Wednesday

Toyota NASCAR Notes & Quotes – March 15-21, 2010

Toyota Motorsports Logo

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: This year, Toyota drivers have combined for two top-five results and six top-10 finishes after four of 36 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) races … Scott Speed (12th) tops the Camry contingent in 12th-place in the NSCS driver point standings, trailing leader Kevin Harvick by 162 points … Toyota drivers Joey Logano (14th), Kyle Busch (15th) and David Reutimann (18th) are also in the top-20 in points … Brian Vickers will make his 100th start in a Toyota Camry in NSCS competition on Sunday … Camry driver Marcos Ambrose has made only two starts at Bristol, but has earned one top-five and two top-10 finishes … Toyota’s ‘PitPass’ display will be at Bristol Motor Speedway during the race weekend, providing fans with numerous interactive exhibits to enjoy while taking in the short track action … In addition, Toyota, Lexus and Scion owners can visit the ‘Owners Hospitality’ area where they can enjoy refreshments, giveaways and more … Toyota, Lexus and Scion owners can also enjoy free parking at the Earhart Campground’s day lots Friday through Sunday of race weekend.

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

What have you figured out about Bristol that helped you dominate the two races last year? “I think it’s a place that reminds me of racing Saturday nights on the short track back in Vegas growing up. It just seems to be a place that suits my driving style. Your driving style has had to change at Bristol a lot. Bristol used to be a track where you could charge the corners a little bit and get it right in and down to the bottom of the track. You kind of would go through the middle of the corner and then slingshot out on the exits, and now it’s just so smooth that you’re easy in, you’re kind of easy through the center, and easy off. The track is a little slower than I think it was because they reduced some banking in order to put the progressive banking into it to make the outside groove better for the fans. We’ll have to see how the extension of the SAFER barrier changes the racing, if at all.”

How important is your starting position at Bristol? “Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter where you start there. You have to bide your time, take it easy when you have a car that’s as good my M&M’s Camry was in both races last year, it makes it easier. If you don’t have good cars, it’s going to be a really long day no matter where you start. I like all the room you can get at some of these race tracks so that’s going to make it tough with the extension of the barriers there. That’s definitely a decision I would’ve made, but they did it for the excitement of the race track and trying to put some bumping and grinding back into that place. The exits were tight already with these cars. It’s going to slow the pace up probably a little bit because we know we don’t have as much on the exits to use up. Maybe it will make for even better racing for the fans.”

MARCOS AMBROSE, No. 47 Little Debbie Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing

Why did you have so much success last season at Bristol? “There’s no secret. I don’t do anything different than what I do at other places. We just have a good setup there and it works out. I feel good about it. I feel like we can run top-10 again if we get our stuff together and who knows what’s going to happen.”

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

What did you think of the new spoiler on the car which you tested at Texas Motor Speedway? “I thought it added a little bit of front downforce which is a good thing. I think it’s going to be more accepted to the fans. It looks cooler — a little more retro back to the older car. We haven’t been in a lot of traffic yet, so the big question is how it’s going to handle in traffic. Theoretically, from what I’ve been told, the difference between the two (race cars) is that the spoiler is better in traffic. The spoiler is going to be more efficient in dirty air and a wing will be more efficient in clean air. Once you get in a lot of turbulence, the spoiler’s not going to lose a lot of efficiency while a wing really will.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: This year, Toyota drivers have combined for one win, four top-five results and 13 top-10 finishes after three of 35 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) races … Brian Vickers and Steve Wallace are two of only four NNS drivers to open the season with three straight top-10 finishes … Vickers (third), Kyle Busch (fifth) and Wallace (sixth) are currently in the top- 10 in the NNS point standings … Kevin Kidd, crew chief on the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 NNS Camry is from Tazewell, Va., only 70 miles from Bristol Motor Speedway … Trevor Bayne, driver of the Diamond-Waltrip Racing No. 99 Camry, is from Knoxville, Tenn. … Rusty Wallace Racing (RWR) teammates Brendan Gaughan (March 2009) and Steve Wallace (March 2007) have both earned poles at Bristol.

TREVOR BAYNE, No. 99 Toyota Camry, Diamond-Waltrip Racing

What would it mean to win the race at Bristol? “It would be the hometown crowd — it would be awesome. Plus it would be our first win so that would mean a lot. I would love to win at Bristol. That is a track where it is a lot up to the driver and people see it that way. In our sport it is up to the car a lot, but the fans kind of see Bristol as being where the driver comes out in them and they see it as a tough place, get down to the ‘nitty gritty’ short track racing. That’s what I’m used to. I love short tracks. Bristol almost seems like a superspeedway compared to what I’m used to racing. It’s just an awesome place and a lot of fun to drive. If you can tame that track then you can do it anywhere.”

What do you enjoy about Bristol and about being near your hometown (Knoxville) during the Bristol race weekend? “The track itself is unbelievable. You walk in and it’s like a bull fighting arena and that’s what it turns out to be. You’re ready to wave your red flag at somebody when they’re charging at you. It’s an awesome place and I love going back home to Knoxville. I think you get in your comfort zone when you’re home. I get to go home and spend time with the family, the friends and I think you do your best work when you’re comfortable and you’re just in the zone. That shows, I think, because we’ve always run really well at Bristol and it’s right there by our house. Ironically, I’ve got more laps there than any other Nationwide track just from the Hooters Pro Cup Series and running the Nationwide races there, so that’s a big help as well.”

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

What do you think about racing at Bristol? “I’ve got one pole at Bristol, we led a bunch of laps there and had some good runs with a few good finishes. We never have really been the car to beat hardcore, but we always run pretty good. I’ve always liked Bristol. I really like short tracks like Bristol, like Richmond, like Phoenix — I like all the little bull rings. That’s kind of what I grew up on and it’s what I like.”

Why do you think they made changes to the Bristol track? “In my opinion, that’s just to make the racing a lot better. The guys that were really good on the old track are just about average now, and you’ve got the guys who never ran good at the old track running good. They just narrowed up the race track by three feet, I think it will be a lot better — it’ll be cool. It’ll have less track surface and you’ll have to run the bottom more than you ran the top.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: This year, Tundra drivers have combined for one win, six top-five results and nine top-10 finishes after the first two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) races … Todd Bodine currently leads the NCWTS point standings with a four-point advantage over fellow Tundra driver Timothy Peters … Aric Almirola (fourth), Kyle Busch (fifth), Stacy Compton (sixth) and Tayler Malsam (ninth) are also in the top-10 in points … The NCWTS will enjoy one more weekend off before returning to action at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway, March 28.

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release