Toyota 2008 NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series Statistics Starts
Top- Top- Times Laps Races
(Drivers) Wins 5s 10s Poles
Led Led 36 353 (20) 10 44 72
5 218 3,472
10 FOR TOYOTA: Toyota
Camry drivers earned 10
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
wins in 2008. Kyle Busch led
the Camry contingent with
eight victories in his No.
18 Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR)
Camry. Busch earned Toyota's
initial Cup triumph at
Atlanta (March 9), followed
by victories at Talladega
(April 27), Darlington (May
10), California's Infineon
(June 22), Watkins Glen
(Aug. 10), Dover (June 1),
Daytona (July 5) and
Chicagoland (July 12). Denny
Hamlin visited victory lane
at Virginia's Martinsville
Speedway (March 30) and Tony
Stewart crossed the finish
line first at Talladega
(Oct. 5).
MEMORABLE MOMENT: Busch
earned Toyota's first-ever
NSCS victory in the fourth
race of the 2008 season at
Atlanta Motor Speedway. The
23-year-old Las Vegas-native
led 173 of 325 laps in the
JGR No. 18 Snickers Camry en
route to the checkered flag.
Toyota's inaugural NSCS
victory came in the 40th
race for the Camry since
joining the series in 2007.
Busch's JGR teammate,
Stewart, finished second to
give Toyota a one-two sweep.
"It was pretty special,"
said Busch, after his
Atlanta win. "We are
fortunate to have Toyota on
our side, giving us the help
that we need. To win the
first race for Toyota was
fun. I'm sure they wanted it
sooner, but I'm glad I was
able to do it for them."
UNBELIEVABLE BUSCH: Busch
competed in a total of 81
NASCAR races across the
three national series in
2008 -- NSCS, NASCAR
Nationwide Series (NNS) and
NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series (NCTS). During the
season he registered 21
wins, seven poles, 45
top-five finishes and 57
top-10 results. He now holds
the NASCAR record for most
wins by one driver in a
single year across the
top-three series. "It's been
a great year and it means a
lot to have a year like this
and win as many races as we
have," says Busch. "People
discounted the Nationwide
and the Truck wins because
it's a lesser series than
what the Cup series is, but
there are Cup guys that are
running in those series.
There are ex-Cup guys in the
Truck series and Cup guys
now in the Nationwide Series
and upcoming guys that are
supposed to be the best of
what there is today."
POKER PLAYING: Crew chief
Steve Addington led the JGR
No. 18 Camry team to its
first 'Chase' appearance in
2008 after earning eight
wins with Busch in the first
26 races of the season. The
team entered the 'Chase'
with on top of the
standings, but bad luck
early in the 10-race playoff
ended any hopes of a title
-- and the team finished
10th in the final NSCS point
standings. "Don't show your
hand too early in the season
and let these other guys go
to work and get better than
you," says Addington. "The
one thing that I learned is
how to approach this stuff.
We know we have a good
package, so let's try some
different things and not
show our hand. We've got a
good enough race team to be
in the 'Chase.'"
PLACES IN THE 'CHASE': In
2008, the three JGR Camrys
of Busch, Hamlin and Stewart
gave Toyota its first
drivers in the 'Chase'.
Hamlin finished the year
eighth in points as the
highest Camry driver in the
point standings. Stewart
finished the season in
ninth-place and Busch was
10th in the standings. Other
Toyota drivers who finished
in the top-35 in the 2008
NSCS point standings include
Brian Vickers (19th), David
Reutimann (22nd), Michael
Waltrip (29th) and Dave
Blaney (30th).
DENNY DELIVERS: Denny
Hamlin recently visited
Japan to participate in
Toyota's annual Motor Sports
Day at Fuji Speedway. The
event featured Toyota
drivers from a variety of
different racing series,
including NASCAR and Formula
One, as well as Toyota race
cars that participate in
various racing series. "This
was my first time traveling
overseas," said Hamlin, who
took a few demonstration
laps in the JGR Camry. "It
was an excellent experience.
The Fuji Speedway was a good
track and I was impressed
with the Japanese fans and
how excited they were to see
a NASCAR race car. It was
really enjoyable and I'm
glad I was able to attend
Toyota's Motorsports Day."
WALTRIP'S TEAM WORKING:
Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR)
ended the season with
Reutimann's No. 44 Camry on
the pole in the
season-finale at Homestead.
"MWR made huge strides in
2008," says team owner
Waltrip. "We led races, had
chances to win and
established ourselves as
contenders this year. We
went from missing races with
no cars in the top-35, to
having two cars in the
top-30 and one right on the
bubble. We know we must
continue to improve, but, we
also know we have our
foundation built that will
make us better than we were
in 2008."
Toyota 2008 NASCAR
Nationwide Series Statistics
Races Starts (Drivers) Wins
Top-5s Top-10s Poles Times
Led Laps Led 35 214 (18) 20
58 102 14 147 3,439
TOYOTA TAKES TITLE:
Toyota earned its first
Nationwide Series
manufacturer's championships
in 2008. Toyota clinched the
NNS manufacturer's title in
its second year of series
competition when Hamlin's
JGR No. 18 Camry crossed the
finish line first at Kansas
(Sept. 27). "Toyota's
accomplishments are the
result of hard work and
achievement by all of our
race teams working in
conjunction with TRD, U.S.A.
(Toyota Racing Development)
and Triad," says Lee White,
TRD's president and general
manager. "All the tireless
efforts during the
off-season, pre-season
testing and throughout the
season, in combination with
a talented driver line-up,
have produced the
exceptional results that
yielded these
championships."
OWNER'S CHAMP: Joey
Logano's 10th-place finish
at Homestead-Miami Speedway
secured the NNS owner's
championship for JGR and the
No. 20 Toyota Camry. In
2008, four drivers (Busch,
Hamlin, Logano and Stewart)
combined for nine wins, six
poles, 16 top-five finishes
and 25 top-10 results in the
No. 20 entry. "It was
special to have all those
guys - Kyle, Denny , Tony
and Joey -- get in that car
and run it," says J.D.
Gibbs, president of JGR.
"For the guys at the shop
that have worked all year
long, it would have been
real frustrating to go the
whole year and not have
something to show for it.
We're real excited and I
think for our team, it meant
more than most championships
mean to other teams. This
was a big deal for us and
for the guys that worked so
hard, because in the
Nationwide Series you have
guys that do a little bit of
everything -- they really
work their tails off."
RECORD RUNS: The Joe
Gibbs Racing NNS Camrys --
No. 20 and No. 18 --
combined to win a series
record 19 races in 2008.
Busch's win at Texas (Nov.
2) equaled Sam Ard's 1983
record for the most wins
(10) by one driver in the
Nationwide Series in a
single season. Busch (eight)
and Hamlin (two) combined
for the 10 triumphs by the
No. 18 team - equaling
another series record. In
Indianapolis (July 26),
Busch broke the previous
record (13) for most
victories by one NNS
organization, and the
additional wins by Busch and
Hamlin further increased the
mark.
EIGHT STRAIGHT: Camry
drivers won eight
consecutive NNS races from
April to June -- Texas
through Dover -- this
season. The eight wins were
achieved between two race
teams (JGR and Braun Racing)
and among three drivers
(Busch, Stewart and Hamlin).
The record for most
consecutive NNS wins by one
manufacturer is 11
established in 2000.
TWENTY TRUIMPHS: Camry
drivers combined for 20 NNS
victories in 2008. Busch led
the Toyota brigade with 10
triumphs, including Texas
(April 5), Phoenix (April
11), Mexico City (April 20),
Charlotte (May 24),
Chicagoland (July 11),
Indianapolis (July 26),
California (Aug. 30), Dover
(Sept. 20), Charlotte (Oct.
10) and Texas (Nov. 1).
Stewart earned five wins at
Daytona (Feb. 16),
California (Feb. 25),
Talladega (April 26),
Darlington (May 9) and New
Hampshire (June 28). Hamlin
visited victory lane at
Richmond (May 2), Dover (May
31), Daytona (July 4) and
Kansas (Sept. 27). Logano's
victory at Kentucky (June
14) enabled him to became
the youngest NNS race-winner
(18 years and 21 days).
CONSISTENCY COUNTS: Mike
Wallace, driver of the No. 7
Germain Racing Camry,
completed 99.2 percent of
all the laps in NNS
competition during the
season -- finishing 6,366 of
6,415 total laps. He had
eight top-10 finishes and
was eighth in the final
series point standings.
Wallace made his 330th
career NNS start at the 2008
season finale, moving him
into eighth-place in the NNS
all-time career starts
record book. "We can take
our hat off to our race team
because we don't break and I
try not to tear the car up,"
says Wallace. "Our cars
don't break, the Toyota
motors don't have any
failure, all the preparation
of the cars is excellent and
the crew itself is doing
better."
POINTS POSITION: Four
Camry drivers finished in
the top-10 in the final 2008
NNS point standings. Busch
(sixth) was the
highest-ranking Toyota
driver in the point
standings. Reutimann
(seventh), Wallace (eighth)
and Jason Leffler (ninth)
were also among the top-10
in the point standings.
Other Camry drivers
competing part-time in the
series included Hamlin
(19th), Logano (20th),
Vickers (36th) and Stewart
(39th). This year, 18 Camry
drivers combined for 20
wins, 58 top-five results
and 102 top-10 finishes, as
well as 14 pole positions
and led 3,439 laps -- more
than half of all NNS laps.
Toyota 2008 NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series
Statistics Races Starts
(Drivers) Wins Top-5s
Top-10s Poles Times Led Laps
Led 25 266 (35) 13 62 116 11
110 1,929
- more -
Toyota NASCAR Notes and
Quotes - Week of December 1,
2008 - Page 3
BENSON THE BEST: Toyota
Tundra driver Johnny Benson
captured his first NCTS
driver's championship with a
thrilling finish at
Homestead-Miami Speedway to
edge Ron Hornaday, Jr., in
the final standings by just
seven points. It marked
Benson's second-career
NASCAR title -- having won
the Nationwide Series
championship in 1995. In
addition, Toyota earned its
third consecutive NCTS
manufacturer's title in
2008.
WINNING WAYS: Benson won
the NCTS title on the
strength of five wins in the
Bill Davis Racing (BDR) No.
23 Tundra during the 25-race
season. Benson won four of
five races over the summer
-- at Milwaukee (June 20),
Kentucky (July 19),
Indianapolis (July 25) and
Nashville (Aug. 9) -- to
establish himself as a
championship contender. A
victory at Martinsville on
Oct. 18, coupled with 18
top-10 finishes throughout
the year, helped seal the
title.
JOHNNY BE GOOD: "Even
though it's been a fair
amount of years since my
last championship, this one
means a tremendous amount to
me," says Benson. "That's
our first championship for
Bill Davis Racing. They have
won many races throughout
their organization. They've
been close on the
championship before, and now
to make that happen for them
is something that our whole
team is extremely proud of.
To be able to get that done
and get the championship for
Bill and Gail (Davis, team
owners) is something that
means a tremendous amount to
me."
TUNDRAS MOVE FORWARD:
Tundra drivers combined for
13 wins in 25 races in 2008.
In addition to Benson's five
victories, 2006 NCTS
champion Todd Bodine won
three races -- Daytona (Feb.
15), Talladega (Oct. 4) and
the season finale at
Homestead (Nov. 14) -- as
did Busch, who won at
California (Feb. 23),
Atlanta (March 7) and
Bristol (Aug. 20). Rookie
driver Scott Speed earned
his first series win at
Dover (May 30), while fellow
BDR competitor Mike Skinner
was victorious at Las Vegas
(Sept. 20).
POINTS PACE: Five Toyota
drivers finished in the
top-10 in the point
standings this past season.
Benson's first-place finish
in the championship
standings led the way for
the Tundra contingent,
followed by Bodine (third),
Skinner (sixth), Jack
Sprague (ninth) and Terry
Cook (10th) in the final
standings. In total, 35
Tundra drivers combined for
13 wins, 62 top-five results
and 116 top-10 finishes
throughout the 2008
campaign, leading 1,929 laps
in NCTS competition.
TEAMS AND FANS
APPRECIATED: "Toyota is not
immune to the challenges
currently being faced by the
automobile industry," said
Ed Laukes, corporate manager
of motorsports marketing at
Toyota Motor Sales (TMS),
U.S.A., Inc. "The market
this year has been more
challenging than expected,
and no automaker has been
unaffected during these
times. The current economic
situation has impacted
everyone, including our race
teams, and we appreciate all
their efforts that have led
to race wins and
championships, as well as
all the NASCAR race fans
that support the series."