NASCAR Nationwide Series

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)
In Saturday night’s NNS race at Gateway International Raceway, Toyota Camry drivers earned three of the top-five finishing positions in the 200-lap race at the 1.25-mile oval near St. Louis.

Sorenson (second), Bayne (third) and Steve Wallace (fifth) recorded top-five results following race winner Carl Edwards who made contact with Brad Keselowski as the pair approached the checkered flag.

“We had a long night,” said Sorenson, following the race.  “The way pit strategy worked out, we were out of tires, so that was kind of laid out for us and we didn’t have a choice so we stayed out.   There at the end I couldn’t really see what happened.  I saw the 60 (Carl Edwards) obviously got into the right rear of the 22 (Brad Keselowski).  I just went low and hoped I could beat the 60 to the line.”

Bayne’s third-place finish marks the career-best for the driver of the Diamond-Waltrip Racing No. 99 Out! Pet Care Camry.  Bayne also earned his second career pole in Saturday night’s race and eighth of the season for Toyota in NNS competition.

“Jerry Baxter (crew chief) did a great job with the call there to not pit and got us our track position back,” said Bayne, following the race.  “We had a strong enough car to be up there and that was the way it was for us in our Out! Pet Car Toyota all weekend.  We unloaded fast, in the top three, qualified on the pole and then finished top three, so it’s a great weekend for us.  Can’t thank everyone enough for giving us this opportunity.  It was a great weekend for us and we’re happy to be in the top three.”

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Matt DiBenedetto and Brad Coleman were involved in an accident on lap 151 when DiBenedetto’s Camry got into the wall and drifted down the race track where oncoming Coleman couldn't avoid his teammate, ending the day for both drivers.

Ryan Truex, younger brother of Toyota Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr., made his career first NNS start tonight at Gateway. Truex was involved in a solo spin on lap 179 that ended the night for the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 00 NAPA Camry in the 28th position.

Other Toyota drivers in the field at Gateway included Brain Scott (sixth), Michael Annett (11th), Brendan Gaughan (17th), Tayler Malsam (18th), Jason Leffler (23rd), DiBenedetto (29th) and Coleman (30th).

Kyle Busch, who took the weekend off from racing, sits fourth in the unofficial NNS point standings following Gateway.  Wallace (seventh), Gaughan (eighth), Joey Logano (ninth), Leffler (10th), Bayne (11th), Scott (12th), Annett (13th) and Sorenson (14th) are also in the top-15 in points with 16 races left on the schedule.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series returns to action at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, July 24.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)
In Saturday afternoon’s NCWTS race at Gateway International Raceway,  Germain Racing’s Bodine (fourth) was the highest finishing Tundra drivers at the 1.25-mile track located outside of St. Louis, Mo.

The 160-lap, 200-mile race was scheduled for Friday evening, but a power failure at the race track and surrounding area forced the postponement of the race until Saturday afternoon when the competitors experienced temperatures into the triple digits.

“This is the truck we ran at Texas and won with that truck at Texas,” said Bodine, following the race.  “I burned my rear end then and that was a night race and it wasn’t near this hot.  We did some work to the seat and put some stuff on it and worked a little more after practice and thought we had it.  Our Germain Tundra was okay.  We got a little track position, great pit stops again -- I have the best crew on pit road for sure.”

Aric Almirola finished eighth in the No. 51 Zyclara/Graceway Pharmaceuticals Tundra after leading the field for 16 (of 160) laps at the Illinois oval.

“We made some adjustments there after practice that we felt like were going to make us better for the race,” said Almirola, following the race.  “Maybe if the race was last night, it would have been a different ball game.  I’m surprised that we got out of here with an eighth place finish.  We fought really hard for that.”

Timothy Peters (sixth), Brian Ickler (ninth) and Mike Skinner (10th) also earned NCWTS top-10 results for Toyota on Saturday.

Tundra drivers David Starr (13th), Max Papis (15th), Brad Sweet (16th), Steve Wallace (17th) and Justin Lofton (27th) were also in the field.

Lofton's day was cut short after a mechanical problem with 30 laps remaining in the race when he took his Tundra to the garage and ultimately retired from the race after running in the top-10 for much of the event.

Bodine extended his point lead in the unofficial NCWTS point standings, now 101 points ahead of the second-place Almirola following Gateway.  Tundra drivers Peters (fourth), Skinner (fifth) and Starr (ninth) are also in the top-10 in points after 11 of 25 races.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, July 23.

Toyota NNS Driver Finishing Positions at Gateway International Raceway
2nd, REED SORENSON
3rd, TREVOR BAYNE
5th, STEVE WALLACE
6th, BRIAN SCOTT
11th, MICHAEL ANNETT
17th, BRENDAN GAUGHAN
18th, TAYLER MALSAM
23rd, JASON LEFFLER
28th, RYAN TRUEX
29th, MATT DIBENEDETTO
30th, BRAD COLEMAN

Toyota Drivers in NNS Point Standings -- following Gateway International Raceway**
4th, KYLE BUSCH 2,486 points
7th, STEVE WALLACE 2,204 points
8th, BRENDAN GAUGHAN 2,127 points
9th, JOEY LOGANO 2,108 points
10th, JASON LEFFLER 2,088 points
11th, TREVOR BAYNE 2,040 points
12th, BRIAN SCOTT 1,991 points
13th, MICHAEL ANNETT 1,973 points
14th, REED SORENSON 1,957 points

Toyota NCWTS Driver Finishing Positions at Gateway International Raceway
4th, TODD BODINE
6th, TIMOTHY PETERS
8th, ARIC ALMIROLA
9th, BRIAN ICKLER
10th, MIKE SKINNER
13th, DAVID STARR
15th, MAX PAPIS
16th, BRAD SWEET
17th, STEVE WALLACE
27th, JUSTIN LOFTON

Toyota Drivers in NCWTS Point Standings -- following Gateway International Raceway**
1st, TODD BODINE 1,715 points
2nd, ARIC ALMIROLA 1,614 points
4th, TIMOTHY PETERS 1,510 points
5th, MIKE SKINNER 1,456 points
9th, DAVID STARR 1,390 points
13th, JUSTIN LOFTON 1,195 points
19th, KYLE BUSCH 957 points
** unofficial point standings