Toyota NCWTS Daytona Post-Race Notes & Quotes

TOYOTA NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)
Post-Race Notes & Quotes
Daytona International Speedway – February 22, 2013

Tundra driver Johnny Sauter started the 2013 season with a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) victory in Friday night’s 250-mile race at Daytona International Speedway.

Sauter’s win marked the 100th victory for Toyota in the NCWTS since joining the series in 2004.

The first NCWTS win for Toyota came at Michigan International Speedway on July 31, 2004 when Travis Kvapil took the checkered flag.

The Tundra win was also the seventh consecutive NCWTS victory for a Toyota at Daytona International Speedway. Tundra drivers Kyle Busch (second) and Matt Crafton (ninth) also finished in the top-10 at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.

Toyota drivers Todd Bodine (11th), Darrell Wallace Jr. (12th), John Wes Townley (21st), Joey Coulter (22nd), German Quiroga (25th), Timothy Peters (27th), David Starr (31st) and Chris Fontaine (34th) were also in the field.

JOHNNY SAUTER, No. 98 Carolina Nut Company Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position:  1st
How does it feel to win at Daytona?
“I’m just so proud of this team.  We came so close a year ago and that was a tough one to swallow.  Tonight seemed to be about track position and I thought we were in big trouble there.  We were like 14th there with like 30 to go and I thought, ‘Man, we’re just not going to be able to get there,’ but when the good Lord is in your corner, he’s in your corner.  Can’t thank Carolina Nut Company enough, Curb Records, SealMaster — everybody that’s part of this deal.  My LaJoie Seat was flawless tonight.  It’s Toyota’s 100th win I think in the Truck Series, so that’s big.  I’m speechless right now.  It’s so much luck to win here and to be able to put it all together was big.  Thank TRD (Toyota Racing Development), Toyota, Triad Racing Engines — everybody that’s a part of this.  I can’t believe I’m in victory lane at Daytona.”

How did you decide what lane to get in on restarts?
“It was obvious that I wanted to be with Todd (Bodine).  Todd did a great job and, quite frankly, helped me win this race.  All the ThorSport trucks were great tonight and I just felt like I had a better shot with the 51 (Kyle Busch) behind us and the 3 (Ty Dillon) truck behind them.  Thank the good Lord.  Thank the blessed mother.  Thank everybody.  Thank you.”

How important was track position?
“Track position seemed to be everything.  It was really hard to pass — it wasn’t like last year.  I studied the race from last year really hard.  You just had to be in the right lane at the right time and restarts obviously played into us being able to get in the right lane at the right time and getting the right push.  Made the right call there to stay on the bottom and this is unbelievable. It hasn’t even sunk in yet — I don’t know what to say.”

What did you think Kyle Busch was going to do on the last lap?
“I was having flashbacks of last year.  They always say you want to be second going into the last lap.  It just didn’t work out that way.  I knew Kyle (Busch) was going to try to lay back ultimately and try to build momentum and make a pass on me late.  I did everything I could. I was lifting, riding the brake trying to make sure I didn’t get out too far in front of him.  I’m not going to lie, I was happy to see that caution come out at the end.  Just a wild race.  Speedway racing is just crazy.  You got to pick and choose, pick and choose all night long, try to study other guys’ trucks, not just your own, see who has speed, who doesn’t.  I’m just ecstatic to be in victory lane.  My dad was here in 1978, the year I was born.  Happy to have a Sauter back in victory lane at Daytona.  This is cool for me personally.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 51 Toyota Care Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position:  2nd
How was the race?
“Yeah, we’d have a really good day if it was a 100 lap race, but it was only 99 today.  Man, I hate how that happens.  You get crashed here taking the white flag and you can’t get a chance to bring it back.  The Toyota Care Tundra was awesome.  All the guys on this KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) team did a great job.  Just phenomenal to being able to build three trucks really quick to get us out here and I appreciate them being able to help us qualify up near the front — top Toyota.  To be able to come out here and race and run strong like that and be in position all night, I mean, shoot, I think the worst I fell was fourth, fifth or sixth — something like that — but wish we could pull off a win here in a Truck race.  It’s the only one I’m missing — I’ve got ARCA, Nationwide and Cup at Daytona — have yet to get a Truck win, so try again next time.”

Were there any surprises in tonight’s race?
“I thought it was a good race.  I thought there were some moments where the top would come and make some ground on the inside lane, then you’d have guys fall down in the bottom.  The push draft was being utilized by a couple guys.  The bottom — same thing — kind of push draft to hold off the outside lane’s push draft.  You’re trying to modulate water temperature and everything else like that while that is going on.  I don’t know, for the front 10, 12 trucks it seemed like it was a normal night. Then past that back in the back a little bit, you could see guys getting squirrelly moving around.  By the time you get back there, I’m sure air is a handful and guys were having a bit of an issue keeping their stuff straight.  We saw a couple of crashes.  That’s part of the game, everybody is fighting for the front, but there’s only those guys up there that can be up there.”

MATT CRAFTON, No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position:  9th
What happened in the closing laps of the race?
“If the 32 (Miguel Paludo) and 3 (Ty Dillon) didn’t pull up there in front of us then Todd (Bodine) was going to have a hold of me and we were coming in a hurry.  I guarantee it was going to be ThorSport trucks one and two at the start-finish line. The run we had — that thing was flying down that straightaway.  All in all not a bad day.  Coming out of Daytona with a top- 10 and not a wrecked truck, you consider that a good day.  Not a bad day all in all other than a rear clip bent from getting run into on one of those restarts.  These guys worked real hard over the winter and can’t thank these guys enough.  We are going to be good all year.”

TODD BODINE, No. 13, Toyota Tundra, ThorSport Racing
Finishing Position:  11th

DARRELL WALLACE JR., No. 54 DefyDiabetes.com Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position:  12th
How was your first truck race?
“That was awesome — that was a good time there.  I was kind of up and down about it — I didn’t really get a lot of pack drafting in practice.  Didn’t know what to really expect.  The truck was strong.  I made an early mistake on pit road — kept my composure and bounced back.   I can’t thank DefyDiabetes.com and Toyota enough for giving me this opportunity.  I had a lot of fun.  I didn’t come over the radio and say it, but I was out there thinking, ‘This is awesome.’  It was really fun.  There were times when it was nerve wracking, but we made it through with very few scratches.”

What happened on pit road with James Buescher?
“I was following (Joey) Coulter into the pits and just kept watching him and by the time I looked for the pit sign it was already too late.  I gassed back up and got into (James) Buescher so apologies to him, but that’s racing.  It was a rookie mistake and we won’t let it happen again.”

JOHN WES TOWNLEY, No. 7 Zaxby’s Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finishing Position:  21st
How did your truck handle in the race?
“I thought we had a pretty good truck and I thought about getting up there and giving Timothy (Peters) a push.  Maybe we could have tried something there, but unfortunately something evolved in front of Timothy and I was sort of boxed in.  The check-up was just too extreme and I ended up getting in the back of him.  We ended up tearing the nose up enough that it really hurt us the rest of the race.  We’ll go to Martinsville and get the Zaxby’s Toyota Tundra back out there and see what we can do with it next time.”

JOEY COULTER, No. 18 Gunbroker.com Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports
Finishing Position:  22nd

GERMAN QUIROGA, No. 77 Net10 Wireless Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finishing Position:  25th

TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Parts Plus Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing
Finishing Position:  27th
Was your race plan to stay in the back of the pack?
“Usually, it’s a good plan, but it didn’t work well for me tonight.  I have to take the blame for that because it’s worked well for me in the past.  We just had some issues with the front shocks not wanting to release.  Frustrating, but at the same time I have been coming here since 2006 and this is my first DNF so not a bad track record.”

DAVID STARR, No. 81 BYF/Chasco Contractors Tundra, Arrington Racing
Finishing Position:  31st

CHRIS FONTAINE, No. 84 Glenden Enterprises Toyota Tundra, Glenden Enterprises
Finishing Position:  34th

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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