightaways, but we’ll take it and we’ll move on to the next one, where ever the heck it is.”

Why was the bottom groove the most popular tonight?

“It was really great race overall, but just kind of disappointed the race track didn’t spread out more. We didn’t run the middle, the top or nothing. It was all kind of fast guys around the bottom, so that was unfortunate. But can’t say enough about all my guys here on the JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) Z-Line Designs Furniture Camry. They did a great job for me and gave me everything we needed, but just not quite enough. I felt like we were running them down and getting there, but maybe he (Carl Edwards) was toying with us.”

Have the Roush Nationwide cars closed the gap on Joe Gibbs Racing?

“Yeah. We used to have an advantage through the corners with our cars and the setup with the old car. We didn’t have the advantage down the straightaway, so it equaled out. We were pretty good. Now, it seems like everybody is so equal through the corners that if you can get some straightaway speed that sort of accentuates your car and makes you look a little better. We don’t have straightaway speed right now. We’ve got to get to work on that and try to make it better.”

How do you feel about tonight’s race?

“I guess it was a good race. Certainly, the track didn’t widen out like we always, normally expect it to do here. There didn’t seem to be a very good middle or top side. Everybody was kind of fighting for the bottom and trying to run that yellow line around the race track. Hard to pass guys in that case when you try to get up behind them and you’re slipping and sliding already and such on edge that when you get three or four car lengths behind them and lose more down force, then you’re sliding even worse.

Certainly was an exciting race there for a little while on restarts. You would run back and forth and dive bomb guys and get on their outside, their inside and once it kind of single files out then it’s tough to go. You can see the cars that are free to start with kind of go to the front and then the guys that have better long run cars kind of come up through. I felt like we were one of the long run cars that certainly got better with laps. Just didn’t have enough on the front side. If we had enough on the front side and enough on the back side then we would have been the best car here. Z-Line Designs Camry just wasn’t quite what it needed to be, but was close and gave them a run for their money.”

Why did the race track not widen out?

“I don’t know. I tried it in practice today and both the Nationwide Series and the Cup car and both times I went to the top I was slower. I hate to say it, but I think we’re predicting the future for tomorrow and it’s going to be a crash fest to the bottom. It’s just too far around I guess and there’s not that much grip up there anymore that you can get that sort of advantage. All the cars are equal and run pretty well and fast around the bottom that there’s just not a good enough top side. The truck was the same way. I couldn’t get the truck to work around the top throughout the race either. Kind of disappointing, but it is what it is.”

RYAN TRUEX, No. 20 Schick Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 11th

How was your race tonight?

“It was long and hard. We started off really good for about 10 laps. I got us hung out on that first start and I got stuck in the middle and got freight-trained there. After that we were just loose. No matter what we did, we couldn’t fix it. At the end there we got lucky and we were able to put tires on and drive by a lot of those guys. I’m happy with the finish. I wish it could have been better, but I guess not bad for our first race.”

What does this opportunity with Joe Gibbs Racing mean to you?

“It means a lot. It’s a big deal for me. It’s Joe Gibbs Racing. To have six races with them is pretty awesome so I am just going to try to make the best of it.”

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Boise State Broncos Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 12th

How did your car handle in the race?

“We fought hard all day. We had two runs where we were just way too loose and we gave up a bunch of track position. Luckily, a caution fell when we needed it to and we got the lucky dog and we got back in the game. We still had tires left – - we put tires on and we had a restart and we started 13th and I thought we were going to be pretty good with 20 laps to go or whatever. The 31 (Justin Allgaier) and the 32 (Reed Sorenson) wrecked and they just got a little piece of it down the right side.

From that point on we were just too tight until the end of the race and we were hanging on just trying to get what we could get. Too fast to get up there and get a top-10, but all in all for a hard day here in Atlanta, we’ll take 12th and we’ll go on. Our Boise State Bronco isn’t torn up too bad and it’s a good car. It will live to race another day.”

What type of reaction did you get driving the Boise State car tonight?

“I got a whole lot of boos going around and a whole lot of people yelling, ‘Bulldogs,’ so I just pointed at my suit and yelled, ‘Broncos’ back. It’s all been fun and it’s all been in good fun. It’s been a lot of fun to have the Boise State Broncos on the car and it’s gotten reactions out of people — good, bad, indifferent, but it’s fun to see people care.”

STEVE WALLACE, No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 13th

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 NEMCO Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports

Finishing Position: 18th

KENNY WALLACE, No. 09 G-Oil Toyota Camry, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard

Finishing Position: 19th

MICHAEL ANNETT, No. 62 Pilot / Flying J Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 20th

JOHN JACKSON, No. 72 crashclaims.US Toyota Camry

Finishing Position: 31st

- Toyota Motorsports Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

Bristol Motor Speedway – August 26, 2011

- Camry driver Kyle Busch won Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch crossed the finish line .019 seconds ahead of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano marking the closest finish in Bristol history.

- Busch’s win marked his 50th career NNS race win in 219 career starts — becoming the leader in all-time wins in the series.

- Tonight’s win marked the third consecutive NNS win for Busch at the half-mile bullring.

- Busch started tonight’s race from the pole and led a total of 186 (of 250 laps). Logano led once for 12 laps.

- Michael Annett (sixth) and Brian Scott (10th) also finished in the top-10 for Toyota

- Camry drivers Steve Wallace (14th), David Reutimann (20th), Joe Nemechek (21st), Kevin Conway (29th) and Kenny Wallace (36th) were also in the field.

- Five Camry drivers are currently in the top-15 in the unofficial NNS point standings following 25 of 34 races in the 2011 season — K. Wallace (seventh), S. Wallace (eighth), Scott (ninth), Annett (10th) and Nemechek (14th).

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

What did you think of the battle with Joey Logano in the closing laps?

“I don’t know where he (Joey Logano) came from to be honest with you. I don’t know where Joey came from, but he had a rocket ship there at the end. I just kept getting a little bit looser and a little bit looser the more we ran there. Had to protect the bottom there a little bit there and we just kept rolling the bottom because he wanted it. I thought that maybe the top wasgoing to win the thing — just trying to pinch him down a little bit. He used me up right here through three and four. I’m sure the fans loved. I’m sure they wanted to see him win too, anybody but Kyle (Busch).”

How does it feel to win 50 Nationwide races?

“It’s awesome. We had Mark (Martin) with us there in Loudon (N.H.) and just a phenomenal way to be able to win 49 races and tie Mark Martin and then to come here and be able to beat his record at Bristol — one of my favorite places and one of the teams’ favorite places. Certainly, an awesome race tonight. We had a great race car. Clint (Bowyer) I thought was going to get us and he was going to be the one we would have to beat. Turned out I had to race Joey (Logano), my own teammate there. Those guys had a great race car — congratulations to the GameStop guys. They had a really nice car. Can’t say enough about Toyota, Nationwide Insurance for coming along in this series with us — Gillette, Marquis Jets and the fans.
We love to come out here — we love it and we love to get to victory lane powered by NOS and going to be here all weekend.”

What were you thinking on the final lap?

“I knew his spotter (Joey Logano’s) was going to tell him, ‘use him up through three and four.’ So I planned on it and I knew he was coming. I was just hoping that the top side with the momentum would help me drag race to the start-finish line and beat him. We beat him just by a little bit so a little bit is all that matters.”

Do they need to name a grandstand after you at Bristol?

“One of these days.”

Where does breaking Mark Martin’s record rank in your accomplishments?

“There’s an awful lot of accomplishments and it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where they fall. Certainly tonight’s a pretty big one. Just being able to race that hard and race against a teammate like that, knowing that he had just as good of stuff as I did. To barely beat him there at the end — if there was two more laps he probably would have got me. It was only 250 (laps) tonight so that was all we needed. Certainly, it was great to have Mark (Martin) with us in victory lane in Loudon (N.H.) and take some photos with him for tying him. Tonight was our night. Being able to beat him and get atop the all-time win list in the Nationwide Series was special for us as a team and for me as a driver and Samantha (Busch, wife) as well. This is cool and hopefully we can come back and perform again tomorrow night and do the same thing.”

Do you prefer a close battle or to run away with a win?

“I think blowing a field away provides more satisfaction because you know you just waxed their butts. For being as close as it was there with Joey (Logano) certainly we didn’t intend for it to be that close. Joey put on a nice run there at the end and came on us there a little bit to get right up to my bumper and then I wasn’t sure if I wanted to give him the inside or the outside. I kept getting a little too loose whenever I would go down to the bottom and try to run around the bottom of the race track there.

I don’t know if it was aero or him being so close to me or just me and the right rear just sliding out from under me. The middle was about the place that I could carry the most momentum and just carry the throttle and run down the straightaways a bit faster than he. I knew if it came down to a race where we were going to bang each other’s doors through three and four like it did, that getting back to the gas and just coming through turn four as hard as you could and making it back to the start-finish line, taking the momentum from the top side was going to be the way to do it.”

Was the racing between yourself and Joey Logano clean because you are teammates?

“Certainly it would have been a lot uglier had it not been a teammate. Who’s to say what would have happened, but depending on who you would have been racing with is how dirty it would have got. Certainly Joey (Logano) needed to do what he needed to do to try to win and all I can remember is going through one and two and down the backstretch and him easing up on my inside a little bit. All I can hear is Mark (Robertson), his spotter telling him right now, ‘Use him up, use him up.’ That’s all I could hear in my ears so I was planning for it the whole time and just knew if I could not let him run me too high and get me up in the trash then I could still try to turn and get back to the gas and get back to the start-finish line. I wasn’t sure how bad he was going to try to use me up, but just enough to where I would have done the same thing and he did what he needed to do and that was cool.”

JASON RATCLIFF, crew chief, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What does being a part of Kyle Busch’s 50th career NNS win mean to you?

“It’s exciting. We knew it would eventually come. It seemed like it was a tough one. To win and especially to win your 50th like that –one of the closest finishes as you mentioned is a big deal. Too close for me. The Z-Line car was good tonight and like Kyle (Busch) said, it was good right off the truck. We worked really hard on making it turn better and then we worked really hard on making it not turn so good all night long. Never really got it. It seemed like the more I worked on it, the worse it got. Kyle did a great job and I was surprised that Joey (Logano) — of course those guys, him and Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and the 20 team, they do a nice job every week. I knew if it went green he would start running us back down. I could see his lap times start picking up there. It was a fun race and it’s good to be a part of Kyle’s 50th win obviously.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 GameStop Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

What did you think of that battle?

“So close. It’s all you can really say about that. We had a good GameStop Toyota. Kyle took off there better on tires. We were on old tires there. He was freeing up. I was catching him through the traffic and the last lap I had a good one and two, got underneath him and I did everything besides wreck him to try to pass him there and, man, it was just so close. It’s frustrating when you’re coming across the line and you’re looking at his nose compared to yours and you’re like, ‘Agh,’ like three inches. It’s frustrating, but what a day for JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). A one-two finish coming across the line that close rubbing doors. It’s cool. I just wish I was the one celebrating on the front straightaway now.”

Did you know Kyle Busch has won the race?

“Yeah, I knew it. It was close, but I could tell. We gave it our best shot. I did everything I possibly can do. Looking back at it right now, I don’t know what else I could have done to try to pass him besides wrecking him and that ain’t the right thing to do when he’s your teammate.”

Did you know how small the margin was?

“I know. I know it was that much. I saw it. It’s a frustrating deal. It stinks to be that close and you don’t get the win. It’s two times this year. Dover and then here that we’ve been so close to win these things and we didn’t put it together. Just when he got those fresh tires there, he was able to get by me with new tires and did everything I can to keep up and once the tires kind of equaled out, I was catching him through the traffic and then I got under him a couple of times, couldn’t clear him and I knew I had one more shot there on the last lap. My one and two was really good. My car was really good through that corner. Three and four, I was never able to clear anybody. I just wasn’t as good in that end. I made sure I got to door-to-door with him and I was going to slide it down in there and do everything besides wrecking him and I went in there and slid him up the
race track, bounced off doors and all. It was fun.

It would be a- lot more fun if I was the one in victory lane. Either way, it’s really cool for JGR. A one-two finish that close, rubbing the doors across the line there — it’s really neat. Man, I wish I had a couple more. I don’t know if I could have gotten one more lap, but I think I maybe could have gotten him through one and two if I had another lap there. Good car. Guys did a good job today with things. We’ll take it. We’re building on it. We’re getting better with these cars, so it’s good.”

Did you think you could get by Kyle Busch on the final restart?

“On the restart and he (Kyle Busch) was looking up on the topside pretty early. I was like, ‘Man, he’s going to get by me here and this ain’t going to be pretty.’ I started holding him off and shoot, I got a two-car length lead on him and kind of maintained there for a little bit then he moved up and found some speed up there. He drove right by me. I saw that I was starting to maintain and then in traffic I started getting a couple cars here and there. I saw that wad of traffic coming there with about five or six to go and it was about four or five cars and I thought that if they could just hold him up enough.

A lot of times they hold up the leader and then the second-place guy usually gets it easier. That’s what happened, but our car was faster at the end for sure. Between both of that, we were definitely able to get close. I wish I had a couple more laps. I think he was still slowing up and if we kept running laps then he was going to keep getting slower and I was going to get by him eventually. Just came up a little bit short.”

MICHAEL ANNETT, No. 62 Pilot / Flying J Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 6th

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

STEVE WALLACE, No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 14th

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 64 Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 20th

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 97 AM / FM Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports

Finishing Position: 21st

KEVIN CONWAY, No. 87 Extenze Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports

Finishing Position: 29th

KENNY WALLACE, No. 09 Federated Auto Parts Toyota Camry, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard

Finishing Position: 36th

- Toyota Motorsports Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 4th

How is the TRD horsepower under your hood today? “It’s good. It’s so tough to say really until you get into race conditions what differences you can feel. I just can’t say enough for everyone at TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and Joe Gibbs Racing for putting this deal together. This is going to be a long compilation of engineering and things. We’re going to bring a lot to the table to them as well as they’re going to bring it to us. I can’t say enough for them and their efforts to get this in here in such short notice.”

How are you feeling after Monday’s accident at Watkins Glen? “I feel good. I felt better. Today is better than yesterday. Wednesday was the worst, by far. It’s a little tough to sit down right down — my tailbone is hurting me pretty good. But, other than that it’s good to be back at a race track and obviously being competitive.”

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 12th

What do you think of what Michael Waltrip said if you keep running like this, he’s going to hit your other leg? “Problem is — we still have a lot of fast cars to go. It’s a decent lap. Hopefully, it will hold up good, give us a good starting position and a good pit selection for the Aaron’s Dream Machine. I’m glad to be here and glad to be away from Watkins Glen. It’s a cool race track. It just wasn’t good to me the other day.”

Are you pleased with your qualifying run? “We were a little bit free. I’m not sure if that is going to be enough to get the job done. Hopefully, it will hold up for a decent starting position and see what it gives us on Sunday. The main deal is getting is a good pit selection. Starting position is one thing — pit selection is something that can help you all day. So, we have to qualify well to get that.”

How are you recovering from Monday’s accident at Watkins Glen? “It’s time to go race and not worry about the rest of the stuff.”

KASEY KAHNE, No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 14th How was your qualifying lap? “Everything felt pretty good there. I missed turn three a little bit. On my entry I screwed up and got loose-in, which I did by myself. But, the car was — I probably should have run a .15 or .20, and I ran a .28. I made a mistake, but it felt better than practice. It’s good changes.”

What’s the key to being successful at Michigan? “Probably momentum. It’s a big part of it — to keep your momentum up. I just feel like this track is all about momentum. And you slow that down — you get passed from behind by someone who is keeping their momentum up. It’s a cool track to race. But, you have to keep your momentum going.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 15th

What did Jimmie Johnson ask you after your qualifying run? “He was just getting a few pointers. No, I’m just kidding. He was just wondering if I thought my lap was decent because he thought his was not pretty decent. We beat him by about a tenth. I thought it was okay. I left a little out there. The car wasn’t perfect, but a good lap. We picked up from practice for our NAPA Toyota. These guys are doing an awesome job for me and I love working with them. We’ll see how long it stays up there — hopefully it will be a good starting spot for us.”

How good was your qualifying lap? “Pretty good. It was a good pickup from practice in the NAPA Toyota. We fought a few little issues in practice and the guys did a good job working on the car making it better. We’ll see where that ends up. I’m proud of them for their efforts. They’re doing a great job for me. Hopefully, it stays somewhere near the front and we’ll have a good starting spot for Sunday.”

What will you work on in practice tomorrow? “Long runs — it goes green a long time here and got to have a good race car on the long runs. We had a good car here in the spring race. I had a little trouble on pit road towards the end. Started were we were there (in the spring), hopefully get it even better and see if we can’t go out and win one of these things.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 17th

How was your qualifying run? “Our Interstate Batteries Camry wasn’t bad. I got through (turns) one and two perfectly and got a good run down the back. But, when I got to turn three, we were way too tight through that end of the track. Wish we would have had a better lap, but we will work on it tomorrow in race trim and hope we can run like we did here in June and have a shot to win.”

CASEY MEARS, No. 13 GEICO Toyota Camry, Germain Racing Starting Position: 21st

How was your qualifying lap? “You know, honestly I was feeling like it was a little warmer and I was going to be pretty happy if we went out there and ran a .40 or a .50. To run a .30 was pretty good for us. We were struggling being really loose at the start of practice and they did a good job tightening it up. It felt pretty good. I was able to get to the gas hard. It was loose all the way off but I was able to stay in it. I’m sure it’s going to get quite a bit faster, but it was a good start so far for the GEICO Toyota.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 23rd

BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 26th

BOBBY LABONTE, No. 47 Kingsford-Bush’s Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing Starting Position: 28th

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 NEMCO Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Starting Position: 37th

What do you have planned this weekend after qualifying at Michigan? “We’re trying to get up to Montreal to run that race tomorrow. Just the travel logistics are pretty tough. There’s only one airplane that I know of right now going from Michigan to Montreal, so I have to make other arrangements. Going up there, going to run our Nationwide car. My qualifying lap here today was just a really good, smooth lap. You’re talking about holding it wide-open — you can’t do that here anymore. It’s a good weekend here at Michigan and I know they’re getting ready to do the repave here. It’s a fun race track. My car has been driving great since we unloaded and I can’t thank my guys enough.” – more -

TODD BODINE, No. 66 HP Racing Toyota Camry, Gunselman Motorsports Starting Position: 40th

MIKE SKINNER, No. 60 Big Red Toyota Camry, Germain Racing Starting Position: 43rd

Was your car a handful during qualifying? “I think that was a triple handful there, but I wasn’t going to let off the throttle. I was like, we might hit the wall but we’re not going home because the driver let off. We made an adjustment right there at the end of practice and it kind of took the car out of the race track and it was awfully loose in the gas. You know, the Big Red Toyota is in the race and that’s what we came here to do.”

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

Busch led three times for a race-high 48 laps (of 48) at the 2.45-mile upstate New York road course.

Camry drivers Joe Nemechek (11th), Brian Scott (14th), Steve Wallace (16th), Michael Annett (19th), Kenny Wallace (32nd) and Jason Bowles (36th) were also in the field.

Five Camry drivers are currently in the top-15 in the unofficial NNS point standings following 23 of 34 races in the 2011 season — K. Wallace (seventh), S. Wallace (eighth), Scott (ninth), Annett (10th) and Nemechek (14th).

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 GameStop Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 3rd

How did your car handle during today’s race? “It was pretty good. We just took off too tight there at the beginning of the race and were too slow. It was my fault. I didn’t think about it enough in practice that you need to worry more about turning and more than I did. I gave us up a little bit of speed there to start it off with. Adam Stevens (crew chief) and all the other guys made really good changes on the GameStop Toyota and got it better. Really good call there at the end of the race to get us more tires and we did everything we could to get up two spots and wish it could’ve been better than that, but overall it’s not bad.”

How much does running the Nationwide Series and Grand-Am races on Saturday help you for the Cup race Sunday? “I forgot about the Grand-Am race. I’ve got to run that now. I’ve got to change modes now. It was a lot of fun. We did a good job today and it definitely helps out for tomorrow. I feel like I learned some things that can definitely help in my Cup car tomorrow. I’m excited about that tomorrow.”

What happened on the final laps of today’s race? “It was a pretty good run for us today. I’ve had a lot of fun. Didn’t take off in the beginning of the race the way we needed to. Probably my fault. I wasn’t worried enough in practice about my car turning and I probably should’ve worried a little bit more about it. I was able to — I feel like in the beginning of the race we just gave up too much speed there. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and the guys just made really good calls and we were able to get our GameStop Toyota faster. Just needed cautions and needed some track position. At the end, it was our opportunity and we came and took four tires, gutsy call by Adam and it was definitely worth it to get those four tires there at the end. So, I restarted fifth and maybe gave up one spot by doing that and were able to gain one spot. It was good. Wish we had a few more laps, because I feel like with four new tires it definitely came in better. It is what it is. We had a good day. I learned a lot for tomorrow so I think that’s going to help a lot and now I’m trying to get myself prepared for the Grand-Am car.”

How has Max Papis helped you with road course racing? “Max (Papis) is the man. Max is awesome. He’s helped me out a ton both on and off the race track. Obviously his road course expertise has really shown a lot through these last few road course races. Sonoma, he helped out a lot and I feel like we have a good car for tomorrow too. I think the big thing that he taught me is just knowing what to look for in a race car and knowing what you need in a road course car. I kind of started as a blank slate, ‘What do I need to do here?’ Obviously, he was sitting down in the Bus Stop here today and he would always come over the radio, and if you know Max he’s full of enthusiasm. He’s definitely got a ton of energy. If that guy can’t pump you up to make you go faster there’s no one out there that can do it. I had a lot of fun on the radio with him today. He’s definitely a big help and like I said, off the race track just the way to handle people and the way to treat certain situations. He’s helped me out a lot with that. He’s got a lot of experience and it’s good to have someone like that on your side.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 4th

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 NEMCO Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Finishing Position: 11th

What happened to your strategy of saving fuel early? “Our mileage was a little off there at the beginning and really didn’t know what we were going to get for mileage, so really had to conserve, short shift. When it was time to go, we went. The sun loosened our car up a little bit. It was just a good day for our whole NEMCO Motorsports crew. AMFM Energy.com and DAB helped us out. We were able to be here. Got a car in one piece ready to go to Montreal next week.”

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 14th

How was your race? “That was the longest Glen race I’ve ever been a part of. I know it went green a long time. It just felt like a long race. We had a couple mechanical issues. We overheated. We fought some brake stuff. Overall, it was just a long day. The guys fought hard. I was in position for the ‘Lucky Dog’ for a while and just the nature of having a few cautions it’s hard to get back on the lead lap. Just about the type of year we’re having. We seem to finish 14th or 15th every week and we can say for a number of different reasons and this weekend it was overheating water temperature.”

STEVE WALLACE, No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing Finishing Position: 16th

How was your day? “Our 5-Hour Toyota wasn’t too bad today. We were pretty good there at the start and then on our second pit stop the guys accidentally pulled all the tape off the front of the nose, so we were running a little hot. The car got really tight there on the middle run. We were kind of racing with our hands tied, because this is our Montreal car, so we wouldn’t take a chance at all of tearing this thing up. We managed to come home 16th-place. Couple guys in front of me had some bad points days. In all it was a good deal. I’d just like to thank 5-Hour Energy, Aspen Dental and all those guys for all their support and we’ll go to Montreal and hopefully have another good run.”

MICHAEL ANNETT, No. 62 Pilot/Flying J Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing Finishing Position: 19th

Were you saving today’s Camry for Montreal? “We have another car, but it’s going to take a lot of work for these guys to turn around and go to Montreal. We met our goal. We wanted to stay on track, bring this car back without tearing any fenders and I think we brought it back without a scratch on it. We want to run better. I’m still learning on these road courses and completing laps and finishing races is what we need to do. We did everything we set out to do and hopefully take everything we learned from here and go to Montreal and try to get back to that top-10 finish we had at Road America.”

What can you apply from this race to Montreal? “There’s just so many techniques with road course racing and knowing that I’m not the greatest driver, I’m not going to go out there and try to set the world’s fastest lap time. Each lap I’m trying something different. If it works you keep trying to repeat that in each corner and then you move onto the next section trying to make yourself better there. That’s really what I concentrated on and towards the end we got better throughout the day. There’s only certain corners from here that will go into Montreal, but I learned a lot at Road American and I think we’ll take more from that race and put it into our package for Montreal.”

KENNY WALLACE, No. 09 New York Toyota Dealers Toyota Camry, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard Finishing Position: 32nd

JASON BOWLES, No. 64 Aspen Dental Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing Finishing Position: 36th

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release