Team members look on as Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, speaks with the media during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Jan. 23 in Concord, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

DARIAN GRUBB, crew chief, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How do you feel starting 2012 with a new team? “It feels really good to be a part of Joe Gibbs Racing. The professionalism that they have is pretty impressive. It’s good to be a part of that. Yeah, we had a lot of turmoil at the end of the year last year — still came out all positive. Won the championship and won five races. Came out of there with my head held high and then went on to my next endeavors. I’m really looking forward to getting a new chapter started at Joe Gibbs Racing.”

Do you look at this as a new challenge? “I definitely do. I feel like I’ve checked a lot of things off the bucket list and now it’s time to go out there and just race for fun and try to win races and win championships. It’s a whole new endeavor and a lot of new people and a lot of new faces to learn and learn how to deal with and how to talk to them. I’m really looking forward to that.”

How different are Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Hass Racing in their operations? “It’s very similar. The work that everybody does in the Cup Series is very even across the field. The competition level is so high. It’s hard for anybody to really be that far behind and these guys are definitely on top of their game when it comes to the technology side of things, the engineering, support they have from Toyota. I’m really looking forward to learning all those different people and the different aspects of the sport and try to make the 11 FedEx team stronger.”

How much confidence do you bring to the team coming off your 2011 championship? “It’s really exciting for me just because coming in talking to the guys in the shop you can tell there’s just the attitude there that they just felt like they were beat down because they had such a bad year in 2011 and now there’s just a breath of fresh air. They know that I was lucky enough to go out there and win that championship. They all want a piece of that. They know how close they were and everybody just realizes now it’s all about just having fun, working in one direction so we’re all going out there trying to win races and put ourselves in the Chase with a chance to go for that championship.”

What have you learned about Denny Hamlin? “He’s (Denny Hamlin) a really good character. He’s a fun guy. He likes to joke with the guys and carry on and that’s a big part of it. We want to have Denny included in the team and make sure he’s one of the guys that’s leading the team. He has to be a leader and make sure all those guys are following him. He’s the guy that everybody shows up to work for every morning and as long as he’s connected to us we’ll be working our hardest for him.”

Is your experience an advantage for you and your new team? “I definitely think so. Working with Chad Knaus (crew chief, No. 48) and the Hendrick Motorsports group was a great learning experience for me. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the greats all the way through even back to my first days in Cup with Dale Inman at Petty Enterprises — just went into the Hall of Fame — so there’s guys like that that I have learned a lot of lessons from. I hope to take all those things and put them to my best use.”

What are your thoughts on moving from Chevrolet to a Toyota team? “It’s definitely different. It’s a different mentality about the way they approach the race cars and the race track, the data and what they do with it. But then again, everything this year is different because of the EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) introduction for NASCAR. There’s a lot of new things. There’s a lot of new technology and we’re all kind of growing with that as well. I haven’t seen anything that’s a weak link. We’re looking forward to going out there and hitting the race track.”

How is the communication among your team and with Toyota? “They work together really well there at Joe Gibbs Racing with the Toyota development program and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) engines and all those things. The communication level probably needs to be picked up a little bit because there was a lot of things new. I think most of that just comes from the fact that fuel injection (EFI) and all those things are being introduced this year and we’ve got a lot of new people, new faces that we’re trying to get introduced and make sure everybody is doing the right thing at the race track, so we’re looking forward to that and getting those relationships built.”

Is it an advantage to have one full-time Toyota team to work with in Michael Waltrip Racing? “I think it’s a little easier because now we have the one team that we can go out there and lean on as far as technology. We know as long as we’re both going in one direction with TRD (Toyota Racing Development) that support is going to follow.”

DAVE ROGERS, crew chief, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How was Joe Gibbs able to bring these three crew chiefs together? “I think if you look back at Joe Gibbs’ (team owner) career, he’s been really good at that. He says he hires good people and let’s them do their job. I think he’s made a home run right now with putting Darian (Grubb, crew chief, No. 11), Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief, No. 20) and I together — I hope it does come across as magic. The people part is so big and our personalities just mesh. When you wake up in the morning and you enjoy going to work and work with the people you work with — that makes such a big difference. I think that bleeds throughout the entire company. I think right now all 400 employees at Joe Gibbs Racing see how excited Jason, Darian and I are to work with each other. Whether that’s magic or Joe and J.D. (Gibbs, president, JGR) doing their job — I don’t know — just excited to be part of it.”

Will the three JGR NSCS teams be more unified this year? “I think the best way to answer that is to look back at 2007, 2008 and 2009 on the Nationwide side. When I moved over to the Nationwide shop in 2006, there wasn’t a whole lot of win banners hanging on the wall. I’m not telling you that I went over there and hung a lot — I think the teamwork and the team chemistry between Jason (Ratcliff) and I being able to lead the group and get the entire Nationwide shop to go in one direction as one unified team — I think that’s what hung all those banners. Jason and I know that. We know that we were only a small part of it. It was really the direction that we provided and the guys back in the shop just slugging it out and making it happen. Jason and I know that if we provide that type of leadership that we have 400 of the best employees in the business sitting at Joe Gibbs Racing. We know they will respond and provide really good race cars and our drivers are all top notch — all three of them. I think Darian (Grubb) really respects the relationship that Jason and I had and I think he wants to be part of that. From all signs, he’s trying to be part of that. I think you’re going to see one unified team with three race cars every Sunday.”

Does having TRD (Toyota Racing Development) build engines this year allocate more resources for you? “The engine program has always been a separate entity from the crew chief’s perspective. Mark Cronquist (JGR engine builder) has always provided engines for us and now the engines are coming from Costa Mesa (Calif.). I think what it does do is gives us better resource allocation. Last year we were putting a lot of our resources into the engine basket — TRD (Toyota Racing Development) was putting a lot of their resources into the engine basket and we were getting redundancy. Now we’re able to eliminate some of that redundancy. We still have Mark Cronquist as an integral part of TRD so he’s providing that tribal knowledge that’s crucial. We’re going to better use our resources and hope we have a stronger product. We had our documented issues last year, but I’m a team player and I support our engine room. I wouldn’t have traded anything last year for nothing. We wish we didn’t have the failures, but that’s part of racing and I’ll take it. There are a lot of things in this sport that you wish didn’t happen.”

What can help to make the Toyota engines stronger? “I think the combination of Mark Cronquist working with TRD (Toyota Racing Development) — Mark is going out to Costa Mesa (Calif.) every week. He’s always out there working with their lead designer and there’s a lot of work going on between Joe Gibbs Racing and TRD. I think that combined effort will make the engines better. You have to look at the Toyota package — back before the gear rules when people could turn 10,000 or 10,500 RPM — Toyotas were the team to beat. Their package that they have designed is designed around a high rev limit and no gear rule. When NASCAR implemented the gear rule, in some regards to that, has out-dated the Toyota motor. It’s nothing that Toyota has done wrong, it’s nothing that Joe Gibbs has done wrong — it’s just what it is. I know that the Toyota folks are working on some stuff to produce a better motor that works in the 9200 RPM range that we operate in today. Over the course of the next couple years, we would like to see NASCAR make some rule changes to open that box a little bit. We’re not going to use that as an excuse. We’re going to demand that TRD and Mark Cronquist and all of our guys put their heads together to produce as much horsepower with the given rules as possible. We’ll take that to the race track and try to win races.”

How do you feel about Kyle entering the 2012 season running less NNS and NCWTS races? “Each year Kyle (Busch) gets older and older and he gets more mature and more dedicated. I think he re-dedicates himself every off-season and he’s made some personal decisions this year to free up more time for him to focus on the Cup program and help us get to where we want to be. I think he’s doing a good job of it. I think cutting out some of the Nationwide races and taking a step back — he’s done some other things at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) to hire some really good people. I know Mike Beam (crew chief, No. 54 NNS) is over there now. Rick Ren (general manager, KBM) is still working hard. He’s hired some really good people that can give that company direction with a little less involvement from him. The less time he has to spend at KBM working on that deal, the more time he has for Joe Gibbs Racing and the 18 and I think that is going to add up at the end of the year.”

Will you get less feedback from Kyle not running as many NNS races? “I think there’s pluses and minuses — there’s days where we’ve gotten really good feedback and there’s days — Bristol comes to mind. Right before the Bristol race we made some radical setup changes to our car based on how the Nationwide Series race went and the track didn’t go through the same transition in the Cup Series as it did in Nationwide. We felt like we dialed ourselves out. There’s other times where it’s played to our favor and we’ve seen other track transitions — made adjustments accordingly and it worked for us. I think if you look at it — Carl Edwards is backing off, Kyle’s (Busch) backing off, Jimmie Johnson hasn’t done it — those are the guys you are going to have to race against. Denny Hamlin hasn’t done it. They’re all freeing up their schedule for a reason. It’s not because it’s a competitive disadvantage. That’s the way I look at it. There’s never a win-win — there’s always a compromise. I do think Kyle will have more time to just relax and spend some time with Sam (Samantha Busch, wife) and freshen up a little bit. That is going to help us out.”

Have you seen any changes in Kyle from the end of last season? “He’s (Kyle Busch) the same old Kyle. Our fans are going to see the same aggressive driver. I think it would be terrible for our sport if Kyle changed all together. There’s some things we all love about him. Some boo, some cheer, but everyone loves the fact that he gets out of the car and does his bow. That’s Kyle Busch and that makes NASCAR, NASCAR. He’s matured — he’s definitely matured. We talked about it and each year he’s done a little bit of growing up. Last year, we were talking about his wedding. This year, we can talk about the end of the season. All of us were young kids at some point. All of us made mistakes. Hopefully, most of us learned. Kyle’s a very intelligent person. He’s had a lot of consequences to deal with for his mistakes. He’s gone through a lot of remorse and I think in the end it’s going to make him a better person and he’s going to make better decisions based on it. We’re still going to have Rowdy Busch driving our race car and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

JASON RATCLIFF, crew chief, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Did you think you would have the opportunity to be a Cup Series crew chief? “You know, you set goals — and I was telling the guys when they brought me over — and you kind of have this motion picture that runs in your head. We play it out like we think it’s going to be and then you get to a point like this and you think, ‘Wow, that’s way better than what I had.’ This script is way better — I couldn’t have planned it this well. I think as humans, hopefully we all set goals and hopefully they’re somewhat intimidating. If they’re not, then we’re selling ourselves short. To think I would be in this series one day and have these kind of opportunities — sure I thought I was capable of doing that if the right opportunity came along. Did I think I would be with an organization like Joe Gibbs Racing and working with a great talent like Joey Logano, with Toyota and Home Depot and Dollar General and all these — working alongside guys like Kyle Busch? The opportunity that I’ve had with him over the last three or four years — to win championships and win races and set new records — it’s crazy. You set your goals high and you hope you can go out there and accomplish them. To really look back, it’s way bigger than what I could ever imagine. It’s a tremendous blessing across the board.”

How will it be working with Joey Logano this year? “A lot of times when you work with a new driver, it takes a couple of events just to get aware with what they like and get that communication going. I feel like stepping in here, I’ve worked with Joey (Logano) enough on the Nationwide side and I’ve known Joey for a long time. I know him well enough to know where I can build confidence with, obviously fast race cars. I kind of got a feel for what he wants and each driver’s different. Even though the setups are going to be very similar, I think I know enough about Joey to put that detail and he’s going to be able to go out there and be competitive from the beginning. I’m glad that we’ve had that opportunity over the years to work close enough together and communicate in a race-type situation that we can come out of the box running.”

How will the new crew chiefs at JGR help shape the team’s future? “I think just the relationship that I’ve had with Dave (Rogers, No. 18 crew chief) from our Nationwide days is hopefully going to be a plus. We were able to build a pretty strong Nationwide program. Dave and I started working together in 2006. So we’re like-minded in a lot of ways, but in a lot of ways we’re not. The thing that we learned was to really take advantage of a multi-car team. At that time we were two cars in the Nationwide Series and now we’re three teams. You have to find that compromise at the end of the day and you have to be willing to push each other and challenge each other. At the end of the day, sitting across the table and shake hands and say, ‘Yeah man, that’s a great idea, I’m going to give you a little on this one and take a little on that one.’ At the end of the day we’re going to go out there and try to beat each other and most importantly, we’re going to try to beat the other 40 cars out there. I think that relationship with Dave and I hopefully encourages Dave and encourages me to be back in the same building with him. Then for Darian (Grubb, No. 11 crew chief), I just think a new look — not that we don’t think outside the box on a daily basis, but a lot of times you can’t see the forest through the trees so to speak. Great ideas — brilliant crew chief in Dave Rogers and really this whole shop, Darian alluded to it earlier, our engineering program, the group we have is phenomenal. I’d put them up against anyone. They impress me quite often, usually daily which I don’t have an engineering background, so it doesn’t take a lot to impress me, but they do a phenomenal job. I’m so excited about working with that group. I’ve been working with a lot of those guys even on the Nationwide side. Darian brings in a different thought process, opens our minds to some different things. Maybe some things we overlooked or kind of set on the back burner and he opens that back up and we’re like, ‘Yeah.’ So, he’s spurring that thought process. Just sitting down with us over the last week and a half and really brainstorming about what you talked about. How do you make this program better? How do we get it back to where it was two or three years ago? These guys, when Denny (Hamlin) was out there winning seven, eight races and battling for championships. That’s what we’re pulling for. The whole Joe Gibbs (Racing) organization, 400-plus employees in the Cup shop and 60-something employees in the Nationwide division — it’s a great group of people and one thing I can say about them is they all really work close together. They challenge each other and they make it a point and you’re extremely aware of the compromise it takes to work with that many teams. At the end of the day, we encourage each other and challenge each other.”

What do you think you have to offer to Joey Logano this season? “I think it’s really simple. I don’t think it’s much different than it would be for any of us, especially at that age. There’s no substitute for experience, obviously. The thing that I would be thinking if I was in his (Joey Logano) shoes would be, ‘Can I do this? What am I missing? What do I need to do as a driver?’ I think that a lot of those pressures have been put on him that weren’t really his problems. I think building some confidence is going to be a big deal and I think I can see that already going into some pre-season meetings. He’s excited about opportunities. Really, it’s not so much good team, bad team, doing things right, doing things wrong — sometimes it’s just taking a different approach. Sometimes it’s just painting a different picture. Hopefully that’s what I can do is just paint a different picture and look at things from a different perspective and really build a team for Joey. There was a successful team that Joey stepped into years ago, that had won championships and won races and done all the things that you could want to do in this sport. Even though it was a great race team, sometimes when those things are not built around you that chemistry may or may not be there. It’s too early to tell that. My focus is making sure all that we do — even though the guys are the same on this No. 20 team — is really making it about Joey and trying to craft it and mold it to fit him and to build the chemistry we need.”

Source: Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

(Left to right) Mark Martin, driver of the No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, Michael Waltrip, owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, and Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, pose for a photo during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Cornelius, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Is there more pressure on your team with the changes this year? “I think if you break it down, there was more pressure last year because we basically had the same goals as we have this year. But, we didn’t have the equipment to go do the job with. So, now we still aspire to accomplish the same things but we have a better toy, you know — we have a faster car. We have a more aerodynamically designed, we have a better Toyota Camry to go race with. I’m glad our expectations are high and I’m glad they were this past season, but now we have a car I believe we can go win with. My answer would be no, we’re prepared and we’re ready. I believe we’re going to do the job.”

How important is Twitter to your organization and how was hard was it to get Mark Martin on Twitter? “I was a little unfair to Mark (Martin), I kind of tricked him. I think he’ll love it though. I know Mark, he loves this sport and he’ll see. For example, this morning there was something on Twitter about a sponsor going with another team that I hadn’t heard anywhere before. It’s what’s relative to me, it’s things that matter to me that I can get my news from. It’s instant. So, I explained that to Mark. I said, ‘You don’t have to be controversial, just follow along and let the fans have a peek into who you are. He was happy he signed up. (Clint) Bowyer hadn’t got there yet, but hopefully we can convince him to do the same. I get it, I can tell customers to go to NAPA and get a brake job or an oil filter on a cheap price, for the best price if I choose to. Or, I can tell them to watch a movie that I like. We can share all kinds of different stories. I like it because I think it keeps me in touch with the fans. I get to hear sometimes good, sometimes bad, but I get to hear what they’re thinking. I just enjoy it. Part of my daily routine is to check Twitter, check what’s going on in the world and also see what’s going on in my world which is NASCAR.”

Do you feel it’s important to have drivers that mesh well with your personality? “I just love my lineup. I think that Clint (Bowyer) is a very energetic, engaging guy. I like the way he likes to have fun. That’s a good step up for our organization. Then you have the respected, savvy, tough, committed, dedicated veteran Mark Martin who has had the most fun today making Aaron’s commercials. He never dreamed he could have so much fun making a TV commercial, but the commercials are funny and he was really into it. I like seeing his reaction to the silly things that we asked him to do today. I think both those guys will revive Martin (Truex Jr.). You know, Martin is a really fun guy and he’s a guy that is very popular and won the Nationwide championship twice and made the Chase early on in his career, but he hasn’t had a whole lot to smile about lately. Now, with the cars that we’re building and the way he ended the 2011 season, we’re giving him something to smile about and we’re surrounding him with guys that like to smile and like to have fun. That will help Martin as well. Really cool driver lineup and a lot of fun feelings. I’m not making this up when I tell you all, a year ago to this day I was nervous about where we were going into 2011. I didn’t like our direction, I didn’t like the way our cars were being built, I didn’t like our philosophy on building them. You can’t change things overnight and we cracked toward a new philosophy, we cracked toward partnering closer with Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing), we worked hard at using our relationship with Toyota more effectively. If you look where we are today, it’s facts, it’s science, it’s black and white. We have partnered with Gibbs on the engines. We’re going to have the same engines that they have. We couldn’t say that a year ago. Our aerodynamics have improved to where our cars are as good as theirs, we couldn’t say that a year ago. Our driver lineup, if you just look at the numbers, we have more wins than we’ve ever had before. We have more Chase appearances than we’ve ever had before, so I love our driver lineup. Everything is pointing towards us having a banner 2012 season and I’m confident in that and I couldn’t have said that a year ago.”

Do you think the economy is starting to turn around in NASCAR? “Well, we added a team. Not many people have been able to do that. So, 5-Hour Energy came on board and we were able to go from two teams to three here at Michael Waltrip Racing. Obviously, we know how challenging things are, but NAPA and Aaron’s, Toyota — our key sponsors, our key partners — they see the value in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing, they know how big of a sport this is and they continue to support our team. But, more importantly, they continue to be a part of this sport. Adding another quality partner like 5-Hour and going into this season with a more robust lineup from the number of cars to the number of employees, the commercials we’re making — everything we’re doing is good for our sport. I agree, I think that things are heading in a really positive direction and we ended the 2011 season on an up slope in the ratings as a whole. With the new fuel injection going into 2012 and the amazing battle we had for a championship, I think that momentum will continue.”

What would be a successful 2012 season for your team? “We have to win more than a race, we can’t just win a race and finish 16th in the points. I think we have to win multiple races and we have to make the Chase. We have to be right there fighting for it at least to make it. We’ll reassess our goals weekly, see what we did wrong and see how we can do them better and look at going from Daytona to Vegas, how we can do that the most effective way possible. As a whole in general, multiple wins for our cars and hopefully in the Chase.”

 What does Clint Bowyer bring to your team? “Just enthusiasm, excitement, but the main thing that he (Clint Bowyer) brings is a track record that is very impressive. A Nationwide championship, three Chase appearances in his few years that he’s been in Cup, race wins, sponsors love him, the media love him — he’s just a guy that you’d want on your team. I think it’s important what you are when you’re not behind the wheel. Obviously, it’s more important what you are when you’re behind the wheel, that makes up for a lot of stuff, but when you have the enthusiasm and the attitude that Clint has, he’s engaging, people want to talk to him, people want to hear what he has to say. Then that helps the organization as well. I couldn’t be prouder that he elected to come drive our cars. Personally, I have this desire to give all my boys the tools they need to go win the races with. I think that Clint will find that we have done a pretty good job over the last five years building these cars to the point where he can take them into 2012 and do some special things with them.”

How has Mark Martin been with your humor? “He’s (Mark Martin) perfect. He is just enthusiastic and he’s all in. He’s, ‘What do you need me to do Michael? What are we doing?’ And, I said, ‘We’re going to make these commercials and it’s going to be a little goofy, a little silly.’ ‘No problem, I love it.’ So, today with him being here and making the commercials, he just genuinely loves the experience. I look at him as being pretty versatile while he’s really tight and proper, he’s also very willing to do whatever it takes for the sponsor and team and that’s the kind of attitude that I appreciate as an owner. That’s the way I’ve always been, whatever they want, that’s what I give them. Mark’s the same way.”

How special is it for you to continue to drive part-time? “I’m blessed. I get to run a Ferrari at Daytona. I’m going to get to race in my home state of Kentucky in a car that can win that darn race. Of course, last fall I finished top-10 at Talladega in my last race out. I’m thankful, I’m happy. I’m glad I don’t do it every week. I think that we have a better driver lineup than it would be if I was in it week in and week out. I think that the fact that I get to still race, I get to own this place, I get to still be on TV and I get to participate in NASCAR, all that is a blessing. I will take it. I will take it to any extent I can get it and right now it’s about the perfect mix for me between TV and racing over in Le Mans in Europe and then being able to get behind the wheel of a car of this caliber — it’s special.”

How far has Michael Waltrip Racing come since 2007? “We started it up and it makes me a little sad today to look back and see how naďve I was and how unprepared we were and how much ground we needed to make up in order to be able to ever contend. We missed a ton of races in ’07, we made them all ever since. We’ve been able to make races and consistently and steadily get a little bit better. But I really believe in my heart that we never have gone into a season like we’re going into ’12, we’re ready. We have a great driver lineup, we have great crew chiefs. Our cars are better. The state of Michael Waltrip Racing is very, very positive because we added a team, we’re not two teams any more — we’re three. We added people. We added a great sponsor in 5-Hour. I’m looking forward to this season.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, speaks with the media during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Cornelius, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

What has Scott Miller brought to Michael Waltrip Racing as competition director? “That was a huge reason that I was so comfortable coming over here. A lot of the same thought processes — a lot of the same things that I have been used to over the last several years was already implemented in Scott Miller (competition director, MWR). He was the competition director at RCR (Richard Childress Racing). A lot of the things moving forward from here, I’m on the same page because of the relationship with him. I know his mentality, his work ethic, what he expects out of others, his organization — I know the things that are taking place because I’ve lived them out the last several years as he’s been a competition director at RCR. I guess the comforting factor of coming to some place new and not really knowing much about anybody there was kind of put to bed because I know the captain of the ship is somebody that I got confidence in and have a relationship with.”

Do you feel like you are starting over in your career? “In this sport anymore, the cars are so much the same that the only real thing you’re starting over with is the group of people. Sometimes change can be good and bad. There’s no question that last year, I didn’t have the success that I expected and that I wanted. It’s not good enough. That’s the way that I look at that. When you’re thinking about making a change — it wasn’t where I wanted to be standings-wise, statistics-wise — all that isn’t what I wanted and expected out of me and racing. Maybe it was time to make a change and I’ll be able to answer that in a year or so. I really see a lot of potential here — a lot of things coming together at the right time for me to make a change and ride that wave on into the future.”

What makes you feel good about being with Michael Waltrip Racing? “You see the speed in the race cars, the people on my team, the potential. We’ve got a good group of guys. We were able to take advantage of a not-so-fortunate time in this sport — a lot of teams and organizations pulling back. We were able to go out and pick the cream of the crop so to speak and I feel like we’ve done that with our group of guys on the 5-Hour Energy car.”

What is it like working with Michael Waltrip? “It’s been fun and we’re quite a bit the same. It’s kind of weird sometimes and it becomes awkward because it’s like we’re both very outspoken and we kind of hit the same thought at about the same time on something that’s funny that comes up in your mind that somebody said. There’s an awkwardness sometimes in our conversations because we’re stepping on each other about the same thing that we were going to say. It’s been a lot of fun. There’s some history there. I called him the worst driver in NASCAR and I knew that was going to come up at some point in time and it came up the very second that I walked in the door of his office. He was like, ‘Do you still think I’m the worst driver in NASCAR?’ I was like, ‘Well, good way to break the ice.’ That’s when I told him yes, but he could be a very good owner. I hope that he is.”

What did you learn at the Daytona test session? “I’m not 100 percent sure what we learned. I’m not 100 percent sure what they (NASCAR) learned. Only time will tell. I know they did a lot of learning, but I don’t know what they’re going to use and put in place. I’ve heard a lot of things — some things that might be changed and whatever else. I don’t get caught up in that. They’re going to give you a sandbox to play in and you have to go out and make the most of it and put on a show. They’re going to do the right decisions to make it the best show possible for our fans because ultimately, that’s what we’re in this business to do. Racing has always been a great show — it’s always been thrilling to watch. The Daytona 500 has always been an incredible race — always come down to the last wire to determine who is going to be the champion of the biggest race of the year. That’s got to be a good feeling if you’re NASCAR. It doesn’t really matter what you change — somehow, some way that race always comes down to a crazy, wild finish that everybody is like, ‘Oh my God, how are we ever going to top that?’ Every year they do.”

How big of a change is joining Michael Waltrip Racing for you personally? “Obviously, I’ve been with Richard (Childress Racing) since my very first start into NASCAR so it’s a big change and it’s another chapter in my life, my career — a fresh start, a new beginning — new way to prove myself all over again. The challenge is there and it’s fun. It’s nerve-wracking all over again, I’m nervous all over again and worried about things. A lot of times, I perform my best in the early stages of my career when I didn’t know what I was doing and I was nervous about it. Usually, somehow, some way I got some of the best results I’ve ever had. I see a lot of good things, a lot of positive things and a good direction that they are headed at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing), TRD (Toyota Racing Development). There’s a lot of good things here and I think they’re all coming together at the right time. Timing in anything you do in life is so important, as it was when I got my start and my opportunity with Richard. This is a new opportunity to go out and to make things happen for myself again.”

What do you think of the current Chase format? “You can’t control what happens in that Chase. You can only put your best odds — if I’m NASCAR, you can only put your best odds of putting on a good show for your fans out there and the only way to do that is to put your best teams out there. To qualify for that Chase, you have to be the top-12 best teams out there. The Chase finally paid off and did what they expected of it and intended for it to do this year — what an incredible finish to our season that Tony (Stewart) and Carl (Edwards) had down there. How could you script a battle to a championship any better than that? It definitely made that Chase idea worth the wait and worth the effort.”

What have you learned about Brian Pattie? “I’ve learned a lot about Brian (Pattie, crew chief). I’ve learned that I’m super excited about working with Brian. I think that’s my best opportunity that I’ve ever had to work with a guy that I really, really can truly fit in with and get the most out of each other. Now it’s up to us to go out and make that happen, but from the very first time that I started talking to Brian, I just felt comfortable. I felt like the relationship was there right off the bat and can build so much more than I’ve ever had. I love Shane Wilson (RCR crew chief) to death and we’re very close, but we had a lot of differences. We just weren’t really the same person and didn’t share the same — he liked asphalt racing and I like dirt racing. Brian likes dirt racing — he speaks my language and we get along.”

MARK MARTIN, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

Mark Martin, driver of the No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, and Michael Waltrip, owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, unveil the 2012 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Cornelius, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

What made you choose to come to Michael Waltrip Racing? “This was the right opportunity because it gave me a chance to run the schedule that I wanted to run and they had really great people here and great equipment. Aaron’s has been a great sponsor of NASCAR for over 10 years, so that’s really important as well. Everything was just right. I never saw it coming. It happened really quick. Took me a minute to think about it, but when I started thinking about the cars, the people, the team and Aaron’s and Toyota’s support, every piece of it was the right fit for me.”

Is it hard for you to run a part-time schedule? “I love racing and I like to race for the events — kind of old school, like (David) Pearson and Cale (Yarborough) did back in the day. Most of their careers they picked the races that they wanted to run and they raced those races and I like doing that.”

Are you enjoying Michael Waltrip’s humor? “I hope that Michael (Waltrip) can rub off on me a little bit. I am very happy right now. I’m so satisfied with the situation. I feel so incredibly lucky to have an opportunity to work with this many great people and have an organization that wants you there, and to work with Aaron’s and everyone here. Maybe he (Michael Waltrip) can teach me how to win a Daytona 500 because he’s done it twice.”

Can you and Scott Miller work together to help Michael Waltrip Racing grow as an organization? “That’s one of the really fun challenges. Challenge is what life is all about. It’s what makes you get up in the morning and it’s what drives you every inch of the way or it does me anyway. It wouldn’t be any fun if it wasn’t a challenge. They have the people here, they have the equipment, they have the sponsors, which I’m very proud to have and support, and Michael (Waltrip) has poured his heart and soul into this place. I could not do what Michael Waltrip has done and would not do it. I’ve got to give him props. You look around here and just think about the payroll every week. He’s built up quite an organization here and they want to compete week in and week out with the big boys and they’re working hard to get there.”

What are your goals at Michael Waltrip Racing? “I want to help those guys build a strong foundation so that they can be competitive week in and week out and realize their potential. I want to be their guy. I want to be the guy that no matter if I’m in their race car or not, I’m out here pulling for them and trying to make their program and their car better and they know that and they support me in the same way.”

Was this one of the first offers you received? “I was not in a hurry to do anything because I didn’t really think that there was really anything perfect out there for me. I didn’t want to race the full schedule anymore. Had I wanted to do that I would’ve re-upped with Rick Hendrick when he asked me about it and I told him he needed to go and get Kasey Kahne, and that 2011 was going to be enough for me. I just waited and waited and waited and all of a sudden out of the blue I got a text from Michael (Waltrip) and a day later we were meeting on it and it just happened really quick. It’s the right fit for me. I really feel comfortable within this organization. I’ve embraced the challenge that we have to make that next step on the performance side and feel real lucky to have the opportunity to work with Aaron’s and Toyota and everybody that supports MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing).”

How long did it take for this deal to come together? “It came together — from first text to signed contract was two weeks. And, that was a signed contract. It took probably five days to get the contract or else it really would’ve been about 10 days, but there was a drag where there was some issues with timing where the attorney’s couldn’t get to it and then there was a weekend and then we were off, so there was some lag time in getting it signed. But, we agreed and shook hands in a week from the first text (from Michael Waltrip).”

Can you describe the difference between the atmosphere at Hendrick Motorsports and Michael Waltrip Racing? “It is a different feel, but it’s a fun change. As long as I live I will cherish my opportunity to be a part of Hendrick Motorsports as well as the opportunity to help Jack Roush build his organization from scratch and my time with Jay Frye and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated as well. This is another exciting challenge and challenges are what drive me. This is going to be fun. Michael’s (Waltrip) a different guy and if I smile a little bit more than usual that won’t be a bad thing.”

Why did you decide to join Twitter? “I’m new to social media and Twitter. I hope that I will not become obsessed with it, because I have plenty on my plate already and I know a lot of people really get into that. For me, I’ve got a full plate, so something has got to slide off the edge if I add a bunch more. I’m one day in and we’ll take it as it comes. I do want to connect with my fans. I’ve been so fortunate there’s so many great fans. I think we started a count at about 10 AM and as of 6 PM I think we had six-thousand followers already and that’s pretty amazing, but of course Michael (Waltrip) put it out there to his eighty-thousand followers. It’s growing really fast and I don’t think I’ll be the king of Twitter by any means, but I will try to do a good job. When I get a chance to thank some of the fans that are so supportive, I will because I believe in reaching out and touching the people that support me so much.”

How is your relationship with Rodney Childers? “I didn’t know Rodney (Childers, crew chief) personally and I hadn’t paid that much attention. I kept my focus on other things and I think possibly the biggest surprise of the whole organization or the whole deal for me has been my pleasure with getting to know Rodney. I think he’s got it and I really hope that I’m able to produce the kind of results that he deserves because he’s so committed. It’s been a while since I’ve noticed someone that was so far in — he’s all the way in and committed with everything that he’s got and I’d like to see that pay off for him.”

Have you set expectations for yourself this year? “I do, but they are different than most people would expect. I don’t set numbers or whatever. What I really hope to accomplish this year is that everyone within this organization, especially my teammates — the drivers, the crew chiefs and the upper management — I hope that when this year is over with they’re happy, they’re glad that I was a part of their team. If they are, then I will have done well on and off the race track.”

Have you noticed a big difference in the race car between a Toyota and a Chevrolet? “Sitting in the driver seat looking out you probably don’t see much difference unless you see the Toyota decal on the dash, but hardware-wise NASCAR has the box so well defined that there’s not a huge difference in the shape of the car on the outside. The power plants are all similar and NASCAR keeps it that way. If one gets an advantage, the other manufacturers usually get a little extra bump to keep them close together. With racing as it is today, very much like it has been in the past, it’s what you do with what you have that makes a winner. It’s not what you have, but what you do with what you have.”

How concerned are you about the future of NASCAR and the possibly of having less than a 43-car field? “I had a pretty grim outlook on the situation back in the summer and feel very fortunate to have such an incredible situation fall in my lap. I’ve never seen this kind of shrinkage before because it never got so big before. Racing was more like this until the time through the late 90′s and 2007 or 2008. It was more like it is now, so it’s not alarming to me other than everyone tends to get comfortable and used to a certain way and now it’s much tougher and things have thinned out and opportunities are tougher and you have to work harder. You have to work a lot harder for less – everybody does. Everybody has to do more right now because it’s tightened down on everyone. I’m not as grim on the outlook as I was then. I believe that it’s going to hold where it is. I don’t think it’s going to get euphoric again soon, but I feel like we’ve hit our lower threshold there of where the effect of the economy — it just took a long time for NASCAR to feel what happened with the economy because there were contracts in effect that last a long time, years out, and it just took a while for that. I think that has hit its floor and will go along probably where it is for a while. I’m not worried about short fields. I could be wrong, but I see an awful lot of teams and people viewing this as opportunity. You see a lot of new stuff springing up — a lot of them won’t last, but it is an opportunity for some people that they didn’ t see before. I think that will keep us from having short fields because of all of these new upstart deals because they are saying, ‘This is my chance to get in.’ From the drivers standpoint, there’s not a lot of rides. If you don’t have sponsorship strapped to your back, you may not get a ride. It was always like that before.”

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

(Left to right) Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, Mark Martin, driver of the No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, and Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, share a laugh during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Cornelius, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Do you feel like you can make the Chase this year? “You have to look at some of the situations that I’ve been in — in ’08 — the team was kind of falling apart. We had some good runs and we were sitting on the cusp of making it and had a penalty, lost a bunch of points and didn’t make the Chase. In ’09 we switched teams and went to Ganassi and went to two cars, a lot of change and it was a horrible season filled with crashes, cars falling apart and just crazy things. Then I came here and it’s just taken a little more time than I expected it to. We had a performance easily last year to make the Chase. You look at our finishes, we had six finishes worse than 34th or 35th and without those we were in. I made just as many top-fives and top-10s at the start of the Chase as Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. did and he was sitting fifth or something. If you take a step back and really look at it — last year we had the performance to make it, we just didn’t do all the little things right. If you ask Michael (Waltrip, team owner) — he will tell you that we know what we did wrong and now it’s a matter of fixing it. I know what I’m capable of as a driver and I know what my team’s capable of. I know what we’re capable of here as a company and we can put fast race cars on the track, consistently. We just need to get the finishes consistently. That’s a whole different ball game. There’s a lot that goes into that. Every guy in here that touches that race car has to do a perfect job. You can’t have a bolt come loose — you can’t have a truck arm crack and a shock mount fall off. There’s so many little tiny things. I tell people all the time that it takes a million things to go right and only one to go wrong. It takes a million things to go right to win a Cup race, but one little thing goes wrong and you’re not going to win it. It takes a lot and that’s the parts that we’re working on is being consistent. If we can do that, then I have no doubt that we have the speed and the capability to challenge for wins, which we did last year. There was a few races where we had the speed to win and we threw it away so we need to do better at that. We need to be smarter, better prepared and I know what it takes to do it. We just need to do it consistently and we will work on that.”

How do you feel about your chances to win the Daytona 500? “I’m really looking forward to it — we’re not really sure of what the new rules will bring. I don’t know if we tested with the exact package that we’re going to race. At the end of the day, I think it’s going to be about hooking up with your partner and staying committed to somebody and hopefully we’ll have that worked out by that time and have a shot to put the NAPA Toyota in victory lane. It would be nice to start the year out with a win.”

How has your relationship with crew chief Chad Johnston evolved? “When you’re talking about the car and how you get better — let’s say you need two-tenths on the race track and things aren’t feeling right — he (Chad Johnston, crew chief) doesn’t say, ‘Well, are you tight or are you lose, I don’t understand.’ He goes deeper than that and pulls more out of me. He pulls more from me, he pulls information from me and he’s sitting at the computer and he understands how to take what I say and what the computer says and mesh them. That’s where we’ve really turned a corner with our engineering department, with the sims (simulation) stuff, which I feel like is one of the things that we do really, really well. He’s very good about transferring that information and putting two and two together. Integrating me with the computer and figuring out what we need to do to be faster. He’s done a good job at it. There’s been times where we’ve struggled throughout the weekend and he’s talked to me and asked the right questions and came up with the right solutions by doing that. In turn, making us run better on Sunday. That’s something that is hard to get. At the end of the day, the biggest thing for me is that I have a lot of confidence in his ability and how much he knows about race cars. I’ve never seen anyone who works as much or as hard as he does and that goes a long way too.”

How did you feel about testing with your new teammates? “I thought everything went well and obviously me and Mark (Martin) have been teammates along the way — at DEI (Dale Earnhardt Incorporated). We’ve got a bit of experience working together and I kind of know his deal and how he likes his cars and things like that. I think Mark’s going to bring a lot to the company with his experience and working with a new team and brining in some ideas and some of the feel that he’s looking for with what he has had over the last few years. The same thing with Clint (Bowyer) — we raced against each other for a championship in ’05 and he’s a great guy, fun to be around. Obviously, I think Brian Pattie (No. 15 crew chief) and his whole team that they put together — they have a great bunch of guys. Then Rodney (Childers, No. 55 crew chief) on the 55 — I think we have good team chemistry already. One of the coolest things about the testing we did — it normally takes a while with three teams getting together just to get along and trust each other and saying, ‘Okay, what do you think about this?’ Normally it’s just, ‘I will do my own thing and wait and see how this guy does it.’ It’s not like that here now. I think that’s probably one of the things that I’m most excited about this season is just the way our teams are already working together — hearing ideas, getting along, trusting each other and I think those guys are as excited to work together as we all are. We’re all excited about it. Obviously, the best I’ve felt over the seasons of being at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing). We’re pumped and ready to go.”

Source: Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

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JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What did you learn in this morning’s test session? “We’ve made single-car runs all morning, so I don’t have anything exciting to tell you. Just making changes and go out there and try it again.”

What are you anticipating testing in a pack this afternoon? “We’ll see. I think with the new valve there and the little, smaller opening, it’s going to make it quite a bit harder, I think. We will see. It seemed like we started to figure it out by the end of the day what we needed to do for when we get in the pack. Now, it’s kind of an unknown right now. It’s going to be tough, I think. I don’t think it gives you a whole bunch of pushing. You’ll see a lot of people trying to do some and trying to race people while pushing and see what happens and breaking people up and stuff like that. I think it’s going to be a little chaotic out there actually, so we’ll see what happens.”

JASON RATCLIFF, crew chief, No. 20 Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How did the car perform this morning with the new restrictor plate? “It’s picked up on average about seven-tenths, which is usually what we calculate for that plate change. I think we had a little better day again at our qualifying single car runs. The wind — there was none this morning so it was perfect conditions for trying things like that. If we made six runs, I feel like we made gains on four of them. It was a good morning for us. Other than that, we’re going to get geared up now. NASCAR has requested or asked to see if we can get 10-plus cars out there with this package and really get a good feel. Yesterday there was a lot of tandem cars. We would see maybe three cars in a group at the same time. We really need a good 15-plus cars out there to really get a good feel for how this deal is going to work. We’re going to get geared up, have some lunch here and at one o’clock we’ll go out there and try that.”

Do you think NASCAR will be able to bring back the ‘drafting pack’? “I think everybody is still going to make a strong effort to do the tandem because there is so much speed. Now that they’re (NASCAR) putting a lot more horsepower back in the cars, the disparity between two cars and one or two cars and four — they’re going to close that up I think quite a bit. They’re going to make another jump on closing the grill down a little bit. That’s what we struggled with the most yesterday, which obviously is intentional by NASCAR is getting that nose peeked out there so we can get some air in the radiator. Now they’re going to make that a little more difficult so you can get out so far to get air in there to the point that eventually you start killing the speed again and then the tandem even gets closer to the four or five car drafts. They’re working it in the right direction. I think it’s going to be interesting to see. It’s so close right now that if you start pushing the water temp too close and you get in a large pack and you can’t get clean air on the nose you’re going to get beyond your limits and the risk is not going to be worth the reward. You have to kind of play that out. It doesn’t do you any good if you can’t be there at the end. We have to work through that and let Joey (Logano) go play with it and see where that limit is going to be and let him figure out, ‘Hey, if I get close here, how much do I need to back up to get some air on the grill?’ It should be interesting.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

How were you able to post the fast laps this morning with your teammate? “It’s just different ways of pushing and stuff like that. You can obviously go faster straight in line, but you can’t do it very long. I was just trying to see how long I could do it and we’re down here to learn — that helps NASCAR figure out what they need to do to make the appropriate actions. We have another meeting at lunch and we’ll see what that entails.”

What do you expect to see when you get into the bigger draft pack this afternoon? “I don’t know — one thing I did notice is that we didn’t go by the single car as fast as it used to so maybe when we get out there in the pack collectively, the pack will be as fast as two cars — maybe.”

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

How did the car perform this morning with the new rules? “We didn’t draft yesterday, so it’s hard to say, but we did the tire test back here a few months ago and it’s pretty similar to what we did there. We had a bigger plate. Today it’s even a little bit bigger, but it’s a little a bit harder to keep the cars cool than it was and what we’ve had here in the past, so that’s going to be a challenge. And, of course, today the temperature should cool outside, so we get out there with a bunch of cars and warmer temps it’s going to be harder to keep the cars cool doing the two-car draft.”

How was the morning test session? “Yeah, everything is going well. We had a test plan and we’re sticking to that, but it’s been good to get out there and draft with both Clint (Bowyer) and Mark (Martin) and get a feel for things and so far everything is going good.”

What are you anticipating testing in a pack this afternoon? “I think it’s going to be a little bit ‘hairy.’ 205 (mph) is pretty fast and the car is just now starting to get where it’s almost on edge. We’re almost pushing the limits of the grip, so it’s going to get interesting with a lot of cars out there. You can’t really make fast maneuvers like you could before switching lanes. You really have to be smooth pushing, so it’s definitely going to be exciting for sure.”

How will the communication changes affect the race? “Well, you’re just following the guy and you just hope you go where he does. You’re just kind of going off of him. Wherever he moves, you move. You don’t really have a heads up on what’s coming.”

RODNEY CHILDERS, crew chief, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

How was the morning test session? “It was really good. We ran some single-car runs for a little while and learned a little bit there and it seemed like we got the car better and better and then went to some drafting stuff with our teammates and ran all three cars in line. All three cars were pretty good. Then ended up getting nose-to-tail with the 56 (Martin Truex Jr.) and everything seemed to be really good there. Truex thought our car was really stable when he was pushing it. Everything seems to be good. We’re going get out there with everybody else at one o’clock. I’m sure it’s going to get a little crazy, but hopefully it will be good.”

How did the car perform this morning with the new rules? “Not a huge impact. The cars are just a good bit faster, but it doesn’t seem like NASCAR is worried about that top speed. Seems like in the past in the every time they saw 200 (mph) we’d be changing plates, so I think they seem to be okay with it and we’ll get everybody out there and see what the speeds actually look like with everybody out there and not really doing a lot of pushing. Hopefully, everybody can learn something and I’m sure there will be more rule changes to come, but we’ll just have to see how it goes.”

Source: Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Martin Truex with Crew Chief Chad Johnston in the Garage - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

Clint Bowyer, with the identical lap speed of 204.722 mph, was recorded the second quickest, and was followed by Marcos Ambrose (203.142 mph) who was third quickest, Aric Almirola (203.142) fourth and Mark Martin (201.748) was fifth quickest.

Rounding out the top-10 quickest were Jamie McMurray (201.378) who was sixth quickest, Juan Pablo Montoya (201.374) seventh, Jeff Gordon (196.049) eighth, Kurt Busch (196.014) ninth and AJ Allmendinger (195.818) posting the tenth quickest lap speed.

The teams will return to the track for their afternoon session which is scheduled to run from 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM (EDT).

Pos No Name                Make Best Time Best Speed

 1  56 Martin Truex Jr     Tyt  43.962    204.722
 2  15 Clint Bowyer        Tyt  43.962    204.722
 3   9 Marcos Ambrose      Frd  44.304    203.142
 4  43 Aric Almirola       Frd  44.304    203.142
 5  55 Mark Martin         Tyt  44.610    201.748
 6   1 Jamie McMurray      Chv  44.692    201.378
 7  42 Juan Pablo Montoya  Chv  44.693    201.374
 8  24 Jeff Gordon         Chv  45.907    196.049
 9  51 Kurt Busch          Chv  45.915    196.014
10  22 AJ Allmendinger     Dge  45.961    195.818
11  48 Jimmie Johnson      Chv  46.057    195.410
12  14 Tony Stewart        Chv  46.063    195.385
13  10 Danica Patrick      Chv  46.070    195.355
14  27 Paul Menard         Chv  46.072    195.346
15  18 Kyle Busch          Tyt  46.091    195.266
16  31 Jeff Burton         Chv  46.129    195.105
17  39 Ryan Newman         Chv  46.134    195.084
18  20 Joey Logano         Tyt  46.135    195.080
19  88 Dale Earnhardt Jr   Chv  46.155    194.995
20  16 Greg Biffle         Frd  46.184    194.873
21   6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr  Frd  46.192    194.839
22   5 Kasey Kahne         Chv  46.193    194.835
23  29 Kevin Harvick       Chv  46.204    194.788
24  11 Denny Hamlin        Tyt  46.209    194.767
25  78 Regan Smith         Chv  46.232    194.670
26  21 Trevor Bayne        Frd  46.292    194.418
27   2 Brad Keselowski     Dge  46.364    194.116
28  17 Matt Kenseth        Frd  46.559    193.303
29  99 Carl Edwards        Frd  46.703    192.707
30  13 Casey Mears         Frd  46.752    192.505
31  36 Dave Blaney         Chv  46.923    191.804
32  87 Joe Nemechek        Tyt  47.983    187.566

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

How did the two-car tandem draft feel with the new NASCAR rules? “Today with the new rule package and everything for the cars it certainly changed it a little bit, not a whole lot. There’s some different elements — the drivers really have to work hard trying to make sure that you stay connected and that you can get air into the intake for the radiator. Other than that, it’s kind of good just to get back in a race car and get back to the feeling of everything.”

What will it be like not to have communication with your teammates in the draft? “It’s going to be a lot more difficult. So far here at the test they’ve allowed us at least to talk to each other. Coming down to race time, we’re not supposed to. It’s definitely going to make it challenging. You’re going to have to go through talking to your spotter, your spotter talking to his spotter, his spotter talking to him so there’s too many different channels that you have to go through to get the communication going.”

DAVE ROGERS, crew chief, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How did the new NASCAR rules affect the draft? “Today was a good example that you can’t unlearn things that you learned in the past. Everyone in the garage area learned that the fastest way around here is to have two cars hooked up bumper-to-bumper and go. We’re never going to forget that. I know NASCAR is working really hard at making some new rules to bunch us back up, but as racers we’re going to take whatever route is the fastest — that’s the name of the game. Right now it still looks like two cars tied up is faster than a pack is going to be. The rules are going to have impact. Cars can’t hook up as long, they can’t stay nose-to-tail as long as they used to and when they do stay nose-to-tail for a longer time then the guy in the back has to pull further to the outside of the guy leading. You will see a different style race in February based on the rule changes, but you’re still going to see a bunch of racers try to hook up nose-to-tail.”

How long could the cars stay hooked up in the draft? “With the rule changes that NASCAR made, they really tied our hands. You can only stay hooked up bumper-to-bumper, center line to center line a half to three-quarters of a lap. So NASCAR accomplished their goal there. You can go longer when you pull out to the side. If you pull far enough out you can ride there all day. The more you pull out, the longer you can ride there, but the slower you are. If you need more speed you’re going to pull in center line to center line, if you need to stay cooler longer then you’re going to get that grill opening exposed to clean air. Drivers are going to have their hands full trying to figure out what they need to do and when they need to do it — and when do you lay all the cards on the table.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How did the two-car tandem work with you and Kyle Busch? “Oh man, we we’re pushing like crazy. It was alright. It was okay. We’re just working with what we need to do to try to be able to do it again with the rules changes and stuff like that. It’s made it super hard. It works good in practice right now, but when we get a bunch of cars around us in a racing situation, it’s probably not going to work as good. We’ll kind of see what happens. I wish we could get a lot of cars out there and I think that will be happening in the next couple of days, maybe tomorrow. I’m sure there will be a lot more cars out their drafting. Hopefully, something like that happens and it comes along good and we’ll have a better read than where we are at. We’re trying some things — trying to keep our car as cool as we can, some handling things, getting pushed and stuff like that.”

What do you anticipate in a big group? “I wish we got more cars out there today to know for sure, but I really think that we’re not going to be pushing as much. I think there will be a little bit of pushing and I think there will be a lot of old school draft, or whatever you want to call it. I think a lot of people are going to save it until the end and a lot of people won’t be able to do it for a very long time. I think it’s going to kind of look like the races when we first started to figure out how to do this two-car draft and only some people were doing it and some other people were just doing the regular draft. All that is probably going to look similar to that than what we had before.”

What are your thoughts on eliminating the in-race communication between drivers? “I’m hoping they change that back, because it ain’t going to pretty if we can’t talk to each other.”

JASON RATCLIFF, crew chief, No. 20 Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How was your first day of testing at Daytona? “It went good. We started off just making some single car runs and felt like we found a few things. We found some speed. Our drafting stuff — the biggest thing with the rule changes that NASCAR has come out with this year and just trying to figure that out and see how it’s going to affect our cars cooling wise, the spoiler is a lot smaller and just working through some stability things and trying to get the drivers comfortable to where they can draft. The thing we don’t know yet is when you get 15 or 30 cars out there together, that’s what we’re trying to prepare for. Until you do it, you really don’t know what you’ve got. We learned some things there, we made a lot of chassis adjustments and obviously going through the new EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) stuff and trying to get familiar with that. It was a good day. We’ve got a couple more days here and I think we’ll learn a lot.”

Is there a bigger risk with the two-car tandem with the new rules? “There is because you’re cutting it way too close. You can stay together, but you have to sacrifice speed to do it. You have to tuck out and get some air on the nose and as you do that you continue to slow the car down. Again, when you get seven or eight groups out there doing that it’s going to be a different ball game. It will be interesting. Hopefully, tomorrow we will get more guys out there drafting and get some more tandems out there and see how it works out. One time there we got three cars — all three Joe Gibbs (Racing) cars out there just to see how that would work out and it was okay. The speed wasn’t there. You have to weigh it all out and by the time you do the swap every two or two-and-a-half laps then you figure all that in — we’re just trying to weigh all our options and go back and lay it all out on the table and see what’s best.”

What do you think we will see in the race in February? “I think you’re going to see bigger packs just because guys can’t stay tucked up like they could before. The cars are going to get too hot. Today we were able to communicate fairly well, but I think they’re talking about taking some of the communication away between the drivers — for safety reasons. A lot of times you get a lot of chatter and you don’t really know who to listen to and who not to listen to. NASCAR is looking at that and so that’s something we have to think through as well, but I think it will be more packed up. You’ll see two-car tandems, but they’re not going to be driving away from the rest of them like we’ve seen in the past.”

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

How was the afternoon test session? “It was good. It was good to get back on track and get the emotions and all going again. It takes a while after you sit out for a while to kind of get back in the rhythm and things.”

How long can maintain the two-car tandems? “Just about two laps really was the max for us. We couldn’t do much more than that, but we’re on the verge of being able to use it and not use it and we’re kind of in between, so I think if it stays this way it could be make for a lot of accidents during the (Daytona) 500. It’s kind of uneasy running that speed with two cars draft”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing How was the car after you got back on the track? “We got her straightened back out and she’ll be fine. We’ll get back out there drafting and looking forward to that. Just had to make sure that the car didn’t knock any speed off it, but it’s just fine.”

Is the two-car tandem riskier with the new rules changes? “The reward is worth the risk, unfortunately, and when you have that situation you’ve got to go out and do it. We got bit, but we’ll learn from it and we’ve got to learn some more tomorrow.”

Source: Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Mark Martin - Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

An Interview With:

MARK MARTIN

KERRY THARP: Good afternoon. On behalf of the France family and NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway, I want to welcome you to 2012 Preseason Thunder here at the world center of racing, Daytona International Speedway. We’ve got a busy three days for you. Appreciate everybody’s attendance. I know there’s a lot of choices and a lot of other things you could be doing, but being here at Daytona certainly means a lot to us, and we’re going to take care of you.

Without further ado, I’m going to call on our first driver that’s going to do some media for us, and that’s Mark Martin. He’s driving the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota. Mark, I just mentioned to you, you look younger than I’ve ever seen. You look rejuvenated. We’ve got 45 days until we run the 54th running of the Daytona 500. I know you’ve sniffed it, you’ve smelled it, you’ve come very, very close to winning this Harley J. Earl Trophy. What would that mean to you in your racing career to win here at Daytona?

Audio: 2012 NSCS Preseason Thunder Press Conference with Driver Mark Martin

MARK MARTIN: Not sure what it would mean. You’ve got to check with my boss, Michael Waltrip. You know, when I think about that, I have different thoughts. One of the thoughts is if it happened this year, it might be a life changer for me, and then it might not, I don’t know. Certainly it would be an incredible experience. I’m just proud to have an opportunity to be in it again or hopefully compete in it and have a great team behind me like the Aaron’s Dream Machine.

Q. Can you just talk about what it’s been like to test with these guys? You were at New Smyrna the last couple days, as well.

MARK MARTIN: Well, we really had a ball at New Smyrna. I felt like the car was really fast and drove really good. We got acquainted with each other, worked out a couple little issues, you know, that needed — we needed to go to the racetrack to see and just radio issues and some things like that. It was my first day in with the EFI on Tuesday, so sorted through some things like that.

Car was really fast. It’s going to be fun. This is going to be so much fun in so many ways. I love my race team, the guys, and I feel really, really comfortable when I walk into MWR. I feel very, very comfortable there. They’ve made me feel very comfortable.

I’m excited to be a part of the organization. There are a lot of excited people there. You know, I look forward to it.

Q. How is the fuel injection different from a driving standpoint?

MARK MARTIN: You know, it’s more the way you start the car and the way it performs in the garage and just leaving — just taking off. On the racetrack, I didn’t hardly notice any difference at all, you know, up to speed.

But it’s just a little different. They start a little different. You don’t pat the gas and squirt gas in. So that’s a little different.

But you know, from a driving standpoint, it’s going to be very little. But I really do feel like that there’s a crack in the floodgates. I think there’s a huge amount of electronics and adjustments and so much that can be done by the guys on the computer, you know, instead of all those years that I spent with Jack Roush with the carburetor apart up in the trailer. There’s the potential for lots of things, lots of things, maybe advantages, maybe problems, I don’t know. There’s a lot of things we’re going to find out as we go forward.

Q. (No microphone.)

MARK MARTIN: I think it will be — there’s more adjustment — not really, no. I think fuel mileage racing is going to be very much the same as it was. You still could lean the jets or use a smaller carburetor or many other things. You could take fuel away from the thing at slow speeds, carburetor, and you could do all those things to this and more.
So there is an opportunity for teams, really smart people with laptop computers — I think there’s an opportunity for someone to gain an edge here coming out of the gate when it’s new. There will be less opportunity to make that kind of progress when everybody gets — squeezes the last little bit out of it. But right now it’s wide open, and we’re learning something nearly every time out on the racetrack.

We had Toyota folks there with us at New Smyrna, and that was a good thing. We were able to actually do some things and improve the way the thing performed, started, ran on pit road and all those kinds of things as we went forward. The learning curve is going to be fairly steep because there’s so many adjustments.

Q. This is not the first year that you’ve run a limited schedule, not run the full season. Does it affect in any way at all your outlook going into the year, and also, do you feel better knowing that you’re not going to be running all 36? Is that kind of like a little break for you?

MARK MARTIN: Do you see this big old smile on my face? Yeah, buddy, I’m tell you, I’m thrilled. I’m back to the schedule that I ran in ’07 and ’08, and I’m really, really — I’ve had a great off-season, had the time of my life with Hendrick Motorsports and made friends for life there. But this is a new challenge from an organization standpoint, a lot of new faces, and then a lot of guys I’ve worked with before. I couldn’t believe it when I walked through the shop the first time. You can’t believe how many people I’ve worked with before that are at MWR now.

And obviously I was in a position where I got to choose the races and how many. So it’s just exactly where I want to be in life right now. I’m really excited, thrilled to have a company like Aaron’s behind us, huge supporter of NASCAR racing, and I think it’s going to be fun, the things that we’re going to do, Michael and I are going to do. I’m expecting to do a lot of smiling this year.

Q. Last year when you announced this deal, one of the things you said attracted you to it was the ability to have input into the direction of the team. I was just curious how that’s been going for you in the off-season and your thoughts on the rule changes to try and break up the two-car draft.

MARK MARTIN: You know, we’re just getting our feet under us. I never even went to the shop, MWR shop, until after Homestead. I felt like that was the right thing to do. I was still part of Hendrick Motorsports and was in there with them digging as hard as I could.

We had the holiday, after Homestead went up there and started sort of getting integrated and all, and then we had the holidays, and now we’re testing. So shooting a lot of commercials and doing a lot of things like that. I haven’t had an opportunity to get really in deep. I look forward to it. I love working with the people there, Bobby Kennedy and Scott Miller and the crew chiefs. I spent some time with all the crew chiefs there, and I think we’ve got something really strong there, and I look forward to working on it and trying to build it stronger.

Rules changes, I don’t know. We’re single car. Who knows. You’re going to have to ask me later after we do some drafting. Who knows. It’s hard to break a — when drivers find out a way to go ten miles an hour faster it’s hard to get them to stop it. That’s all I’ve got to say.

Q. As a mentor, you’ve talked about life changing, you’ve actually changed a few lives here in your mentoring over the years. When you finally do get out of the seat, do you think about opening up a racing school or something where you can extend your legacy?

MARK MARTIN: That sounds like a big job. I would rather just kind of keep it closer like one-on-one. Yes and no. To answer your question, not so much a school or anything, but I love the sport and I love helping young, deserving people. It really makes me feel good. I certainly hope to be able to use my experience to help others going forward.

Q. You’ve driven with several different manufacturers. Can you tell us the difference between the cars from a driver’s point of view?

MARK MARTIN: Well, today the way the cars are and the way the engines are, there’s less difference between them than there was back in the day, and back in the day I only drove one manufacturer for 23 years. So today there’s much less difference between all of them, and it’s more what you do with what you have than it is what manufacturer it is. It’s more what you do with the parts and pieces that you get your hands on.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

- Source: NASCAR, Press Release

JTG-Daugherty Racing

HARRISBURG, N.C.

“As a car owner, I’ve had more fun this winter than I have had in a long time,” Geschickter said.

Some of those changes included the hiring of Todd Berrier as crew chief and general manager along with Laerte Zatta as engineering director. The team added personnel and made pit crew member changes too. Also, former crew chief Frank Kerr moved into the role of shop foreman while the team ventured out on its own moving from Michael Waltrip Racing’s shop into their Harrisburg, N.C. shop. More importantly, sponsors were retained and new sponsors have been signed that will be announced in the coming weeks.

“We have had a lot of changes and added some great people, such as, Todd Berrier for example,” Geschickter said. “He’s an excellent leader and he’s assembled a very talented group of people that are having fun together getting ready for the season. We are excited because it seems like the team is gelling quickly and everyone is really pulling together.”

2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte agrees with Geschickter. The two buzz words about this year that come to his mind when asked about JTG Daugherty Racing are synergy and confidence.

“Talking to my team yesterday, there is synergy and confidence with each other as far as chemistry goes,” Labonte said. “We’re ready to get the season started. I know right now it’s a lot of work for the guys. They are starting off without a lot of inventory in the shop. I think that is going to be remedied pretty soon. I have a lot of confidence in Todd, our engineering department and our pit crew. I think we are going to be better than we were last year on all fronts.”

“We have a solid pit crew in place and I’ve been pleasantly surprised,” pit coach Gary Smith added. “We had a good team last year, but we were trying to tweak the team. We were able to pick up a few pit crew members that have been in the sport for a while, who can really help us out. Everyone has blended in really well and is getting along. We’re looking forward to a new season and also working with Todd.”

Berrier, who has eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career wins as a crew chief and spent nearly two decades at Richard Childress Racing, is proving to be a good fit for Labonte and JTG Daugherty Racing.

“Todd is very direct, which is what I love,” Labonte said. “We have a smaller group this year and Todd’s the driving force behind assembling a cohesive unit. I feel like we will perform better.”

“I agree with Bobby,” added Berrier. “I’m looking forward to this season with JTG Daugherty Racing. I was a part of RCR when it was this size and was a part of its growth to where it is now. I know what it takes to get from here to there competition wise.”

Berrier’s résumé includes some major victories including the 2003 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 2007 Daytona 500 with Kevin Harvick. A Daytona 500 victory is something Berrier’s current driver would like to mark off his bucket list. Ironically, the team is not attending testing at Daytona International Speedway this week in efforts to continue preparations for the season at the shop. However, Labonte states his team will not skip a beat.

“As important as the Daytona test is, we have a lot of time there in February and we’ll get more practice there than anywhere else we go,” Labonte said. “I feel like we will be able to miss the test and still be in pretty good shape when we get down there for the race. Time spent in the shop this week will be more valid for us to prepare cars – - not just Daytona, but several weeks after that.”

“I trust Todd and our leadership group,” Geschickter added. “They feel like races are won at the shop. While we would have liked to have been at the Daytona test, we’re really getting started out in our Harrisburg shop and we have quite a bit of work left to do. When Daytona gets here, we’ll be ready to contend for the win again.”

Labonte came close to winning the Daytona 500 last season pushing Trevor Bayne to victory. Labonte admits Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway last season started out a little slow for the team, but in the end he was a contender for one of the most prestigious races on the 36-race schedule.

“We were in the Bud Shootout last year and was kind of like a lost puppy out there and then we found our way,” Labonte said. “In the Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying race, we lost the draft near the end. In the Daytona 500, it was a different story. We were able to stay out of trouble and survive the day through a lot of carnage that went on. We kept in contention and when it came down to the end of the race, we were tucked in behind the leader. We came close to winning and ended up with a top-five (fourth-place) finish. If we can be that fortunate this year and put ourselves in position again, anything can happen.”

- JTG-Daugherty Racing, Press Release

COO of Aaron's Ken Butler (left) Michael Waltrip (right) and Mark Martin (middle)

CORNELIUS, N.C. — 

MARTIN ON THIS WEEK’S TESTS: “These tests aren’t incredibly important from the car hardware side. It’s more important for us as a new group working together to work through the areas like communication, flow, learning everyone’s names, routines and things like that. That’s really the critical part of the test. From the hardware side, we do have a number of things we want to run through at these tests, but all teams are doing those kinds of things. These tests are valuable because we want everything to be working like a smooth oiled machine by the time we get to the Daytona 500. Then, by the time we get to Phoenix, we want to be acting like we’ve been racing together for years.”

FOCUS: “The one other thing that I am going to focus on this time at Daytona, more than I did a year ago, is working on tandem drafting. We didn’t do that last year and it’s going to be even more of a challenge this year. (Crew Chief) Rodney (Childers) and I want to look toward being ahead of the curve on the two-car tandem or explore areas that will give us an advantage.” 

CREW CHIEF RODNEY CHILDERS ON TESTS: “The biggest thing is starting to build more of a relationship between Mark and the entire team. Number one, he’ll need to get to know all of his guys and number two we have two or three guys who are new to us who we need to start working with to make sure we are on the same page. New Smyrna will be fun because it’s a handling track. With Mark’s short track experience, I’m looking forward to his feedback and him pointing us in the right direction. The Daytona test will be about us working on our qualifying setup for the first day and a half and drafting the rest of the time. The most important thing is the draft, making sure our cars can do what they need to do. We’ll probably work on some cooling to see if our cars can push longer than some of the others.”

NOTES 

Mark Martin will appear at the 2012 NASCAR Preview Presented By Sprint from 9-11 a.m. on Jan. 21. The Preview at the Charlotte Convention Center is an all-day, behind-the-scenes pass into the world of NASCAR complete with driver autographs, Q&A sessions, team and sponsor displays and more. Fans can purchase tickets for only $10 in advance. Tickets at the door will cost $15. Doors open at 7 a.m. Click here for ticket information.

No. 55 Crew: 

Crew Chief – Rodney Childers

Car Chief – Steve Channing

Front Changer – Ryan Langley

Rear Changer – Shannon Myers

Front Carrier -  Chris Hall

Rear Carrier – Mark Kennerly

Jackman – Tony Cardamone

Gas man – Brian Dheel

Spotter – Jeremy Brickhouse

Engineer – Billy Scott

2nd Engineer – Scott McDougall

Tires – Kevin White

Eng. Tuner- Denny Chandler (TRD)

Shocks – Mike (Nook) McCarville

Truck Driver – Glenn Shano

2nd Truck Driver – John Murphy

Pit Coach – Greg Miller

No. 55 Driver Schedule For Upcoming Races

Feb. 18            Bud Shootout – Waltrip

Feb. 26            Daytona 500 -   Martin

Mar. 4              Phoenix – Martin

Mar. 11            Las Vegas -  Martin

Mar. 18            Bristol – TBD

Mar. 25            California – Martin

Apr. 1              Martinsville – TBD

Apr. 14            Texas – Martin

Apr. 22            Kansas – Martin

May 6             Talladega – Waltrip

May 12            Darlington – Martin

May 19            All Star Race – Martin

May 27            Charlotte – Martin

June 3             Dover – Martin

June 10           Pocono – Martin

Source: Michael Waltrip Racing, Press Release

Clint Bowyer Named Driver of the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry for 2012

CORNELIUS, N.C. — 

CLINT BOWYER ON CREW CHIEF BRIAN PATTIE: “I had a lot of say in Brian Pattie becoming my crew chief. I talked to Brian for about the last year or so. I have a lot of confidence in him. He’s young and aggressive. I think he reminds me a lot of me. I think we’ll get along well together and it’ll be a great partnership. He’s assembling a heck of a team around me and that’s what it takes. It takes a good team. These cars that we are working with today are so even that it’s the people and the decisions that those people make that make up the difference.”

“You’ve got to be able to have some sort of common interests together other than what you do on Sundays. You’ve got to have that chemistry and that relationship with them. I think that’s so important. Having success even on Sundays is being able to communicate and have a relationship with the guy that you are going about it with.”

“I think it definitely brings some relaxation and comfort into the situation knowing that you got a good guy that you have confidence in manning the ship. We are building a new team from scratch and Brian is hiring good people. And now to get out and test this week is a big thing for us. It’s everything coming together.  I’m just looking forward to the challenges ahead. Obviously any sort of change is going to make things different and be a little bit of a challenge, and it’s now starting to sink in a little bit. It takes time for it to sink in. Even at Homestead-Miami it really didn’t sink in that I’m moving into this new ride for 2012. As I’ve had some time to think and be away, I’m starting to think about this year coming up and get excited for the next step.”

ON SCOTT MILLER: “Scott Miller (MWR competition director) coming over to Michael Waltrip Racing has helped. That’s helped my transition a bunch in moving to a new organization. I think having some people that you know and have confidence in helps a lot. I’m going to have a great team – I really am. I have 100 percent confidence in Brian – I’m super excited about working with him. I think we can have a lot of success together.”

BRIAN PATTIE ON CLINT BOWYER: “Clint’s been a good friend of mine for a long time. He’s always cutting up and having a good time with me and for all this to happen is quite humorous actually. But we have similar backgrounds in that we both grew up dirt racing and have a lot in common. I’m going to go up and take a look at Clint’s dirt shop here soon just because that’s what I do – I build dirt cars. He has a dirt team. The similarities are endless. That’s why I’m so excited to get somewhere and get going. I want to prove my worth, build a team and make the Chase with Clint driving – it’s going to be so much fun.” 

NOTES

• Starting in 2012: Michael Waltrip Racing is fielding three full-time entries in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the first time since 2007. Martin Truex Jr. will pilot the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota, Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip will share duties in the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine and Clint Bowyer is behind the wheel of the No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota.

• Walt Disney World Speedway is a one mile tri-oval that hosted NASCAR truck races in 1997 and 1998 as well as five IndyCar races and now serves as a home to driving schools.

Toyota Motorsports Logo

TOYOTA TIDBITS — NSCS Champions Week CAMRYS ON CUP CIRCUIT:

BUSCH BREAKS RECORDS: The 2011 season was a record-breaking year for Busch. In July, he became the third driver to earn 100 wins across NASCAR’s three national touring series — and he currently has a total of 104 NASCAR victories. He also became the all-time NNS wins leader in August and now has 51 series triumphs. Furthermore, Busch made his 300th start in a Toyota in August and now has 322 combined starts in a Camry and Tundra, trailing David Reutimann (329) for the most starts for the manufacturer. Busch has 83 wins in a Toyota across NASCAR’s three series — the most of any Toyota driver.

NATIONWIDE NUMBERS: Camry drivers totaled 10 wins, 38-top five results and 86 top-10 finishes in 34 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) races in 2011. In 20 NNS starts, Busch totaled eight wins (Phoenix, Bristol, California, Talladega, Darlington, New Hampshire, Bristol and Richmond) and tied Carl Edwards for the most in the series. Busch’s JGR teammates Hamlin (Richmond) and Joey Logano (Daytona) each recorded one win during the 2011 NNS season. Camry driver Kenny Wallace was the top-Toyota driver in the final NNS point standings, finishing in seventh-place — his best showing since 2005.

TUNDRA TALK: Tundra drivers combined for 10 wins, 35 top-five showings and 73 top-10 finishes in 25 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) races in 2011. Busch claimed a series-high six victories (Phoenix, Nashville, Dover, Charlotte, Kentucky and New Hampshire) in 2011, marking his third-straight year leading the series in wins. In 41 starts over the past three seasons, Busch has captured 21 victories. The 2011 campaign also marked the second-straight year for Busch’s team, Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM), to capture eight wins — Busch with six victories and both Hamlin (Martinsville) and Kahne (Darlington) won a race in a KBM Tundra. Timothy Peters (Indianapolis) and Michael Waltrip (Daytona) also won races in 2011. Tundra driver Peters finished the season fifth in the driver point standings — his best career-result — and Todd Bodine continued a seven year streak in the top-10 in points after ending the year in sixth-place.

HALF DECADE DOWN: The 2011 season marked the Camry’s fifth year competing in the NSCS and NNS. In five years in the NSCS, Camry drivers have competed in 179 races and captured 39 wins and 31 pole positions, recorded 167 top-five finishes and 314 top-10s. In five NNS seasons, Camry drivers have participated in 174 events where they’ve claimed 64 wins, 54 pole positions, 251 top-10 finishes and 497 top-10s. Busch won the 2009 NNS driver’s championship — the Camry’s first driver’s championship in NASCAR — and Toyota won three NNS manufacturer’s championship (2008-10).

GRESHAM TAKES TITLE: Max Gresham captured the 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) driver’s championship when he finished third in the season-finale at Dover. The 18-year old Georgia native claimed two wins and nine top-five finishes in 12 starts and completed every lap run during the year. Gresham’s title was the second for JGR in five years — Logano won the 2007 championship — and the fourth for Toyota in that span (Ryan Truex, 2009 and 2010).

NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS): Toyota drivers increased the number of race tracks where the Camry has visited victory lane in the NSCS to 20 of 23 facilities … The Camry claimed its first win at Kentucky Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway — leaving only three race tracks where the Camry still seeks a NSCS trophy — California’s Auto Club Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway … Toyota drivers swept the top-three finishing positions for the first time in the NSCS at Richmond in April with Busch (first), Hamlin (second) and Kahne (third) … Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) will run three Camrys in 2012 with drivers Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin joining Martin Truex Jr. … Martin will run a 25- race schedule in the No. 55 MWR Camry and team owner Michael Waltrip will run five races … Camry driver Bobby Labonte returns for a second season at JTG-Daugherty Racing in the No. 47 Camry in 2012 and will work with veteran crew chief Todd Berrier … Berrier has eight career wins as a crew chief and most recently worked with Jeff Burton at Richard Childress Racing during the 2011 season. – more -

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

How will the Joe Gibbs Racing team improve for the 2012 season? “I think our cars will get better. I think that they already are getting better. We’ve seen year over year if something happens in those two months when there’s no racing, teams find things and other teams lose things. I’ve done testing at different race tracks trying to work on our program and getting it better. I am very happy with the direction we are heading. We have improved our position in every Chase race. It’s easy when were as bad as the first three races, but two races in we were 60 points behind and since then we lost 20. It’s just one of those things where it was not a good Chase for us and I know that next year we’re going to have some better race cars to come to the race track with and we’ve already found some things that I feel like that make me more comfortable in the race car and that will show up next year.”

Do you have any plans for the off-season? “Just relax — I don’t have anything set in stone. I’ve been on the schedule for the last 10 months. It’s time to not have one.”

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

Will fuel injection impact fuel mileage next season? “I think going to the EFI (electronic fuel injection) is going to change it a little bit. Maybe not as much as we all expected it to be. It’s just the engineers are certainly getting better with it. It might not change right away because we don’t know everything we need to know about it, but I figure over time it’s just like anything else. We’ll learn from it, develop with it and get better at it.”

Do you have any off-season plans? “To get away and to have nobody be able to get a hold of me — that would be nice. We’ll see how it goes, you know. The off-season is typically not very off — you’re still working. I’ve already got a photo shoot and then a commercial shoot two weeks later. And, then it’s Christmas and all kinds of other stuff. So, it will be busy — I’m sure.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

How much did your team improve in the final weeks of the season? “Really, I think our team has done a nice job all year as far as bringing fast race cars to the race track. There have been some other things that we’ve missed on — part failures and making mistakes and things that’s really hurt us in the points. But, we’ve had fast cars all year long. For us this season, it’s been a lot of what could’ve been or what might have been. Going into the off-season, I feel like we know our strengths and our weaknesses and what we need to work on to be better. But, as far as the group of guys I have and the cars that we’ve been bringing to the race track, we’ve made huge strides especially at the end of the season here with the mile-and-a-half type tracks where we struggled through the mid part of the season quite a bit. We made huge gains there, so we’re excited going into the off -season of what we need to work on and come out of the box strong next year. For us, we just need consistency. We’ve got the speed, we’ve got the team to do it, we’ve got the team to do it and we’ve got great guys that go over the wall and pit the car. We just need to be smarter, race smarter and make less mistakes next year.”

What are your plans for the off-season? “Relaxing for a few days first. Going to go and do a little fishing down in the (Florida) Keys for a couple days and unwind. We’ll go home and have a good Christmas, do a little hunting and a little fishing and this or that. A little bit of everything.”

KASEY KAHNE, No. 4 Red Bull Camry, Red Bull Racing Team

How was your season with the Red Bull race team? “It’s been a really awesome year for myself. It’s been a great season. A lot of fun to work with everybody and they’ve given all us all a great opportunity. I wish it was halfway through. I wish the season was 50 percent of the way through and we had a lot more to go this year because I feel like right now is by far the best that I’ve been as a Cup driver and that we’ve had as a team. Everything put together, I think this h as been our strongest time ever. I’ve been running really good. The whole Red Bull team has done a great job. I think just winning the race at Phoenix and running good with Red Bull and the team not giving up — I think that’s been my highlight. Just watching how hard everybody has worked and how great of a job they have done as the season came to an end.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS): Kenny Wallace (seventh) was the top Toyota driver in the NNS point standings … Brian Scott (eighth), Michael Annett (ninth) and Steve Wallace (10th) also finished in the top-10 in points … Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Camry team finished second in the NNS owner championship standings, back three points behind the No. 60 team … Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) announced they will field a NNS team in 2012, in addition to competing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

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

How was your first season at Joe Gibbs Racing? “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 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.”

Do you have any off-season plans? “I’m going to move into my new house. I’m going to spend New Year’s down in the Bahamas with the family and come back in January and train real hard for a month to get ready for the season.”

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

What will you work on during the off-season? “The biggest thing I need to learn is what the crew chief needs, so when I feel something out on the track, I can better pinpoint to him what corner of the car really needs help — what I’m really feeling. These cars are getting so sensitive to little shock changes and quarter or a half pound of air pressure. If I could pick out the exact corner and use past experiences and be able to say, ‘Hey, we did this last time and it really helped I think,’ that would definitely make myself a better driver.”

Do you have any off-season plans? “I’m going to travel a little bit. Definitely going home to Iowa for Christmas and get through the holidays and come back to work at the shop and just start making this program a lot better.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS): Timothy Peters (fifth) was the top Toyota driver in the NCWTS points standings … Tundra drivers Todd Bodine (sixth), Brendan Gaughan (12th), David Starr (13th), Miguel Paludo (17th) and Max Papis (18th) also finished in the top-20 in the points … Since entering the NCWTS in 2004, Toyota drivers have tallied 90 victories and 81 pole positions in 200 races … The Tundra recorded its 200th NCWTS start in November (Homestead) … ThorSport announced the team will campaign Tundras in the 2012 season with drivers Dakoda Armstrong, Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter in the NCWTS … The team will also field a Camry in the ARCA Racing Series for nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel.

TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Tire Kingdom/Service Central, Red Horse Racing

What did you learn in 2011 that will help your team get a running start on 2012? “We learned a lot of technical information this season, but the main thing for the No. 17 team was just getting all the chemistry right with all the members of our team. I felt like the last few races of the season our team really gelled, I was able to give feedback to Butch (Hylton, crew chief) that he needed so that the truck worked and gave me the feel that I wanted. It seems like every year when you get to Homestead, you wish you had seven or eight more races, you finally find your rhythm and get to running well as the season ends. The best thing is that we finished the season strong and I was able to make it on stage at the banquet for the first time in my career, it just gives you a good feeling when you achieve one goal and only makes you want to set the bar higher for the next year.”

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

Camry drivers Kasey Kahne (seventh) and Denny Hamlin (ninth) also earned top-10 finishes at the mile-and-a-half oval.

Other Toyota drivers in the field included Brian Vickers (17th), David Reutimann (18th), Joey Logano (19th), Kyle Busch (23rd), Casey Mears (26th), Bobby Labonte (27th), Cole Whitt (37th), Joe Nemechek (40th) and Michael McDowell (43rd).

Four Camry drivers finished the 2011 season in the top-20 in the unofficial NSCS point standings — Hamlin (ninth), Busch (12th), Kahne (14th) and Truex (18th). Camry drivers earned six wins and seven pole positions during the 2011 season.

Toyota has recorded 39 victories and 31 poles since joining the series in 2007.

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Finishing Position: 3rd

How much fun did you have racing tonight? “It’s a lot of fun when you can run like that. Just got to thank NAPA, Toyota and everybody on this race car. Michael (Waltrip) and Rob (Kauffman, team owner), they put a lot of resources and a lot of efforts into getting our cars better the second half of the year. We’ve got a lot to build on this season. Scott Miller (director of competition) came over and did a nice job being my interim crew chief while Chad (Johnston) was emailing setups from the race shop. Just proud of everybody on the team for sticking together. We ended the season on a strong note and we know what we’ve got to work on this winter. We’ve had speed all year, we’ve just got to get more consistent. If we can do that next year we’ll do some great things.”

How was your race? “It was a good run for our NAPA Toyota. We had a good car all weekend long. I love coming down here to Homestead. I don’t know what it is about this place but I really enjoy it. I felt like we probably had the car to beat here last year. Tonight we weren’t quite as good. The 14 (Tony Stewart) and 99 (Carl Edwards) were just so stout. Now you know why they battled for the championship this year. A big night for our team. This is a new car we built and took to Texas for the first time. It’s something that the guys have been working on for a big part of this year to get better. Just feels good to come out here and run well and finish the season off. My crew chief (Chad Johnston) is at home emailing setups and notes trying to help us as much as he can through email and text and all of that. I’ve just got to thank Scott Miller for coming on board and helping us. Looking forward to next year. We’ve had speed like this all year, we just have to get more consistency and next year we’ll do great things if we can do that.”

How much were you watching the battle between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards? “It was exciting to be up front with those two guys all night. We had a really good NAPA Toyota all weekend. It’s just a credit to all of these guys on this team for working hard throughout the season. The 99 (Carl Edwards) and the 14 (Tony Stewart) were really stout. We weren’t going to touch those guys, but we were pretty decent. We’ve got some things to work on this winter and if we can get a little bit more consistency we’ll have a good season next year. We’ve had the speed, we just have to do all of the little things right.”

Are you excited about Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin joining Michael Waltrip Racing next year? “I’m looking forward to it. They’re both obviously good guys and good drivers with good records. Certainly, Mark (Martin) has done a lot. Clint (Bowyer) has had a few good years. It’s going to be fun to work with both of those guys. I’ve worked with Mark before so I kind of know what to expect with him. I’m not real sure about (Clint) Bowyer. He’s a little bit off the wall, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be fun. Michael (Waltrip) and Rob (Kauffman, owner) and everybody here has just put so much effort into making our cars better and using all of the resources that we have from Toyota, TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and all of those guys. We really had a pretty good season. I know the points don’t show it — all of our finishes don’t show it but we’ve had fast race cars. If we can take care of a lot of little things this winter hopefully we’ll have three cars next year that are capable of winning races week in and week out.”

KASEY KAHNE, No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Finishing Position: 7th

How was your race? “We had to battle pretty hard during the race. I think we had the best car there those couple runs before the final run. We were flying. It felt really good and then we just got tight in that final run. I was kind of surprised we got tight, but the two runs before that our Red Bull Toyota was I think the fastest car on the track after about 10 laps and we were coming. It was good and it was fun passing cars and having a great car again. The guys did a ton of work today. We started off way too loose and we were loose every run and could go at the end. And then that final one we got a little too tight so we finally went too far. It was still a good day, a good finish for us. The team guys were awesome. They brought a lot of great race cars to the track and nobody gave up and we were right there throughout the whole final three months.”

How much did the track change with the rain delays? “The first one didn’t seem to do a lot. We made a big adjustment so I wouldn’t know. The new setup was completely different. The second one my car wouldn’t turn afterwards. I was a lot tighter than what I was before the rain. I don’t know if other people were that way or not, but I know our car — I had already driven by (Martin) Truex (Jr.) and (Matt) Kenseth and those guys and they just drove right back by me and had nothing for them. It was much tighter after the final run.”

What did you think of the championship battle? “It was crazy. To do that, you can’t ask for anything more. That’s as close as a championship can be, will ever be. Those two guys both deserve to be champions if you ask me. Tony (Stewart) wins it because of wins, but Carl (Edwards) was awesome all season long. One of the best, probably the best car through the whole year. And Tony was, I guess , the bes t car in the Chase.”

Were you keeping track of where Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards were on the track? “I was at times, but then at the end I had my hands full trying to race with Clint (Bowyer). I tried a big slide-job on Clint in (turns) three and four on the final lap and luckily he saw me coming and avoided it or else we both would’ve wrecked. I misjudged it pretty good. Clint saved two cars.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 9th

Did you pay any attention to the championship battle during tonight’s race? “Yeah, you could see Tony (Stewart) was really aggressive on restarts trying to make up some ground. If you can win that many races in the Chase you deserve to win the championship, so it’s a hec k of a run by them.”

How much did the rain impact the race track? “A little bit. It helped us. It seemed like when the track would get cleaned off our car would be a little bit better once the rubber got laid down. We just are a little off in a lot of areas and just have to get a little bit better. It’s a step in the right direction on our mile-and-a-half program though.”

BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Finishing Position: 17th

What have the last five years meant to you with Red Bull? “It’s been a good five years. Can’t thank everyone enough. We had some ups and downs. Unfortunately, this year wasn’t one of our better ones. We won a race, made the Chase and sat on poles. The only goal we didn’t accomplish was the championship. Considering we only had four years to do it – I was out of the car for one (with a medical condition) – I don’t think that’s too bad. I just want to thank everyone at Red Bull, Toyota and all the guys for their hard work through the years. This is it.”

What are your plans for next year? “I’m working on several options right now in the Cup Series that I’m very excited about, but until they’re done they’re not done. So, I’m looking forward to hopefully continuing a strong career here in the Cup Series. I love this racing and I love what I do especially with everything I went through last year. It taught me just how much I really do love it.” -more-

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Finishing Position: 18th

What are your emotions after the final race of the season? “It’s disappointing. I love my guys. A lot of these guys have been with me since the Truck Series and have come up with me. I’m going to miss them. I’m going to miss my guys most of all. It’s certainly a lot more bitter than it is sweet this week for sure, but we’ll see what happens.”

What tribute did your team do before today’s race? “All of the guys that have been with me for a long time, they autographed the hood. I knew I was going to have a hard enough time keeping it together because it’s kind of an emotional weekend and that made it really tough. I’ve got a great group of guys. A lot of guys have been with me for a lot of years, even from the Truck Series. So, it’s pretty special.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 19th

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 23rd

CASEY MEARS, No. 13 Hard Rock Vodka Toyota Camry, Germain Racing Finishing Position: 26th

BOBBY LABONTE, No. 47 Reese Towpower Project Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing Finishing Position: 27th

COLE WHITT, No. 84 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Finishing Position: 37th

What happened to take you out of the race? “It stinks that we’re out. We worked hard to get back on the lead lap and got the ‘Lucky Dog’ back. We were racing pretty decent there — kind of coming back passing some guys back up on the lead lap and doing pretty good. I feel like we were just getting a little bit better. We were fighting a really loose race car all night and finally got it decent. It looked like Jamie (McMurray) just spun the 51 (Landon Cassill) and the 51 overcorrected where I thought he was just going to spin to the inside. He obviously overcorrected and went the other way and the hole closed up so we got into it with him and just ended our night. It just stinks that we got caught up in someone else’s mess.”

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Finishing Position: 40th

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 66 HP Racing, LLC Toyota Camry, HP Racing Finishing Position: 43rd

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry

Z-Line Designs Driver Notches 41^st Top-Five in 128 Career Nationwide Series Starts

Date: Nov. 19, 2011
Event: Ford 300 (Round 34 of 34)
Series: NASCAR Nationwide Series
Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 7^th/5^th (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Winner: Brad Keselowski of Penske Racing (Dodge)

Denny Hamlin drove the No. 18 Z-Line Designs/BJ’s Wholesale Club Toyota Camry (JGR) to a solid fifth-place finish in Saturday’s season-ending Ford 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Hamlin had a top-five car throughout the 200-lap contest. A late-race chassis adjustment designed to allow the Z-Line Designs Camry to challenge for the win proved to make the car too tight around the 1.5-mile oval. Despite running as high as third with 20 laps to go, Hamlin fought his tight-handling racecar as much as the other drivers around him.

“We just struggled with our Z-Line Designs Toyota,” said Hamlin after recording his 41st top-five finish in 128 career Nationwide Series starts. “We felt like 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 of 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.”

With Friday’s practice sessions getting partially rained out, teams had limited track time before the race.

“I wish we had some more practice time,” Hamlin added. “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.”

“I felt like we were just a top-five car all night and we had made adjustments and made it better, and then we had made adjustments and had made it worse,” said crew chief Jason Ratcliff. “We just kept bouncing back-and-forth on it and the track was changing and we weren’t keeping up with it. I just felt like we had one shot at it. We had one shot at it and a small adjustment was not going to get it done. Unfortunately, I went too far. And with what little experience I have working with Denny, I didn’t really know how to quantify what he needed. He did a nice job of communicating all night, and I think right there at the end, the track probably didn’t change as much as it had prior and we just jumped the fence.”

Also on the fence was a fourth consecutive owner championship for JGR. The No. 18 team came into Homestead just one point behind the No. 60 team of Roush Fenway Racing. But the No. 60 Ford, piloted by Carl Edwards, finished second to end the season with a three-point advantage over the No. 18 team.

“It’s tough knowing that you are this close to it and you miss it because we’ve won the last three owners titles and its fun,” Ratcliff said. “That’s why we do this. But on a side note, we have a lot to be thankful for. We’ve been extremely blessed with a great season. To race Carl Edwards – the guy who could potentially be the Sprint Cup champion – he’s got a really good race team and to have a shot to compete with him for a championship, that’s a pretty big deal. I’m pretty excited that we finished that close to him and had a shot. I wish we could’ve done that stop one last time, but we’ll learn from it and be back next year to try and do it again.”

Brad Keselowski won the Ford 300 to score his 17^th career Nationwide Series victory, his fifth of the season and his first at Homestead.

This year’s Nationwide Series driver champion, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished .268 of a second behind Keselowski in the runner-up spot, while Edwards, Clint Bowyer and Hamlin rounded out the top-five. Elliott Sadler, Sam Hornish Jr., Aric Almirola and JGR teammates Brian Scott and Joey Logano comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were nine caution periods for 36 laps, with 12 drivers failing to finish.

The 2012 Nationwide Series season starts Feb. 25 with the Daytona 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

- True Speed Communication for Joe Gibbs Racing, Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 2nd

How was your qualifying lap? “It’s been a good day for the NAPA Toyota so far. We’ve been happy with the car all day. We had a lot of speed in race trim and it was a good qualifying lap for us. The guys made good adjustments from practice and the track picked up grip. Obviously the speeds were up quite a bit from practice so it was a good lap. I wish that Carl (Edwards) hadn’t of beat us, but it seems like he wins everything anymore. I’m happy to be in here today. I feel like we kind of let one slip away here last year in the race. Led a bunch of laps and got a flat tire late so hopefully we can make up for that tomorrow and close the deal. It would be great to end the season on a high note and get this thing in victory lane.”

How much has your team improved over the last few weeks? “I think our team has done a nice job all year as far as bringing fast race cars to the race track. There’s been some other things that we’ve missed on — part failures and making mistakes and things that’s really hurt us in the points. But, we’ve had fast cars all year long. For us this season, it’s been a lot of what could’ve been or what might have been. Going into the offseason I feel like we know our strengths and our weaknesses and what we need to work on to be better. But, as far as the group of guys I have and the cars that we’ve been bringing to the race track, we’ve made huge strides especially at the end of the season here with the mile-and-a-half type tracks where we struggled through the mid part of the season quite a bit. We made huge gains there so we’re excited going into the offseason of what we need to work on and come out of the box strong next year. For us, we just need consistency. We’ve got the speed, we’ve got the team to do it and we’ve got great guys that go over the wall and pit the car. We just need to be smarter, race smarter and make less mistakes next year.”

How much has the grip on the race track changed? “The track just had a little bit more grip than what it had this morning. Anytime we run the single-car runs it’s easy to pick up some of that rubber that’s been sitting there getting hot. We listened to some guys earlier saying the track had more grip and we went with that and luckily it worked out good for us.”

What was your strategy for your qualifying lap? “I couldn’t figure out which groove to run. I ran some in practice up high and I was fast up there and I ran some down low and I was fast there so I said, ‘Heck with them, I’m going to run the middle.’ And it worked out. Our NAPA Toyota has been really fast all day long. I love coming here to Homestead. It’s a great track and I feel like we let one slip away here last year so hopefully we can get that win tomorrow.”

Do you have a favorite for tomorrow’s championship? “There’s no telling. Four hundred miles anything can happen. Those two guys are some of the best out there and obviously they proved that. That’s why they’re in that position and I just hope that I get to race with those guys for the win because I’m sure they will be upfront come the end of the day.”

KASEY KAHNE, No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 3rd

How was your qualifying lap? “I felt really good. My Red Bull Toyota stuck really well. I felt like I waited on the front end a little bit getting into (turn) one — maybe a little too long — and then again in (turn) three. Wasted a little bit of time, but either way Carl (Edwards) ran a great lap. A really fast lap. And Martin (Truex Jr.) beat us too. It was still a good run for our guys. Each week they’ve been giving me awesome race cars and it’s been a lot of fun driving them lately.”

Are you happy with your season? “It’s been a really awesome year for myself. This time last year I was kind of making that move to Red Bull and prior to that I was wanting to make that move and ready for a change and ready to work with some new people and a little bit of excitement again. I’ve had that all season long. I feel great about where we’re at right now and how much we’ve gained as a team throughout the season and how strong our cars are, which everybody is a big part of that. And now it’s about over. We qualified third today and have a great car for tomorrow and then it will be another change. So, it’s been a great season. A lot of fun to work with everybody and they’ve given all of us a great opportunity. I wish it was halfway through. I wish the season was 50 percent of the way through and we had a lot more to go this year because I feel like right now is by far the best that I’ve been as a Cup driver and that we’ve had as a team. Everything put together, I think this has been our strongest time ever. It’s about over and hopefully we can finish strong tomorrow and do the best we can and maybe get another win. That would be a great way to end.”

Do you have a favorite for tomorrow’s championship? “I don’t know on the points race. It’s going to be exciting. Carl (Edwards) has probably been the best so far this weekend if you look at where he’s at. I think Tony (Stewart) ran a lot more — longer runs and things. Carl is starting on the pole. Carl was great here last year. He started second and won the race so it will be interesting. I think it’s going to be a good duel.”

What does it say about your team to run so well to close out the season? “I’ve been running really good. The whole Red Bull team has done a great job. It’s been a lot of fun these last 10 to 12 races — it’s been awesome. So, we’re just trying to finish strong tomorrow. We qualified good today. I just wish we could’ve got that pole. We were really close. The balance in the car was great there. Just barely missed it. We’ve had a really solid effort here in the last couple of months.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 10th

Are you pleased with your qualifying lap? “That was a pretty decent qualifying run for us. We usually qualify in the 30s here. It looks like we’ll be somewhere in the top-10 to 12 — a step up. We just struggled for speed all day long. We just couldn’t figure out where to find it — where to get it. Mike (Ford, crew chief) made some good adjustments right there with qualifying.”

Any benefit to running three races this weekend? “You learn some stuff, for sure. It helps you get up to speed a little bit faster. At least it does for me. Even though it’s a lot of work — it does help in certain ways.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 19th

How was your qualifying lap? “Our Interstate Batteries Camry wasn’t bad. Our balance was pretty good but just needed a little more speed in qualifying. I was happy with our car in race trim this morning, so I think we can race them with what we worked on in race trim.”

BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 24th

Are you happy with your race car? “No. I’d like for the qualifying to be better. I’m pretty happy with the race car. Qualifying trim we weren’t as good as we needed to be. I just kind of lost the nose in the center and just kind of washed out a little bit. I’m not really happy with where my line is. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here — it’s been a couple years. I think the track has changed a good bit since the last time I was here. It’s been two years. So, I think it’s changed a decent amount — so still got to figure that out. In race trim, I think we’re pretty good. In qualifying we were a little off.”

Did you meet with NASCAR and Matt Kenseth? “Yeah. We did meet with NASCAR and it was a good conversation. It was good to air out everything. I think it was good for everybody to hear both sides of the story. NASCAR gave their perspective of how things transpired. Matt (Kenseth) gave his and I gave mine. I think that once Matt understood my perspective and I understood some of his — then I think now we’re more on the same page. When he first was describing kind of his perspective — I think there was a lot of information he didn’t have about like when I was underneath him at Martinsville. You know, we rubbed fenders a few times. I think that’s pretty common for Martinsville. I don’t think we were the first two guys to touch at Martinsville Speedway. I know I raced him clean, I raced him as clean as I was probably racing anybody that day. The only time I really got into him was when the 14 (Tony Stewart) hit me in the middle of the corner — you know was bumping me in the middle of the corner. I think that was a perspective that Matt didn’t really have. He didn’t know that. Even if that wasn’t the case, I still think him just dumping us at Martinsville — just flat pushed me up in the corner until I hit the wall — was a bit of an overstep.”

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Starting Position: 28th

COLE WHITT, No. 84 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team Starting Position: 29th

Were you pleased with your qualifying lap? “Yeah. Just happy to be in (the race). That’s what we come down here to do — get in the race. First thing first. It’s pretty amazing for me. It’s a big step. So, I’m just glad we could come out and do this.”

Do you have any goals for Sunday’s race? “Seat time is definitely crucial. We’re not going to be as tame as we were in Phoenix. In Phoenix, we held back a lot. Here, now that we’re in the race, we’ll try and race for anything we can get. See what we can do.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 32nd

How was your qualifying lap? “There was no grip out there. We just haven’t had enough speed in our cars. Still got to figure something out here. We’re not very fast in race trim or qualifying trim right now. So, we have to figure something out.”

MICHAEL MCDOWELL, No. 66 HP Racing, LLC Toyota Camry, HP Racing Starting Position: 33rd

BOBBY LABONTE, No. 47 Reese Towpower Project Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing Starting Position: 35th

How was your qualifying lap? “It was okay. A little too free to come to the free and then we still struggled with something there. It was a little bit too free to come to the green and after that it was alright. Nothing special. It seemed like our car was balanced pretty good in race trim, just needed to have a little bit more grip on the front end. Other than that it wasn’t bad in race trim. It’s been a pretty calm day.”

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

CASEY MEARS, No. 13 Hard Rock Vodka Toyota Camry, Germain Racing Starting Position: 39th

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

2011 NSCS Martin Truex - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

CORNELIUS, N.C.

QUOTES

Martin Truex Jr. on His Sprint Cup Series Championship Pick: “It’s anybody’s race. Based on prior seasons I would have to go with Carl (Edwards) just because of the way he ran there last year. He was really strong so I’d have to give him the edge. But the way Tony Stewart has been running, I mean, his team has been stellar so it’s going to come right down to the end. I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

On Racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway: “I know it’s all about the Chase this weekend, but for me, my season isn’t over because I’m not in it. I still have a job to do and that’s to get the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota into victory lane or finish as strong as I can. I truly believe we can be a threat this weekend. I get kind of tired of saying a win is right around the corner because we’ve been close several times this season. But I really do feel good about going down to Homestead. I was fortunate enough to have a really fast car last year and led a bunch of that race. Carl (Edwards) was right there. It was me and him battling for the first 300 miles. We got a flat tire and he ended up winning. Now it’s time for us to get it done and I hope I’ll be racing Carl again for the win. We’re taking our Texas car with us. It’s the new MWR chassis. The MWR guys have been working on some new things so I hope it all works out.”

On Contending for the Chase in 2012? “I believe we can. We’ve worked very, very hard. Everybody at MWR has worked very hard on this NAPA Toyota. We’ve had a lot of speed this season, we’ve just beaten ourselves a little bit here and there. We’ve also had a lot of tough luck. If we can correct those things, I believe we have the speed, the people and the equipment to do it.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

· Sunday marks Truex’s 225th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start.

· Truex scored the fifth most points of any driver in the last five Homestead races.

· Scott Miller, MWR’s executive vice president of competition, will serve as No. 56 crew chief this weekend.

· Autograph Signing: Truex will sign autographs on Saturday at the MWR souvenir rig from 12:30 to 1 p.m. at the Homestead-Miami Speedway midway.

· Check out NAPA Reserve Online. Visit napaonline.com to make shopping for an auto part easier. Order online and pick up at your favorite NAPA AUTO PARTS store.

- Michael Waltrip Racing, Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

KAHNE COLLECTS CHECKERS:

PHOENIX FLASHBACK: Along with Kahne’s win, Camry driver David Reutimann also earned a top-10 result at the one-mile Phoenix race track with a seventh-place result. In Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Phoenix, Joey Logano was the highest-finishing Toyota driver with a fourth-place result. Camry drivers Ryan Truex (eighth) and Michael Annett (10th) also registered top-10 finishes at the Arizona oval. In six races driving for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) during the 2011 season, Truex recorded four top-10 results and never finished lower than 13th-place.

SEASON-FINALE CHASE RACE: Sunday’s NSCS race at Homestead-Miami Speedway is the 10th and final race in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup championship playoff. Camry drivers Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin have both competed in this year’s Chase. Hamlin sits 10th in the standings, 110 points behind series leader Carl Edwards, and Busch is 12th, 135 points back.

HOMESTEAD HIGHLIGHTS: Hamlin earned the first NSCS win at Homestead for Toyota in 2009, leading the field three times for a race-high 71 laps (of 267). Hamlin has posted three top-three finishes in six career starts at Homestead. JGR teammate and fellow Chase competitor Busch recorded his only top-10 finish in six starts at Homestead with an eighth- place result that year. Camry drivers have earned two poles at the 1.5-mile oval — Reutimann in 2008 and Kahne earned the pole last year. Last year, Kahne led the first 10 laps and fellow Camry driver Martin Truex Jr. led the field six times for 62 laps.

TRIPLE PLAY: Hamlin will compete in all three NASCAR races in the same weekend for the first time in his career at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hamlin is set to drive the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 18 Tundra in Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race and will then climb behind the wheel of the JGR No. 18 Camry in the NNS race on Saturday to help JGR battle for the Nationwide Series owner’s championship. He will then pilot the No. 11 Camry in the season-ending NSCS event Sunday at the 1.5-mile oval.

TUNDRA TALLY: Tundra drivers have had a great deal of success in NCWTS competition at Homestead, winning four of the seven NCWTS races they have competed in at the track, including victories by Busch (2010), Todd Bodine (2008 and 2005) and Johnny Benson (2007). Tundra drivers have also captured the pole position four times with Reutimann earning back-to-back poles in 2004 and 2005, and Mike Skinner captured the top starting spot at Homestead in 2008 and 2006.

BACK STORY: Follow Toyota Racing on Twitter (@toyotaracing) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/toyotaracing). Background and images about the Toyota NASCAR program are available at www.toyotamotorsportsmedia.com.

NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS): Since the start of the 2011 season, Toyota drivers have combined for six victories, 38 top-five results, 75 top-10 finishes and have led 2,473 laps … Red Bull Racing Team will field a third Camry race car for the second straight week at Homestead with Cole Whitt … Whitt earned a 25th-place finish in his NSCS debut last Sunday at Phoenix … Former University of Miami walk-on quarterback Trey Burklin is the jack man for the Red Bull Racing Team No. 4 Camry … Kyle Busch will run a TRD-built engine in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Camry at Homestead.

KASEY KAHNE, No. 4 Red Bull Camry, Red Bull Racing Team

How has your team been able to run so strong at the end of the season? “We’re lucky that everybody is working hard and has stayed after it, preparing great race cars. We’re bringing awesome cars to the track. I wouldn’t say there’s anyone out there that’s building better cars at this time. The Red Bull guys are doing an awesome job and they haven’t given up. I think it’s just the people. They’re doing a great job and we’ve been able to stay focused. I love racing. If I’m in a race car, I want to do the best that I can. Kenny Francis (crew chief) has given me some cars in the last few months that we’ve been able to perform with and run with Carl (Edwards) and Tony (Stewart), who have been probably the two best.”

What does it mean to possibly get the Red Bull Racing Team its last win as an organization? “It feels really good. Hopefully, it’s not their last win. I think we’re going to have a shot at Homestead too. I’m looking forward to Homestead. It feels great to get a win for Red Bull and get a win in the No. 4 car. It’s something new for both of us to come over and have a one-year deal. It takes time to get familiar with things and the people and working together. To win a race at this level, as competitive as everything is right now, for myself, to see how happy all the pit crew guys were, the guys preparing the race cars at Red Bull, it was pretty cool. Makes you feel pretty good to be part of that.”

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

What do you need to work on at Joe Gibbs Racing to get ready for 2012? “I think everyone is ready to do what it takes. One thing about Joe Gibbs (team owner) is he’s never short on resources. If we feel like we need to get something and we don’t have it, he’ll go buy it and go do it. He’s one of those owners where he’ll do whatever it takes, hire whoever he has to hire, and I feel like that’s hard to come by in our sport. You’re not going to hold down JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) for so long. They’ve done a really good job over the last 20 years of existence of staying one of the elite race teams and they will in the future.”

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

What does it take to be fast at Homestead? “It’s been a good track to us in the first third of a race, but then in the last two thirds it’s been tough. I like going to Homestead. To be fast there, you have to be able to get your car comfortable getting into the corner — that’s the biggest thing. The corners there, you can build so much speed through them that you have to be comfortable carrying that speed into the corner just as much as coming out of it.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

How much do you want to win a race? “A win this year would be huge, it’s not over yet. We’ve been in position this year to have a shot at winning two or three of these things and we just haven’t taken advantage of it. We’ve had good speed in our cars and it’s just a matter of us racing smarter, being better prepared and making better decisions. I’m confident in this team and that we can get the job done. Homestead last year was probably our best run of the year. We led a bunch until we got a flat. It would be awesome to close the year out with a win.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS): During the 2011 season, Toyota drivers have combined for 10 wins, 37 top-five results, 83 top-10 finishes and have led 1,610 laps … Kenny Wallace (seventh) is the top Toyota driver in the NNS point standings … Michael Annett (eighth), Brian Scott (ninth) and Steve Wallace (10th) are also in the top-10 in points … Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Camry team leads the NNS owner championship standings by one point going into Homestead.

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

How would you evaluate your first season at Joe Gibbs Racing? “The first half of the season we really weren’t finishing and running to our expectations. We had good performances fairly often, but we were never there to capitalize on it at the finish. We scratched up a lot of good race cars. Then, in the sec ond half of the season, we’ve done much better and we’ve really come a long way with this whole team. It gets me fired up because of how we’ve been running lately going into next year and having a legitimate shot at being a title contender.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS): Since the start of the 2011 NCWTS season, Tundra drivers have registered nine wins, 34 top-five results, 71 top-10 finishes and have led 1,111 laps … After 24 races, Timothy Peters (fifth) is the top Toyota driver in the NCWTS points standings … Tundra drivers Todd Bodine (sixth), Brendan Gaughan (12th), David Starr (13th), Miguel Paludo (17th) and Max Papis (18th) are also in the top-20 in the points … The Toyota Tundra will make its 200th NCWTS start this weekend at Homestead since joining series competition in 2004 … Bryan Berry, crew chief on the Germain Racing No. 62 Tundra, hails from Homestead, Fla. … NASCAR Mexico Series Champion German Quiroga will make his second career NCWTS start at Homestead in the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 51 Tundra.

BRENDAN GAUGHAN, No. 62 Tire Kingdom/Service Central Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing

Are you looking forward to racing at Homestead? “I’m excited about getting to Homestead with the momentum this team has built in the last few weeks. We hope to finish off the year strong. The racing groove has really opened up a lot. You can run around the top, bottom, or middle. It gives the driver and the crew chief a lot of options for chassis setup and chassis adjustments. One thing about Homestead is that it’s not like any other 1.5-mile track on the circuit. There’s no dog-leg, so the corner entry and exit is different than any other intermediate track we race.”

- Toyota Motorsports, Press Release