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Toyota NASCAR Notes & Quotes II - Las Vegas 2010

TOYOTA TALK:

Busch Reminisces on Hometown Victory

Vickers Likes the Left Coast
Gaughan Goes Home to Vegas

Toyota NNS Teams Ready for Desert

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: Toyota drivers have combined for two top-fives and three top-10 finishes in the first two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) races of 2010 … Joey Logano (fifth) earned his fourth career NSCS top-five last week in California … Last year, Camry driver Kyle Busch earned the pole position, led 51 (of 285 laps) and won at his Las Vegas hometown track … David Reutimann (fourth) and Denny Hamlin (ninth) earned top-10 finishes for Toyota at the 1.5-mile track in 2009 and 2008, respectively.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Does your top-five finish at California give you momentum for Las Vegas?
“A top-five at California was really cool. We worked really hard, Zippy (Greg Zipadelli, crew chief) made awesome calls. The pit crew was amazing and we gained spots just about every time we came down pit road. I am really, really stoked about how we ran. It feels like a win after what we had the first time we came (to California). To watch yourself improve that much, working with the team better, that feels really good. This is what we have to do every week. It’s cool to see yourself improve from a year ago. Hopefully we can get some momentum going and go to Vegas, which is one of my favorite tracks so we’ll have fun.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What was it like to win at a track you watched being built?
“It was cool. To go out there and to run a smooth race, and to have a shot at winning at the end of the race, is what it’s all about. I watched Vegas being built from the ground up, and I remember when it wasn’t anything but a gleam in Richie Clyne’s (Las Vegas track founder) eye -- all those guys who made that place happen.”

What did it feel like to win in your hometown?
“It was awesome, just the feeling of a lifetime. I told everyone that it would be just like another race, but it really meant a lot. To have my mom there and my brother (Kurt Busch) come to victory lane just made it that much more special. We didn’t have the best car last year, but I feel like I drove a smart race, and did what we needed to do. We worked on it all day and kept making it better.”

BRIAN VICKERS, No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry, Red Bull Racing Team

Do you enjoy racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway?
“Since they changed the banking there, it’s made the racing better. Vegas is always a fun town to go to. I actually have a couple buddies that have birthdays that fall right around the Vegas weekend, usually give or take a few days so we always stay Sunday night and go out after the race for a bit. It’s always fun.”

What do you enjoy in your free time on the west coast?
“When I’m on the west coast, I like to travel to or visit San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco -- San Francisco is probably my favorite west coast city. I love to go skiing so when I’m out west, if it’s in the winter, I’m usually on the slopes if I can find time to get on a snowboard or a pair of skis. In the summer I like to be out there as well -- I like fly fishing or just spending time hiking, mountain biking or things like that.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

Are the ‘green-white-checkered’ finishes tough physically on a driver?
“It wasn’t that physical (at Daytona). I thought everybody did a great job. Guys were making moves racing right on that edge, but not across it and not messing up, not making mistakes. We were all just digging and biting on the steering wheel and going as hard as we could go. We all made it through. From that perspective it was fun. I don’t expect anything less. The first chance we got, we used all three of them. I don’t expect it to be much different from here on out.”

MICHAEL WALTRIP, co-owner, Michael Waltrip Racing

How are able to transition into a car owner from being a owner/driver?
“I said when I started my team that I knew I couldn’t drive forever, but I could be a car owner forever. Ultimately, my goal is to be a winning, championship car owner. Being on that Showtime show for NASCAR is good for NAPA. A presence in front of the camera, a presence on TV shows is something that I think is important for the owner of MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing). The drivers can only do so much. I will continue to be on TV and look to race occasionally -- whatever it takes to continue a presence, I think that’s important for MWR.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: Toyota Camry drivers have combined for one win, two top-fives and nine top-10 finishes in the first two NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) races in 2010 … Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and Toyota have now won five straight NNS races at California after Busch was victorious last week (Feb. 2008 to present) … Camry drivers have five top-10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and two poles (Scott Speed in 2009 and Brian Vickers in 2008) … Toyota drivers Busch and Brendan Gaughan grew up in Las Vegas.

BRENDAN GAUGHAN, No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Do you enjoy coming home to Las Vegas to race?
“I love racing at Las Vegas. It’s my hometown, so it’s always a lot of fun to hang out with my friends and family. We always seem to run well there. It’s a track where you can at least start to run a second groove, so it suits me pretty well. We’ve had a good amount of success there. I’ve won a race and a pole there in the trucks and we had a great run in the Nationwide Series race there last year as well. I really think that Vegas will be the place that we get our 2010 season back on track.”

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 StopRepairBills.com Toyota Camry, Braun Racing

Do you enjoy racing at Las Vegas?
“Las Vegas is a pretty interesting place. The hot sun bakes the surface and cures the asphalt so that grip becomes a premium. You’re always sliding around, trying to find grip in different lines. The progressive banking really lends itself to some great side-by-side racing, as the car on the inside doesn’t always have the best line. If you can get some rubber down on the high line, it’s very fast up there. You can race a lot of different lines depending on your setup and it can make for some good, exciting racing for the fans.”

TREVOR BAYNE, No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Diamond-Waltrip Racing

How do you get ready for a track like Las Vegas?
“I have never been to Las Vegas before. If it’s anything like Atlanta, I am really going to like it. I have heard that you can hold it wide open there during qualifying, so hopefully that will equal a top-five starting spot for us. I will lean on my teammates to help me out during practice and my spotter, Brett Griffin, to let me know the lines that the fast guys are running.”

RYAN FUGLE, crew chief, No. 15 Pilot Travel Centers Toyota Camry, Germain Racing

How do you prepare for the Las Vegas race?
“Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a really exciting track with its high banks and high speeds. From a setup standpoint, I really look to the Charlotte race track to share some setup characteristics. We had a great run at Charlotte in October and we’re really looking forward to continuing the success we’ve had so far this season by getting another worthy finish at Vegas. Our team is really strong right now and we are ready for our break-out race. I think Vegas is the perfect track for that.”

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS)

NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: After the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race of the season, Toyota Tundra drivers combined for one win, two top-five and four top-10 finishes in 2010 … Timothy Peters’ Daytona triumph was his second career NCWTS victory … Tundra drivers have won 66 races and 68 poles since Toyota entered the series in 2004 … The NCWTS takes another week off and returns to action next weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, March 6.

TOYOTA DRIVER ROSTER – LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

David Reutimann, No. 00 TUMS Camry
Robby Gordon, No. 7 Monster Energy Camry
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Ground Camry
Max Papis, No. 13 GEICO Camry
Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M’s Camry
Joey Logano, No. 20 Home Depot Camry
Marcos Ambrose, No. 47 Kingsford/Scott Camry
Michael McDowell, No. 55 Prism Motorsports Camry
Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA Gold Filters Camry
Dave Blaney, No. 66 Prism Motorsports Camry
Scott Speed, No. 82 Red Bull Camry
Brian Vickers, No. 83 Red Bull Camry
Joe Nemechek, No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Camry

NASCAR Nationwide Series

Chad Blount, No. 10 Braun Racing Camry
Brian Scott, No. 11 StopRepairBills.com Camry
Michael Annett, No. 15 Pilot Travel Centers Camry
Kyle Busch, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Camry
Denny Hamlin, No. 20 Interstate Batteries Camry
Brian Vickers, No. 32 Dollar General Stores Camry
Jason Leffler, No. 38 Great Clips Camry
Brendan Gaughan, No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Camry
Steve Wallace, No. 66 5-Hour Energy Camry
Trevor Bayne, No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Camry

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