Toyota NASCAR Notes & Quotes Charlotte Oct. 2013

TOYOTA TIDBITS

CAMRY CHASERS:  Following the fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) event of the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup championship playoff, Toyota driver Matt Kenseth continues to lead the 13-driver field and sits three points ahead of second-place Jimmie Johnson.  Kyle Busch ranks fifth in the standings, 35 points behind Kenseth, while Clint Bowyer is ninth — 55 points behind the leader.  Kenseth leads all drivers with seven wins in 2013.

KENSETH CONQUERED NNS IN KANSAS:  In Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) at Kansas Speedway, Kenseth picked up his second series victory of the year driving the Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 18 Reser’s Toyota Camry.  Kenseth’s win was also his 28th career Nationwide Series victory, which places him sixth on the all-time series win list. Kenseth took the lead on lap 166 (of 200) and led the field the final 35 circuits en route to victory lane.  Toyota drivers Busch (fourth), Parker Kligerman (seventh) and Elliott Sadler (10th) also earned top-10 finishes in the event.

CONSECUTIVE CHEMISTRY:  To say that Busch has chemistry with Charlotte Motor Speedway when it comes to NNS racing might be an understatement.  Busch has competed in 19 total NNS races at the 1.5-mile oval and has accumulated seven wins, 14 top-five results and 16 top-10 finishes.  But perhaps the most impressive statistic is how Busch has finished in the top-10 in 12 consecutive NNS races at Charlotte.

TWEET RACE:  During the final six NSCS races, @ToyotaRacing will host a Tweet Race where fans can register online (www.ToyotaRacing.com/TweetRace) and participate in a weekly virtual contest for a chance to win prizes.  Fans will then use Twitter to post messages containing a hash tag with their favorite Toyota Racing driver’s name (i.e., #MattKenseth) and #TRTR to advance the driver around a virtual track.  Propelled by the number of tweets received, the Toyota driver with the most tweets will be declared that week’s Tweet Race winner.  Fans can tweet as many times as they’d like, but will only receive one entry into the sweepstakes drawing per week.  Each week, three participants will be awarded a gift certificate for Toyota Racing gear and one grand prize winner will be chosen at the end of the Chase to receive two tickets to the 2014 Daytona 500.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE:  Toyota’s third round of ‘100 Cars for Good’ recently kicked off voting with 250 nonprofit organizations eligible to win a new Toyota vehicle.  Each day from Oct. 1 to Nov. 19, two of five finalists with the highest number of public votes will be able to choose between one of five Toyota vehicles.  The remaining organizations will each receive a $1,000 grant from Toyota to support their work.  Over the last two years, Toyota has awarded 200 vehicles to nonprofit organizations across the country.  By casting votes at www.100carsforgood.com, people have the power to make a difference in the work of deserving nonprofits.

NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS):  Camry driver Clint Bowyer took the checkered flag at Charlotte Motor Speedway in last October’s NSCS race after saving just enough fuel to complete the event … Kyle Busch has 28 career NSCS race wins, but a NSCS victory at Charlotte has eluded the 28-year-old racer … He has earned one pole (May 2008) at the speedway, along with eight top-five finishes and 11 top-10 results in 19 career starts … The 1.5-mile Charlotte oval is one of only six facilities on the current 22 track NSCS schedule where Busch has yet to take a victory bow following a Sprint Cup event … Joe Gibbs Racing will host a FanFest at the team’s race shop in Huntersville, N.C., on Frid ay, Oct. 11, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM  … Michael Waltrip Racing will host an open house at the team’s race shop in Cornelius, N.C., on Wednesday, Oct. 9 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.

MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Is it nice to have a ‘home’ race halfway through the Chase?
“I really like the race track at Charlotte.  If Sonoma Raceway was built right by my house, I wouldn’t want to go there during the Chase — so it’s not just because it’s close to home, but I really like the track.  It’s been a good place for us.  We ran just spectacular there for the 600 and got caught on a green flag pit stop and then got caught up in a wreck that we really didn’t have anything to do with.  Didn’t have the result there, but we had an unbelievable car there.  That track is one of my favorites and we always have a lot of confidence going there.”

MATT KENSETH, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing (continued)
Can you be a team player and still be an individual competing for a championship?
“Well, I think you can be both.  I think you want to be both.  I’ve always said I think when Sunday starts — it’s one against 42 as it should be.  You never want to put your teammate in a bad spot if you can help them and not hurt your own effort,   but at the end of the day, it’s about your respective team and I think being a good teammate is really — throughout the meetings, during the week — sharing information and in practice you find something that your helps your car and you go talk to them about it, work with their crews, work with the driver.  I always feel like that’s more being good teammates is trying to work together to get all three of you cars — the goal is to have all three cars run one, two, three and of course your goal is for your car to run one, but you try to help them as much as you can.  But at race time, it’s racing.  They drop the green and everybody is going to go out and try to get the best finish they can get for themselves.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Can you get a Chase win at Charlotte?
“Charlotte is a place I love to go race.  We’ve run really, really well there in the past few races.  We’ve had a lot of top-fives and top-10s there and we’ve led a lot of laps.  You would hope with all those things considered, maybe a win is on the brink in Charlotte, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”

How beneficial is it to have a teammate also competing for the championship?
“It certainly is beneficial to have two or even three cars in the Chase.  Unfortunately, Denny  (Hamlin) has had a terrible season.  But with Matt (Kenseth) and myself in the Chase in contention so far, it’s obviously worked really, really well for us. The things we’ve been doing all year long, we’ve been sharing some great information.  We both have similar feedback.  We both share similar feelings in the race car of how we’re feeling, how to get the most out of our equipment.  The 18 and the 20 team work really well together.  The things we have to continue to do is just that, we have to continue to work together.  It’s going to be a lot better to have us two being able to bounce ideas off of all the way down into the Chase and to race against the other cars.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS):  After 29 races this season, Elliott Sadler (fourth), Brian Vickers (sixth) and Parker Kligerman (10th) rank in the top-10 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) point standings … Kyle Busch Motorsports will host a FanFest at its race shop in Mooresville, N.C., on Thursday, Oct. 10 from 1:00 to 7:00 pm … The No. 54 Monster Energy Camry will feature a ‘Project Pink’ paint scheme for Friday night’s NNS race.

KYLE BUSCH, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
What does it mean to support Pretty in Pink on the car at Charlotte?
“A lot of work has gone into this fundraising effort for the Pretty in Pink Breast Cancer Champions that we are sponsoring. Samantha (Busch, wife) and I are excited the opportunity is finally here, so that we can offer a little comfort to those around us who need our help.  It’s great to share our race Friday with neighbors who can use a fun night out, without worries about their treatment.”

BRIAN VICKERS, No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Is it important for the team to have a ‘home’ race at this point in the season?
“It’s great for the team — everybody gets to be at home.  Home for me is the Miami weekend, so that’s always nice to be able to sleep in my own bed.  Charlotte is good.  I’ve got family there and it’s good to see them and obviously I’m in and out a lot to visit the teams, but Charlotte has always been a special place for me racing go-karts there and spent a lot of time there in NASCAR as well, growing up watching races there.  It’s a special track and always look forward to getting back to it.”

ELLIOTT SADLER, No. 11 OneMain Financial Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing
Is the October Charlotte race weekend special?
“Charlotte’s a fun weekend for us.  It’s breast cancer awareness month, so a lot of pink cars and stuff going on there.  It’s always a fun race for us in everybody’s backyard.  Everybody tries to bring their best stuff, so always look forward to going to Charlotte — a really fun track for us.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS):  After 17 races this year, Matt Crafton continues to hold the lead in the NCWTS points standings by 41 points over second-place James Buescher … Timothy Peters (sixth), Johnny Sauter (eighth) and Darrell Wallace Jr. (ninth) are also in the top-10 in the standings … The NCWTS competes next at Talladega Superspeedway on October 19.

TOYOTA 2013 NASCAR STATISTICS

Starts
Series        Races       (Drivers)       Wins      Top-5s      Top-10s        Poles        Times Led         Laps Led

NSCS            30         348 (23)         13        44           78            10             163             3,639
NNS             29         388 (37)         12        51           93            11             131             2,318
NCWTS           17         174 (30)         9         35           71            4              65               987

TOYOTA DRIVER ROSTER – Charlotte Motor Speedway
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Ground Camry                           Brian Vickers, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Camry
Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Raspberry 5-hour ENERGY Camry                Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Camry
Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M’s Camry                                    David Reutimann, No. 83 Burger King/Dr. Pepper Camry
Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Dollar General Camry                         Joe Nemechek, No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Camry
Cole Whitt, No. 30 Swan Energy Camry                              Travis Kvapil, No. 93 Burger King/Dr. Pepper Camry
Bobby Labonte, No. 47 Scott Products Camry

NASCAR Nationwide Series
David Green, No. 00 SR2 Motorsports Camry                         Ken Butler, No. 24 SR2 Motorsports Camry
Jeff Green, No. 10 TriStar Motorsports Camry                      Chad Hackenbracht, No. 44 Ingersoll Rand Camry
Elliott Sadler, No. 11 OneMain Financial Camry                    Kyle Busch, No. 54 Monster Energy Camry
Eric McClure, No. 14 Hefty/Reynolds Wrap Camry                    Parker Kligerman, No. 77 Toyota Camry
Matt Kenseth, No. 18 GameStop Camry                               Joe Nemechek, No. 87 pelletgrillusa.com Camry
Mike Bliss, No. 19 TriStar Motorsports Camry                      Alex Bowman, No. 99 RAB Racing Camry
Brian Vickers, No. 20 Dollar General Camry

WEEKEND RACE SCHEDULE
Fri., October 11 — NNS @ Charlotte Motor Speedway — 7:30 PM (ET), ESPN2 — Race 30 of 33
Sat., October 12 — NSCS @ Charlotte Motor Speedway — 7:30 PM (ET), ABC — Race 31 of 36

SOCIAL MEDIA & WEBSITE
For NASCAR images visit:  www.toyotaracingmedia.com.  Social media:  @ToyotaRacing, #LetsGoPlaces,
www.facebook.com/toyotaracing and www.youtube.com/toyotaracingusa.