TOYOTA TIDBITS -- October 12 - 18, 2009
Here Are the Headlines:
Reutimann Returns to Site of First Win
Logano Looking for Three-Straight
Braun and Great Clips Give Back
Open-Wheelers Test Tundras
RACE REWIND: Joey Logano (14th) was the highest-finishing Toyota driver in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race
at Auto Club Speedway in southern California. Michael Waltrip (17th) and David Reutimann (18th) also posted top-20 results for
Toyota at the two-mile oval. Kyle Busch -- who battled flu-like symptoms throughout the weekend -- was replaced early in the race
by David Gilliland in the No. 18 M&M's Camry and finished 24th.
CHASE RACE: For the two Toyota drivers competing in the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup championship playoff, their hopes at
this year's championship took a serious hit at California. Denny Hamlin, who entered the race sixth in the standings -- just 99 points
out of first place -- was involved in an incident with 60 laps remaining that ended his race. The 37th-place finish dropped Hamlin to
ninth in NSCS points after four of 10 Chase races, and he now sits 219 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson. Brian Vickers remains
12th in the standings, 351 points behind the leader.
DAVID THE DEFENDER: The fifth race of the Chase is Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Reutimann was victorious
earlier this year at the track, winning the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 in May. Crew chief Rodney Childers elected to keep the
Michael Waltrip Racing No. 00 Aaron's Dream Machine Camry on the track when others pitted during a caution for rain. Weather
forced NASCAR officials to call the race after 227 of 400 laps, giving Reutimann his first career NSCS victory.
DOUBLE DOSE OF JOEY: Logano won his second-straight NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race last weekend. The 19-
year-old started on the pole in the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 20 GameStop Toyota and led three times for 20 (of 152) laps.
Logano dove to the inside of turn one on lap 146 to take the lead for good, surviving a 'green-white-checkered' finish for his fifth
NNS victory of 2009. After a victory two weeks ago at Kansas, Logano looks to make it three wins in a row Friday night.
BRAUN GIVES BACK: Toyota has teamed up with Braun Racing, Great Clips and BraunAbility for the 'Ultimate Fan Van
Giveaway,' where contestants submitted entries to win a modified Toyota Sienna wheelchair van with a replica paint scheme to
match Jason Leffler's No. 38 Great Clips Toyota Camry. Fourteen-year-old Kody Harlow, of Lebanon, Ohio, was the contest
winner, and Leffler will be on hand at the Toyota 'Pit Pass' display this weekend to present the keys to Kody's family.
TUNDRA TEST FOR NEW TWO: After a scheduled test at 'Little Rock' in Rockinghman, N.C., was rained out Monday,
Brazilian drivers Nelson Piquet Jr. and Vitor Meira turned their first laps in a Toyota Tundra for Red Horse Racing at Motor Mile
Speedway in Radford, Va., on Tuesday. Piquet Jr. is the son of three-time Formula One world champion Nelson Piquet, and Meira,
an IndyCar Series veteran, has twice finished runner-up in the Indianapolis 500 (2005 and 2008).
TOYOTA TAKES TITLE: Toyota driver Justin Lofton won the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series championship last weekend at
Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway. Driving the Eddie Sharp Racing No. 6 Lofton Cattle Camry, Lofton had six wins and 19 top-10
finishes in 21 races to earn Toyota its first ARCA title.
RIDE OF A LIFETIME: As part of Lowe's Motor Speedway's 'Homecoming: NASCAR Style' fundraising program featuring 40
area schools raising money by selling race tickets, Toyota selected two participants to ride along in a Toyota Tundra parade truck
following driver introductions on Saturday night. The two winners are Jay Gretsuk, the Academy of Engineering Coordinator at
Phillip O'Berry Academy of Engineering in Charlotte, and Michael Carro, a member of the Athletic Booster Club Board of
Directors at Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte.
BACK STORY: Background information on the Toyota NASCAR program is available at www.toyotaracing.com and members of
the media can access Toyota images at www.toyotamotorsportsmedia.com.
TOYOTA 2009 NASCAR STATISTICS:
Series Races Starts (Drivers) Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Times Led Laps Led
NSCS 30 369 (22) 9 35 64 10 145 2,230
NNS 30 290 (35) 12 55 106 12 165 3,187
NCWTS 20 247 (24) 11 51 108 7 90 1,619
WEEKEND RACE SCHEDULE:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series @ Lowe's Motor Speedway, Saturday, October 17 @ 7:25 PM (ET), ABC -- Race 31 of 36
NASCAR Nationwide Series @ Lowe's Motor Speedway, Friday, October 16 @ 8:00 PM (ET), ESPN2 -- Race 31 of 35
-- more --
Toyota NASCAR Notes & Quotes Charlotte -- October 2009 -- page 2
TOYOTA NASCAR NOTES & QUOTES
October 12 - 18, 2009
Toyota Talk:
Michael Remembers Team's First Triumph
Vickers Wants Charlotte Victory
Joey Happy Win Came to Him
Bliss Glad to be Back
DeLoach Impressed with Tundra Test
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: Toyota Camry drivers have combined for nine wins (Busch -- Las Vegas, Bristol-1, Richmond and
Bristol-2; Hamlin -- Pocono-2 and Richmond-2; Reutimann -- Charlotte; Joey Logano -- New Hampshire; and Vickers -- Michigan-2),
35 top-fives and 64 top-10 finishes through 30 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) races this season … David Gilliland will attempt
to qualify a fourth Joe Gibbs Racing car at Charlotte, the No. 02 Farm Bureau Insurance Camry … Toyota drivers Busch and Michael
Waltrip will run a special pink paint schemes this weekend in conjunction with the Susan G. Komen Foundation to raise breast cancer
awareness.
MICHAEL WALTRIP, No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
How does it feel for the Michael Waltrip Racing team to go back to Charlotte after the organization's first win?
"It's been special all year long to have something like that to celebrate. Being able to know that all we've done and as hard as
we've worked, and all we've struggled through, to get to a point where we are competitive now. Then, to be able to put an
exclamation point on that with the victory and know that was the end of a whole lot of hard, hard work. It was a time when a young
group could put their arms around each other and say, 'We have a long way to go but that was a step in the right direction.'"
BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team
Do you enjoy racing at Charlotte?
"I like Charlotte. It's been a pretty good track for us. We've run really well there. We still haven't won a race there, but we have
come very close. It's pretty frustrating because I like that track and I want to win there pretty bad. It was kind of tough there for a
few years, but since they repaved it, it's a great track. Now, I think from a racing standpoint, it's better for everybody. The tire is
better and the track is starting to wear out. It's getting better and better every year."
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Is this year any different with Chase drivers racing non-Chase drivers?
"Well, I think on the race track, it's been Chase drivers racing Chase drivers. We've all been in the top-five and 10, every single
week. We're racing around pretty much each other. There's not been a lot of room for other guys to come in and race us hard if
they have the opportunity. I don't think it's any different this year than what it's been in years past. I maybe race someone that's
not in the Chase a little bit harder to try to protect position because I know every position that a non-Chaser is between me and the
front is more points that I'm losing to the guys I'm racing in points."
DAVID GILLILAND, No. 02 Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
How much do you enjoy racing at night?
"I love racing at night. The track has more grip at night, which makes for fast and exciting racing. As for the fans, with it being at
night they get to see all the sparks from the cars -- it makes the entire atmosphere different. And (this race) is for home town
bragging rights. A lot of employees at the shops are able to bring their families, and everyone wants to show what they've been
working so hard on throughout the year."
NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)
NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: Toyota Camry drivers have recorded 12 wins (Busch -- California, Texas, Richmond, Nashville-2,
New Hampshire and St. Louis; Logano -- Nashville-1, Kentucky, Chicagoland, Kansas and California-2; and Ambrose -- Watkins
Glen), 55 top-fives and 106 top-10 finishes through 30 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) races this season … Busch continues to
lead the NNS standings, now 155 points ahead of second-place Carl Edwards with five races remaining … Mike Bliss returns to the
No. 11 CJM Racing Camry at Charlotte after finishing second in his first start with the team at Dover in September … Vickers will
run a special pink paint scheme on the Braun Racing No. 32 Dollar General Camry in support of the Susan G. Komen Foundation to
raise breast cancer awareness.
-- more --
Toyota NASCAR Notes & Quotes Charlotte -- October 2009 -- page 3
JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 GameStop Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What did the win at California mean to you?
"I'll tell you what, that was the coolest race of my life --no doubt in my mind. I went to the point in that race where I was going to
try to salvage a top-10 out of it and all of a sudden I'm sitting third and all of a sudden I took the lead and I thought, 'I got a shot at
this thing!' I couldn't believe it. That was cool after we get put in the fence and almost ruined our day we were able to fight back.
It really hurt my car a lot. I think this is the best way to get them back."
MIKE BLISS, No. 11 Ridemakerz Toyota Camry, CJM Racing
How smooth was the transition into the driver's seat of the No. 11 CJM Racing Camry?
"Paul Wolfe (crew chief) and the car chief and a couple guys I worked with at Armando Fitz's -- we ran a whole year together. So,
I know all about how Paul (Wolfe) thinks and he knows what I think. It jelled pretty fast. I'm excited about returning to the
Ridemakerz Toyota. I've been wanting to come back and drive that car. The first outing was really good, and just coming back and
working with Paul and those guys is something I've wanted to do."
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)
NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: In 20 NCWTS races in 2009, Toyota Tundra drivers have combined for 11 wins (Todd Bodine --
Daytona and Texas; Busch -- California, Atlanta, Bristol, Chicagoland and New Hampshire; Mike Skinner -- Kansas, Iowa and
Gateway; and Brian Scott -- Dover), 51 top-fives and 108 top-10 finishes … Tundra drivers in the top-10 in the point standings are
Skinner (third), Scott (fourth), Bodine (sixth), Timothy Peters (ninth) and David Starr (10th) … The next NCWTS race on the
schedule is at Martinsville Speedway, Oct. 24.
TOM DELOACH, Team Owner, Red Horse Racing
How impressed were you with Nelson Piquet Jr. and Vitor Meira at the test at Motor Mile Speedway?
"I was really impressed with both drivers. I anticipated that it would take a lot longer for them to get accustomed to the trucks once
they started, and that they would be really hard on brakes. With his IndyCar experience, we figured Vitor (Meira) would be more
comfortable on the oval, but both drivers really adapted well. We made some changes to the trucks in hopes to give each driver
certain feelings in the truck, and they both explained exactly what feedback we were expecting. Both drivers have very impressive
skill sets, and they really exceeded my expectations for the first time in a Camping World Truck Series Tundra."
TOYOTA DRIVER ROSTER - LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
David Reutimann, No. 00 Aaron's Dream Machine Camry Michael McDowell, No. 36 Wave Energy Drink Camry
David Gilliland, No. 02 Farm Bureau Insurance Camry Marcos Ambrose, No. 47 Clorox-Kingsford-Bush's Camry
Terry Labonte, No. 08 Simo-Carter Racing Camry Michael Waltrip, No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Camry
Robby Gordon, No. 7 Freightliner Camry Mike Wallace, No. 64 Gunselman Motorsports Camry
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Office Camry Dave Blaney, No. 66 PRISM Motorsports Camry
Max Papis, No. 13 GEICO Camry Scott Speed, No. 82 Red Bull Camry
Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Camry Brian Vickers, No. 83 Red Bull Camry
Joey Logano, No. 20 Home Depot Camry Joe Nemechek, No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Camry
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Reed Sorenson, No. 10 Dollar General Camry Jason Leffler, No. 38 Great Clips Camry
Mike Bliss, No. 11 Ridemakerz Camry Kasey Kahne, No. 43Auto Value Camry
Michael Annett, No. 15 Lumber Liquidators Camry Chase Miller, No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Camry
Kyle Busch, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Camry Dave Blaney, No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Camry
Joey Logano, No. 20 GameStop Camry David Reutimann, No. 99 Lowe's Foods Camry
Brian Vickers, No. 32 Dollar General Camry
