Toyota NASCAR Notes & Quotes I - Kansas - Sept. 2009
Here Are the Headlines:
- Hamlin and Vickers Chasing Championship
- Kansas Common Territory
- Tundras Tallying Plenty of Top-10s
CHASING A CHAMPIONSHIP: This year, Toyota drivers Denny Hamlin and Brian Vickers are competing for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) championship. After two events (New Hampshire and Dover) in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff, Hamlin sits in sixth and Vickers is 10th in the standings. An ill handling race car relegated Hamlin to a 22nd-place finish at Dover, dropping him three positions in the title quest. Vickers was 18th at Dover and slid two spots in the points.
FAMILIAR TERRITORY: Last year, Hamlin won the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Kansas Speedway. After starting deep in the field (19th), he moved to the front and led 99 (of 200) laps en route to visiting victory lane. His win also enabled Toyota to clinch its first Nationwide Series manufacturer’s title. In 2007, current Camry driver Kyle Busch won the NNS race at Kansas and Toyota driver Michael Waltrip earned back-to-back NNS poles at the one-and-a-half-mile oval in 2002 and 2003.
LEADER OF THE PACK: Camry driver Busch continues to lead the NNS standings with seven races remaining this season. The Las Vegas-native is 211 points ahead of second-place Carl Edwards heading into Saturday’s Kansas race at. Toyota drivers Jason Leffler (fourth), Michael Annett (11th) and Joey Logano (14th) are also in the top-15 in series point standings after 28 of 35 races.
SIX IN TOP-10: Six Toyota drivers recorded top-10 finishes in Saturday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was the 11th time in 20 races this season that Toyota had six drivers register top-10 finishes in the same event. In 2009, Tundra drivers have recorded 51 top-five and 108 top-10 finishes, and led 1,618 laps.
HEADING HOME: Lee White, President and General Manager of TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development), completed his degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Missouri at St. Louis. Originally from Ellsworth, Kan., White was promoted to president and general manager of TRD in June of 2008.
MORE FROM MIDWEST: A few members of Toyota teams have roots near Kansas Speedway. Red Bull Racing Team vice president and general manager, Jay Frye, is a 1987 graduate of the University of Missouri and was a tight end and offensive lineman for the Tigers football program (1983-1986). Tim Sparkman, shock specialist for the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing entry, is from St. Louis, Mo. Two members of the No. 00 team, gas runner Wayne Johnson and scorer Rosemary Johnson, are from Miller, Mo.
TRUEX TAKES TITLE: Michael Waltrip Racing’s (MWR) Ryan Truex captured the 2009 NASCAR Camping World East Series championship with an eighth-place result at Dover on Saturday afternoon. It was the first championship for a Toyota driver in the series. This season, Truex had three wins, seven top-fives and eight top-10 finishes in 11 events. Last year, a Toyota driver (Eric Holmes) won the NASCAR Camping World West Series title.
TOYOTA TERRAIN: Toyota-owned Bodine Aluminum, Inc., has plants in St. Louis and Troy, Mo, as well as Jackson, Tenn. The St. Louis plant manufactures engine brackets and carrier covers, the Troy plant produces cylinder heads and cylinder blocks, and the Jackson plant creates aluminum cylinder blocks and automatic transmission parts. Toyota bought this family-owned foundry in 1990 and its parts production supports Toyota vehicles manufactured in the U.S.
WEEKEND RACE SCHEDULE:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series @ Kansas Speedway, Sunday, October 4 @ 2:00 PM (ET), ABC -- Race 29 of 36
NASCAR Nationwide Series @ Kansas Speedway, Saturday, October 3 @ 3:30 PM (ET), ESPN2 -- Race 29 of 35
| TOYOTA 2009 NASCAR STATISTICS |
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| SERIES | RACES | STARTS (DRIVERS) | WINS | TOP-5s | TOP-10s | POLES | TIMES LED | LAPS LED |
| NSCS | 28 | 344 (22) | 9 | 34 | 62 | 9 | 140 | 2,208 |
| NNS | 28 | 272 (34) | 10 | 51 | 99 | 11 | 149 | 2,908 |
| NCWTS | 20 | 247 (24) | 11 | 51 | 108 | 7 | 90 | 1,619 |
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